Rodney King Will we ever live in peace?

Volatility carried over from a supercharged November election and propagated by the media’s blame-game coverage of the recent Tucson shootings have left America searching for answers to unlikely philosopher Rodney King’s 19-year-old question, “Can we all just get along?” While I consider myself an eternal optimist, I doubt that day will ever come, at least not here on earth.
In his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech, the man we honor with today’s national holiday addressed that same issue 47 years ago, stating, “Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace.”
So how do we do that?
Last night I read the brilliant “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in April, 1961, outlining problems segregation and racism caused America and her African-American population at that time.
Dr. King aptly likened himself to the Apostle Paul who “left his village of Tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to the far corners of the Greco Roman world,” and said, “So am I compelled to carry the gospel of freedom beyond my own home town.”
Both wrote great epistles of truth and encouragements for any to read and put into practice.
Dr. King’s letter addresses many issues, but his assertion that “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” got me thinking about my question.
He quotes the biblical account of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego and notes that they answered to the higher, moral law of God and were willing to face death than follow Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar’s law that all bow before him.
So who determines whether a law is just or unjust?
I acknowledge that we must be a nation of laws, otherwise anarchy will reign supreme (and I truly believe that consequence is on the horizon!). But how do we find resolve when there are so many polarizing issues facing the masses today?
The best example I can give is one I’ve broached many times: abortion. There are women who will go to their deaths defending their right to be able to terminate the life of another growing inside them, while I, on the other hand, would consider going to jail before agreeing to allow 1 cent of my tax dollars to be used to fund such infanticide.
So how do we resolve this issue ... as well as many other hot-button issues waiting for answers?
Dr. King used historical references — such as Hitler exterminating Jews — to point out that just because something is legal, it doesn’t make it right.
Dr. King’s masterpiece answered an open letter from Birmingham clergymen who charged that he was encouraging his people to break the law; Dr. King countered that any law not morally sound was no law at all and that his people would continue to do whatever necessary — preferably non-violently — in order to stand up for what is right.
Thanks to Dr. King, great progress has been made regarding racism and segregation in America. Unfortunately, I see no light at tunnel’s end regarding other issues that divide us today.