Martin Luther King's Drum Major Instinct: The Culprit of American Society & Why Philosophers Believe it is our Greatest Threat--If not Controlled

“The Drum Major Instinct” 

Dr. King preached this sermon from the pulpit of Ebenezer Baptist Church February 4th 1968. 2 months later, he was assassinated. 

I still remember hearing the Drum Major Instinct Sermon for the first time. I was saturated in negativity and was seeking answers to the frustrations I was feeling.

And this Sermon, or theory, had me discover the answer to life’s question of why we feel angry or disgruntled at specific moments in our lives. 

The Drum Major Instinct. What is it and the broader question is do you, society, myself, and the world have it?

Yes we certainly do. 

It is among all of us engrained in our DNA. 

We all harness this instinct and in most cases it disorients our personality in a direction of anger, evil, and/or frustration. 

We all seek purpose in the life that we live. We want to succeed, be recognized for our accomplishments, and feel both important to ourselves and society. 

Throughout our childhood the drum major instinct is a major obsession. 

Children ask life to grant them first place every where they go. 

Kids I work with in school seek to be first in line, first to eating lunch, first in getting equipment returned to me, first in participating in activity etc. 

They are a little bundle of ego.  

In adult life, we still have the instinct and we really never get by it. 

When we do something good, we want to be praised for it. 

You’ll discover as you journey in life that praise is one of the most dominant impulses we crave. 

Everybody likes to be praised, because of this real drum major instinct. 

This instinct enforces us to become “joiners”. The decision behind joining a group, community, or council. Is rooted in our quest for attention, recognition, and importance. We value reputation and respect from the peers around us and society itself.

When our feeling of loneliness and irrelevance encircles our mind we begin to become envious of other groups or people. 

The presence of technology and our accessibility of seeing the wealth of others has made us more envious.

This, to a certain degree, explains why we are so often taken by advertisers. Advertisers have a way of saying you are in “need”.

Advertisers paint a picture that matches our desires to be recognized in society. 

In order to be a man of distinction, you must drink this whiskey. In order to be accepted in this class of society, you must drive this brand of car.

Their methods are to trigger a rationalization that our “need” for recognition can be fulfilled with the very “need” they are advertising. 

This effect pushes us to live outside our means. 

The pathway can result in the drum major instinct taking you over. 

If it isn’t harnessed, it causes one’s personality to become distorted.

The personality becomes an ego problem.

 In dealing with that ego problem they end up day in and day out boasting about themselves. Or trying to outdo others through material means.

Isn’t it sickening when they just talk up all the time about themselves. People who continually boast and boast about what they have done is one of many examples of not harnessing the major drum instinct. And, rather, 

Letting it control you. 

Another example is when they engage in activities that are merely used to get attention. For instance, people are driven to crime because of the drum major instinct. They don’t feel that they are getting enough attention through the normal channels of social behavior. Consequently, they rob or steal in a quest for recognition. 

And the worst of the instinct is the effect it has in enforcing the person to end up trying to push others down in order to push himself up. 

These are the dangers of the drum major instinct. And America itself is struggling to harness the instinct both individually and collectively. 

Kendrick Lamar understands and exemplifies the drum major instinct across his album “Damn”. “Damn” is a reflection of America. A reflection that pinpoints Martin Luther Kings Drum Major Instinct. 

The 2nd track, DNA, has Kendrick boasting to his enemy of his accomplishments and rallying an anthem of put downs on his enemy (Fox News). 

As we journey through Kendrick, we come to the realization on track XXX that Kendrick is not only speaking on his struggle fighting the instinct but America’s struggle as well. 

(On tracks PRIDE, LOYALTY, & DNA In Particular).

on the track Pride, Kendrick states the following lines: “I can’t fake humble just cause your ass is insecure”

In addition to this, the chorus amplifies the difficulty in sharing with others.

