The King of the Movement

This month marks the observance of  the birthday of slain civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Since the observance of Dr. King's birthday as a national holiday, which also resulted in the creation of 'President's Day' (a Reagan administration compromise), I've been concerned over our nation losing sight of this holiday as just another day off work.
Like Memorial Day, Veteran's Day, and the Fourth of July.
The only difference here is that, unless you live in a sunbelt state, you can't grill outside.
Dr. Martin Luther King has been a fixture in African-American culture for years. I have yet to meet an African-American who knows nothing of Dr. King and his contributions to modern society.
But how many children of other races are learning what they need to about it?
With many violent crimes involving mass murder these days, it's important.
Columbine.  Virginia Tech.  Gabby Giffords.  Newtown, Connecticut (which a still-recovering Giffords herself recently visited).
The aforementioned crimes were committed not by inner-city minorities, but rather suburban white kids, some from upper-middle class households.
Society tends to rush to judgment anytime there's a report of a drive-by shooting in an urban area and justify the need to flee to the suburbs (often called "White Flight").  Or a stabbing murder in the streets.  This is where racial profiling unjustly comes in.
If we look back at our own American history, we'll find that nothing could be further from the truth.
Dr. Martin Luther King adopted a policy of 'civil disobedience' as the vehicle for getting his message across. The time to end racial segregation in America had to end if our country was to move forward.
Dr. King's followers, which I will point out were BOTH black AND white, did not use guns, knives, or other weapons to make their point.  Civil disobedience on a mass scale was nothing new.  It was used in India by Mohondas Gandhi, in Cuba by Fidel Castro, and Dr. King simply brought it here.
And it brought change in all three examples.
India finally won its independence from the British.  Castro and his supporters toppled the corrupt Batista dictatorship, and Dr. King sadly, never lived to see the dream he said he had in the speech that still endures today, had finally come true.
That's not to say, however, that the fight is over.  Yet, Dr. King's mission was fought for using the weapon of  the human heart and not guns, knives, or clubs.
Change without weapons.
Not found in the Remington, Mossberg, or Dan Wesson factory.
The human heart is the ultimate weapon.
Hate.  Love.  They can be used for evil and good, respectively.
The human heart is the only weapon that can kill the spirit of evil without taking a life at the same time.
No child should ever learn hate, whether its open or hidden behind racist pejoratives.
Only love can conquer hate.  That's the ultimate weapon.
And let's look at our arsenals, shall we?
A firearm is useless without someone to pull its trigger.  Now picture that someone with hatred in their heart and evil in their mind as they pull the trigger of that firearm solely to take the life of another human being.
While Dr. King never held public office or any typical position of power, the recognition of his birth as a national holiday is well-deserved.
The civil rights movement that he's credited with championing from the mid-1950s to his death in 1968 sparked change in every corner of our country...and the world.
While I could name several examples, for the sake of space, I can be summarize it by the EEOC announcement you see on a TV station ID every now and again.
"WXXX is an equal opportunity employer, and employs without regard to race, color, age, sex, religion or national origin."
Oh, and don't forget that guy presently in the White House, now serving his second term.  As the country's first black President, you know a woman in the Oval Office is just around the corner.
We have more federal protections in place that protect civil rights now than in any other time in our nation's history.
We're a better nation because of it.  Is there more work to be done?  Always.
This is what we can't lose sight of as we observe Dr. King's birthday.  Along with those others who took part in the fight for civil rights in this country.
The Susan B. Anthonys.  The Harvey Milks.  The Cesar Chavezes.  The list goes on and on.
And more names will be added.
But that's up to us.  And the next generation.  And the generations to follow.


NEXT WEEK:  The End