Martin Luther King, Jr. - holiday, January 16, 2012

From The Suburbanite/Steven King, 1/15/12.  Nice opinion article from Ohio, especially for young adults. The following is an  is an excerpt.

. .."... if you want to make a difference in this world – and who among you does not – then you need to know who King was, what he did, what he stood for and his lasting legacy. No matter what field you want to pursue, a knowledge of King will further your career – increase your chances. King, who was assassinated almost 44 years ago in April 1968, led the fight against racial inequality in this country. He believed – and rightfully so – that all people, regardless of their race, color or creed, deserved to be judged on their own merit.

That’s the paint-with-a-broad-brush picture of King, but it doesn’t come close to telling the whole story about him. In fact, it doesn’t indicate the two most important parts of him and what his life really tells us.
King was brave. He wasn’t afraid to push ideas, even if they were tremendously unpopular. Indeed, that’s why he was killed, because there were many who wanted to keep the status-quo and prohibit African Americans from having the same opportunities as whites.

The issues you’ll deal with in your adult live likely won’t carry that kind of historical significance, but even so, it’s never easy to be in the minority. It doesn’t take much to jump in with the big crowd, but it takes a whole lot to stand up to those people. If you really, truly believe in something, though, it’s never wrong to do that, even if your point of view never makes it into the mainstream.

Just think of all the pioneers down through the years and what would have happened – and how different history would be – if they just kept their mouths shut and went with the flow instead of daring to be the opposition. Change is never easy, especially for the people proposing it. But being special isn’t easy, either. If it were, then everyone would have that distinction.

Have the courage of your convictions. Don’t be fearful of standing up – standing out. At the same time, you don’t have to do it – in fact, you shouldn’t do it – through violence, and that was what made King truly extraordinary, even among extraordinary people. He didn’t believe in using the truth – justice and fairness – as a club with which to swing and hit people over the head. He knew violence wasn’t going to prove anything, or change anything, in the long run. That could be done only by changing people’s minds."...  Martin Luther King, Jr. was born January 15, 1929; died April 4, 1968, he was 39 years old.

Posted by Kathy Meeh .