On June 15th 800-years ago, the rebel barons forced bad King John to sign the Magna Carta (the Great Charter) on the fields at Runnymede with banners waving in the wind.

800-years ago this was a big deal. It was a giant step to diminish tyranny. With the stroke of his signature, bad King John began the slow descent of power that was up till then the law of the land and called “Divine Right of Kings.”

From the Magna Carta: "No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights ... or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his peers and the law of the land." [1]

The rebel barons created the charter to benefit the peerage, the landed gentry. Today, we would call them the ruling or upper class—some would say “The 1%.” Yet, they did include some tributes to the “Forest People.” For they recognized that without us—the workers, the serfs, the common folk—the whole process was wrecked, completely! The “Forest People” are the true providers.

The Magna Carta provided that men could not be imprisoned without due cause. They could not be tortured. Their homes were safe from royal land-grabs. And those accused of crimes would be judged by their peers instead of by an all-powerful ruler who was granted a crown and impunity by virtue only of his so-called “Divine” birth-right.

Today, despite our civilized society—despite the social progress that we have made over 800-years, Bob Dylan’s immortal “Blowing in the Wind”[2] still shines light upon our glaring shortfall. The protest song challenges us today and begs for us to act and answer: “How many years must some people exist before they’re allowed to be free?”

This entry in Bentari Project is to honor the memory of the nine prayerful souls at Emanuel A.M.E. church in Charleston, SC whose lives were taken on June 17, 2015.[3] A young man shot them all. His heart was rendered too small. His mind was stocked with hate. A gun was in his hand. He proceeded with force against others without lawful judgment and against the law of the land. May God have mercy on us All!

Image: the early 14th Century renewed version of the Magna Charta cum Statutis Angliae (The Great Charter with English Statutes)[4]

[1] Learn what an 800-yr. old document has in common with Black Lives Matter: http://www.democracynow.org/2015/6/15/what_do_800_year_old_magna

[2] Listen to Peter, Paul and Mary sing the Dylan classic at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld6fAO4idaI

[3] See: http://www.democracynow.org/topics/charleston_church_shooting

[4] Source file and copyright information at (public domain in the United States): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Magna_charta_cum_statutis_angliae_p1.jpg