Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

Next Monday is Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (1929-1968). He is a remarkable symbol of equal rights for all Americans not matter what the color of their skin. He believed in peacefully protest to show the world how thing could and should be in our country and around the world. He is one of those great people who come along only when there is a huge need for people to have a strong leader. I come from the old south and have seen racism in action. I don’t think even Dr. King could have envisioned the day that an African America man would have been able to run for President of the United States although I am sure it was part of his dream for equal rights. When you look at the people who marched in the parades last weekend they are of all colors. Great progress has been made since the time of Dr. King. Unfortunately, I know from remarks made to me by some older individuals that the hate and fear they feel may never be driven out of our culture completely but I also know that I have a child who feels that there is no reason to hate or fear someone because of the color of their skin. She made a friend at school this year whose family is from Iran and when we talked about it she felt that people should be judge individually and not because of their nationality. I must admit to being a proud mother because of her views on life. In a time when fear and hate is being encouraged by the president and his administration it is good to see that our children still have the capacity to love and care for anyone no matter where they may have started life. If there is one danger to our way of life in this country it is hate, we must guard against being lead down that unfortunate path. If we are to continue to have a free and open nation it must start with love and freedom for all Americans not just the privileged few.

As for what is going on between our three presidential candidates, I can only hope that Hilary Rodham Clinton was taken out of context when it came to what she said about Dr. King because no present day leader of our country should hold those types of views about a man who has become a symbol of the vision we work toward everyday for our country and the world.