Martin Luther King Jr.: What Makes The Perfect Human?

What makes the perfect human? This has been the topic of countless debates across history. The truth is that there can be no perfect human. This is because humans are created with flaws. Therefore, to be human one must be flawed which leaves no possibility of being perfect. Being ideal, however, is something one can strive for. In the past century, the United States has become a world power. With the responsibility that comes with being a world power, the United States has had to adopt certain characteristics such as patience and perseverance. As citizens of the United States, Americans have inherited some of this responsibility as well. The ideal American would embody all the aforementioned traits while acknowledging their own flaws and working to erase them. If one truly wants
to become an ideal American, they would first have to recognize the faults they have. Rather than pointing out the faults of others, we must do like Ben Franklin says and be “surpris'd to find [oneself] so much fuller of faults than [one] had imagined; but [have] the satisfaction of seeing them diminish” (Franklin 6). As one is in a state of self critique, one must point out whether they are lethargic or narrow-minded as both are anti-American. Being lethargic is, by far, the most anti-American trait one can posses. This is so because as an American, one is presented with countless opportunities than many others do not have. In short, to be a lethargic American is disrespectful to all those who work hard and never obtain the same opportunities that are merely handed to Americans. Being narrow-minded should also not be tolerated in one’s journey to becoming the ideal American. To be narrow-minded is to not recognize any other view but one’s own. In order to be the ideal American, one should fight narrow-mindedness by doing as Atticus Finch says and “consider things from [other's] point of view… [and] climb into [their] skin and walk around in it” (Lee 30). Although there are countless flaws to be recognized, the aforementioned two are the origin for most of the others. To counter any flaw, however, one must simply look at themselves in the mirror, be honest with one’s faults, and be prepared to combat those faults. Now that one has gone through self-evaluation, one must begin to attain two certain characteristics: patience and perseverance. One leads to the other, however. Patience must come before one can persevere. The ideal American should be the most patient person in any setting they find themselves in. Being patient is the difference between understanding someone and judging someone prematurely which can also lead to hate and violence. One instance where patience prevents violence in To Kill a Mockingbird is when Atticus tells Scout, "just hold your head high and keep those fists down. No matter what anybody says to you, don't you let 'em get your goat. Try fightin' with your head for a change” (Lee 101). This quote demonstrates the importance and power of patience. By being patient, Atticus says, Scout will be assess a situation with a clear mind rather than react with blind rage. By being patient, one gives themselves the opportunity to do exactly that. Without patience, the ideal American becomes a person who is incapable of understanding anything, reacting peacefully, or making original decisions. One incapable of any of these things is no American, let alone the ideal one. Only those who are patient can persevere and, therefore, become the ideal American. To persevere is to overcome an obstacle that almost derailed one from achieving their goal. If one’s goal is to be the ideal American, one would have to be patient to persevere and reach that goal. The ideal American is patient enough to endure suffering until the opportunity to persevere over their suffering presents itself. One example of this can be found in Langston Hughes poem I, Too when the narrator says, “They send me to eat in the kitchen [w]hen company comes, [b]ut I laugh, [a]nd eat well, [a]nd grow strong” (Lines 3-7). In the beginning, the narrator is not yet strong enough to overcome being sent to “eat in the kitchen.” The narrator is patient, however, and gets stronger. By being patient, the narrator is able to come back the next day and persevere by eating at the table when company comes. The ideal American should do exactly like this narrator when faced with adversity. One might say that allowing oneself to stay in a state of oppression is not being patient but rather idiotic. Now this may be true, if one decided to stay in a state of oppression with no aspiration to persevere. Another scenario in which one’s actions are idiotic is when one does not have the patience to endure pain and instead retaliates blindly. Both of these reactions yield no results. The scenario that does yield results is that of the patient one who endures the suffering to persevere in the end. Perseverance is not a trait everyone holds. Only the most patient of people truly persevere in whatever struggle they have. As most Americans do not hold the immense patience needed to truly persevere, only very few can be mentioned when describing the ideal American.
To be the ideal American, one will be a person who self-evaluates constantly, holds the greatest patience, and always finds a way to persevere.
One real life example of this is the Martin Luther King Jr. Throughout his life, Martin Luther King Jr. was known to find his own faults and try his best to correct them. He also spent his whole life protesting for equal rights while showcasing the greatest of patience by not “fighting fire with fire.” Martin Luther King Jr. not once threw an object after being hit by one nor did he attack the character of any one person even after having every single aspect of his own character attacked. Although he lost his life, Martin Luther King Jr. persevered as equal rights among all in the United States has been legally attained. He, like very few others, was able to get very close to being the ideal American. As with many things in life, the ideal is not always reality. Even Martin Luther King Jr. was not able to be the ideal American in all aspects of life. Although he was not able to become the ideal American, Martin Luther King Jr. was able to self evaluate himself, be patient, and persevere. Most Americans cannot say the same thing for
themselves.