MLK Day

People all over the country will look forward to tomorrow because they will have the day off. I certainly am one of them. How many of us though, will stop and contemplate why we have the day off. I hope to stop and reflect on the life of a man, a man who was a champion for the equal rights of all people. When I hear reruns of his speeches and sermons I never cease to be awed. I sense the historical significance of the man, I hear the prophetic power of the man, I am fascinated by the magnificent display of rhetoric and believe he would have rivaled the greatest of the ancient Greco-Roman orators. In the process of fighting for the rights of his people and all people, he did so non-violently, and so followed in the footsteps of two great teachers, Jesus and Gandhi. He stood unflinchingly in the face of great opposition and was so convicted in his beliefs that he died for them.

And as impressive and inspiring as these traits are, the one that motivates me the most on this particular MLK Day is defined as follows- the quality or state of being worthy, honored, or esteemed. The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was truly that- a man of who believed first and foremost in the DIGNITY of man. He saw that while equal rights involved things like life, liberty, and property it was also much more than that. For in the 1960's, black people had life and property and you could make the argument that they had some measure of liberty, i.e., things may not have been as bad for them as they were a hundred years earlier. But, MLK understood something that the founders of this nation missed, that in reality there were no rights without dignity. He understood that when one was deemed valuable by society, it was only then that the pursuit of happiness was attainable. When one is oppressed, persecuted, or discriminated against because of their color, religion, gender, sexual preference, economic status, or educational level, they have been undignified, and have had their rights violated.

Dignity is one of the longings in all of our hearts. We desire to be seen as worthy and we want to be valued and esteemed. As toddlers and children we sought the approval of parents, relatives, older siblings, etc... And as adults we still seek to be dignified. The great thing about MLK was that he did not just seek to be dignified by others, but he sought to bring dignity to the entire human race. I find that in my own life, I am most alive and am the most happy when I am conferring dignity onto someone else- whether it be my wife, my daughter, a student, or a friend. You see, life only becomes an equal right to an individual when they see it as valuable, and many times it is our humble privilege to bring them the dignity that they desire.

So, thank you MLK for your life and the legacy that you left America and the world. Thank you for bringing a dignity consciousness to the human race. As I stop to remember you this day, my hope is that I can take what you taught me and do my small part to help your dream be realized.