Monday, January 17, 2011

MLK Day

I have a real two day weekend this week because of this holiday. This Martin Luther King Jr. Day.

I have been watching a lot of Mad Men lately (a totally rad show, by the way, which makes me wish I had 60's dresses and wore them regularly). They are getting to the era in the show where integration is an issue.

It made me think.

We learned about integration in school and Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr but my parents lived through all that. Granted, they were just entering the double digits or teen years but it is really interesting to me that just a generation ahead of me, people were experienceing HUGE change in the US.

I don't know though, maybe I am in the midst of experiencing change in America with the "integration" of the gay community and allowing them the same rights as others.

MLK was a true leader and I am glad he is recognized nationally. I am envious of his voice and grassroot organization abilities. We are still fighting for equal freedoms today and probably always will be. I hope that today people take a second to think about Martin Luther King and recognize that he stood for equality, peace, and love. We could definitely use all those thing in the world today.



And don't you think this quote from MLK Jr is interesting? "A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom." Damn, that guy was great!

1 comment:

The Momma said...

Thank you for your reflection. I stayed late today to attend my school's MLK music program. I wasn't going to stay but when I was sneaking out hoping noone noticed, I noticed all but 3 staff had already used the very same plan. Feeling guilty I stayed and was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I was thinking back to when those events actually occurred- yep, not that long ago- and how amazing it is we have a black president yet how divided that continues to make us. Respect everyone despite our differences - there is our daily challenge. Thanks for the reminder.