"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice." According media reports, this quote keeping Obama company on his wheat-colored carpet is from King.
Except it's not a King quote.To back this up, we are provided with a quote from Theodore Parker:
Parker said in 1853: "I do not pretend to understand the moral universe; the arc is a long one. . . . But from what I see I am sure it bends toward justice."
Why would Obama attribute the quote to King? Because King would often say:
"How long? Not long." He would finish in a flourish: "Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice."
In summary, Obama's rug quotes King, who was inspired by Theodore Parker's imagery. Of course, if the quote were to have been attributed to Parker, we would undoubtedly be reading a story about how Parker never actually said that, and that instead the quote was from King. And this is why I am seriously considering abandoning politics.
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