“Me, I wasn’t taught to share, but care I care, I care…”

Race supremacy is correlated with white people pushing the agenda that they are above black people simply to reinforce the idea that they are important. 

Not only does the drum major instinct go into the racial struggle, it goes into the struggle between nations. 

Nations today are engaged in a colossal contest for supremacy. The pride and envy to be the best in the world have nations drifting toward the threat of human existence. The nation of America is a culprit of pursuing this dynasty of being the best. 

It is the drift it has taken. 

America has engaged in senseless unjust wars. We are the criminals of that war. And we will continue to engage so long as our pride and arrogance sustains itself as a nation.

Now, let me remind you, I have only described the elements of the drum major instinct that can cause darkness in both ourselves and in society. 

The broader question is if we have the Drum Major Instinct, how do we harness it?

In Dr. King’s sermon, he discusses a parable of two of Jesus’s disciples requesting to be on his left and right hand atop the throne. Jesus’s response was this:

Oh, I see, you want to be first. You want to be great. You want to be important. You want to be significant. Well you ought to be. If you’re going to be a disciple you must be. Yes, don’t give up this instinct. It’s a good instinct if you use it right. Keep feeling the need to be first. But I want you to be first in love. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in moral excellence. I want you to be first in generosity. 

This is what I want you to do.

Jesus changed the definition of greatness. He continued on saying to John and James: “Brethren, I can’t give you greatness and I can’t make you first… the right and left hand are not mine to give, they belong to those who are prepared.” 

The beauty of Jesus’s message is it displays a new form of greatness and a standard of purpose of presenting a pathway of love rather than envy for power.

Many would argue that a world of servitude is not possible. Systematically we reward selfishness and praise individuals who foolishly keep wealth or material for themselves. 

However, the ambition and passion of accepting your means of living through service, rather than envy of wealth and material, will result in more control of the drum major instinct. 

On Kendrick’s 2nd to last track “God.” Kendrick comes to the realization that his life is most prosperous in servicing others. “Ducking haters, my heart is rich my heart is famous. This is what God feel like.”

this message resonates with the Hindu-Moslem-Christian-Jewish-Buddhist belief about ultimate reality which is beautifully summed up in the First Epistle of Saint John:

“Let us love one another: for love is of God: and every one that liveth is born of God, and knowers God. He that liveth no knowers not God; for God is love. . . If we love one another, God dwellers in us, and his love is perfected in us”

The expression of my heart is rich and famous is symbolic of love. Kendrick comes to consensus that love is the answer to moving our old world to a new one. This also resonates with Kendrick saying Love is his spirit. And his spirit is God. (Note: Yahwah is another form of saying God is within you as Kanye West mentions in his album Yeezus.)

A revolution of values needs to prosper. Our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. The option, in Dr. King’s opinion comes in two ways: 

“nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihalation.” 

The choice between chaos or community may be too late. And systematically the growing number of inequality has risen the anxiety of society. 

However, let us understand that the simple decision of me writing this blog was not an attempt to change who you are. 

But to give you perspective and understanding of Martin Luther King Jr. 

The courageousness and fearlessness of Dr. King inspired me to venture on this creative journey. Just like you, I am harnessing a drum major instinct to find importance and purpose in my life. Dr. King should be celebrated more than just one day out of the calendar  year. He is a figure we must all aspire to to progress our individual selves to a better life.

His message must be carried forward as it will only progress our society toward a better state. 

We may not be able to change the world, but we certainly have the power to change ourselves. I challenge you to recognize your desires and ask yourself the following question: 

“Why do I have this desire and does it have any correlation to envy, recognition, or importance”. 

Seek out acceptance in your life through service and acceptance of others.

If you enable and harness control over the drum major instinct you may find your heart “full of riches” and be more accepting and satisfied in the life and person you have become. Rest in Peace Martin Luther King Jr. And thank you for this sermon. 

Proverbs 11:2:

When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

-Killedmonkmusic