STUDIES IN STUPIDITY Vol. 4
Remembering Muhammad Ali's courageous refusal to be drafted and how he stood up to ignorance and duplicity
LESSONS IN STUPIDITY Vol. 4
Cassius Clay—later known as Muhammad Ali—refused to be drafted during the Vietnam War, and while he was sentenced to prison for five years in 1967, he never served. Instead, he lost his boxing titles, was suspended from the sport, and was fined $10,000.
He had this to say about his decision:
"I'm not going to run away. I'm not going to burn any flags. I'm not going to Canada. I'm staying right here.
“You want to send me to jail? Fine. I’ve been in jail for 400 years. I could be there for four or five more, but I’m not going to travel 10,000 miles to kill other poor people. If I want to die, I’ll die right here, fighting you if I need to. You’re my enemy, not the Chinese, not the Vietcong, not the Japanese. You’re my opponent when I want freedom. You’re my opponent when I want justice. You’re my opponent when I want equality.
“You want me to fight for you? But you won’t even defend my rights or my religious beliefs right here in America. You won’t even stand up for me at home."
He was right.
Why is this remembrance a “Lesson in Stupidity”? Because America’s involvement in the Vietnam was based on lies, as we later learned. It was, besides a tragedy, outrageously stupid.
Muhammad Ali wasn’t just a tough guy in the ring. He stood up to injustice and ignorance and duplicity, as did so many others during the Civil Rights era. They changed our country for the better.
Stupidity can and must be stood up to.
Thinking about this as we celebrate another hero, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., later this month.
And on the eve of Congress convening to certify the 2024 presidential election, I wonder how many of those legislators occupying their cush jobs have even a fraction of Ali’s moral conviction?
J.C. Bruce is a journalist and author of The Strange Files series of mysterious novels (available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, other online booksellers, and at selected libraries). He holds dual citizenship in the United States of America and Florida. His latest novel, Strange Timing, has been named Book of the Year in the Royal Palm Literary Awards.
Sponsored by TROPIC PRESS, publisher of The Strange Files Series of Mysterious Adventures.
