Tuesday, April 04, 2006

April 4: The Day the King Jr. Died

I remeber it like I was there. The day King Jr. died, April 4, coincidentally is today. I think he was a 'hero' to humanity. So this blog I dedicate to his memory, a man that inspires me to a higher value.

How was he a 'hero'? Martin Luther King Jr. had passion, a zeal for the truth that wouldn't let him rest. In a time when black Americans weren't seen as equals to white Americans King Jr. looked them straight in the face and demanded respect. He used every talent he had and gave it for the cause: his administrative skills, speaking ability, leadership, even his life. He became the martyr for civil rights in America in the same vein as Gandhi in India. He was someone that knew truth was greater than his life, he gave of freely. His blood may have been spilled but it wasn't in vain, things have changed and things are still changing. He was a prophet in their midst and they failed to recognize it.

Something about King Jr. isn't lost on me, his passion. He spoke some words and gave great speeches but he also marched in the streets and sat at sit-in's....man of many words and even more actions. He said something but had the gravity to temper it with action. I admire someone like that. He may be gone but that attitude and passion burn on. It would be an injustice not to celebrate what he did, and in way, we do every day. I look up to him but I never met him.

Most of the people these days lack what he had, a fight for the truth. It's hard to look up to people these days, maybe that passion has been let go or something. Maybe their isn't a cause? Still, I don't see that passion in very many people.

So I 'give it up' to a man that stood up for something he believed in. He tells us that believing in something isn't a bad thing. Lots of people may not like you for standing up for something but if you are fighting for the truth then impressing people is mundane. King Jr. is evidence that doing something you believe in can come to pass. I like that message.

I remember that day, April 4th, coincidentally that's today.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

i sure like what you wrote he sure was a great man. we should have more like him. maybe one day it will be you son mom

Curious Servant said...

Good post.

I have adopted two black children and I'm so glad the world today isn't the same when King lived. We still have a long way to go, but the world he lived in wasn't really that different than the world a century before him.

Thanks for dropping by my blog this evening!