Happy MLK Day!
Today we pause to celebrate the live and mission of the late Reverend Dr Martin Luther King Jr. He worked tirelessly to end racial segregation and to promote equality. I have a dream, too, and it’s that we can get to the point where we don’t have to talk about it anymore. I love that famous answer by RBG to the question, “When will there be enough women on the Supreme Court?” And on one hand, I agree with her, but, with all due respect to the late, great RBG, the real answer should be, “When we don’t have to talk about it anymore,” and I feel the same way about the current state of racial bias. I’m not saying we should just stop talking about it; I’m saying we should keep working until there isn’t anything to talk about.
I have mixed feelings about MLK Day; sadness and guilt.
Sadness: Because he was an amazing man, and we need more amazing men and women in our world. We need rule breakers. We need people willing to put their lives on the line for what they believe. We don’t have that anymore; we just have politicians, who constantly work to try and grow their power and keep their jobs, and businessman to constantly work to try and grow their power and keep their jobs. And we have the great masses of people just trying to get through the day, pay their mortgage, take care of their family, stay healthy and have time to play video games and watch movies.
Guilt: People killed MLK Jr. Okay, true, a person killed MLK Jr, and his name was James Earl Ray. (Although, Coretta Scott King and many others believe the FBI was involved.) Ray was a criminal; he should’ve been in prison at the time of the assassination. Nonetheless, he was a white man. Although I wasn’t there when a white man pulled that trigger, I still feel the guilt and shame. I feel some of that same guilt and shame when I think about Jesus’ crucifixion. Although I wasn’t there, it’s idiotic to think that I would’ve tried to defend him, with that whole crowd screaming “Crucify him!” I’m just not that brave. I’m sure I would’ve been chanting right along with that crowd. Nobody is that brave. At least, nobody I know. But the late, great Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. WAS that brave. And we shot him.
I’d like to think that if he were alive today, he’d still be an influencer. Maybe he’d be a politician. Maybe he would’ve been the first black president. I wonder if I would’ve voted for him. I hope I would’ve. I probably wouldn’t have, though. I expect he would’ve been a Democrat, and I probably would’ve let my Conservative political beliefs interfere with my decision-making process and keep me from voting for him. I guess we’ll never know.
We need more men and women like the late Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
