Last Monday was Martin Luther King Day. It’s a holiday that I’ve noticed not everyone observes. It seems important, however, that we do – that we all, as Americans, do.
There are certain lives worthy of our celebration and certain moments in history that deserve acknowledgment. The change of historical direction that King brought about is a major reason that equality has cemented its place as a norm in American life and why egalitarianism has supplanted many of the elitist facets of even public institutions.
Although racism still continues to exist and will drift forward however marginally, race as a defining factor of daily life has diminished in large part because of the efforts of King and the movement he helped lead into a new era of civil rights.
Anyone with an appreciation for the Constitution, if not basic fairness, ought to take the time to applaud the sacrifices of leaders such as MLK, who have risked their lives to shine a light on the injustices within society.
There are very few holidays set aside to observe civil rights leaders. We honor explorers, politicians, soldiers, deities, but for citizens of a democracy, whose rights seem so part and parcel of who we are, it seems that we need to make a bigger celebration of men like King, who struggled to secure the basic human dignity that is the birthright of every person.
It’s inspiring to know that his was a message that not even an assassin’s bullet could conquer. His dream of a better world lives on today and seems to be realized to a greater extent with every new generation.
It’s important that we don’t forget such an important message nor the brave leaders who fought to bring it to a society mired in the status quo. Martin Luther King was one such man. But there are injustices still. Which will be the next injustice to fall? And who will be the next to have a world-changing dream?
