In the best of times, it is difficult to write about the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. His presence looms large in America’s history. But King’s legacy is also problematic because his rhetoric can be invoked by so many who are so far apart on so many issues. King employed a rhetorical tactic that caused his listeners and readers to engage with the founding principles of this nation in a manner that placed the civil rights movement squarely at the center of America’s founding narrative. Dr.