The promissory note

Pope Francis broke one of the cardinal rules of American politics during his visit to the White House last week. The pope quoted from Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

That much is fine, of course. Quoting select lines from that speech is almost mandatory in American politics. But Francis quoted the wrong part of that speech — the forbidden part. Here’s what the pope said: “To use a telling phrase of the Reverend Martin Luther King, we can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note, and now is the time to honor it.”

That’s not allowed.

The rules of American politics state that we’re only supposed to quote from the famous bits at the end of King’s historic speech. The bits about becoming a nation where children “will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character” and the lovely aspirational stuff about how “one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.” 

King’s discussion of “the promissory note” isn’t part of that. That comes earlier in the speech, and the rules of American politics clearly state that we must never, ever quote or endorse or even remember that bit.

This was a flagrant foul by Pope Francis — the work of a rude guest in the hallowed halls of American politics. When you’re a guest, you’re expected to follow the rules and customs and mores of your hosts. That means you can cite Martin Luther King Jr. and “I Have a Dream,” but only if you stick to the approved and acceptable and agreed-upon mountaintop kumbaya stuff from the end.

Reminding us all of the unpaid promissory note is just crass and uncouth. Who does Francis think he is? Ta-Nehisi Coates?

I mean, just look at what it is that the pope was commending as a “telling phrase”:

In a sense we have come to our nation’s capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy.

I hope that Pope Francis was simply confused. He’s not an American, after all, so he’s probably not familiar with our culture and our customs. And he doesn’t speak English all that well, so it’s possible he simply misunderstood when it was explained to him that our custom of praising Dr. King and citing this famous speech isn’t supposed to include that part of it. Perhaps he simply didn’t realize that these dangerous words from the beginning of that speech are not supposed to be mentioned or recited in public.

Fortunately, I don’t think Francis’ faux pas will result in any lasting damage. Most media accounts of his visit merely reported that the pope praised Martin Luther King Jr. and referenced his “I Have a Dream” speech, so most people will assume he followed the rules and simply said something dreamy and harmless and polite — you know, just like a good American politician would.