Remberance

I just watched a documentary on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with son and husband.  As I really thought about the bravery and sacrifice of this man, it brought me to tears.  Although the Civil Rights Movement and the Voters Act were not the product of one man, they would not have happened without one man.

What a perfect day when the one man, endowed with bravery, charisma, the right words, integrity and faith find a country ready for change, people needing a leader, and a cause worth dying for.

"I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant". ~Martin Luther King Jr.

 I need to remember to ask my mom what she thought about MLK, Jr. while he was alive.  I wonder what my grandparents' take on him was?  So many white people it seemed, believed in the cause and treating people equally, but couldn't support shaking things up, preferring to wait  until change just happened on its own.    As Dr. King said, " In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."

I wonder about our civil rights causes now.  How can people attack gay marriage or immigration and not call themselves bigots, or haters, or unjust?  How can we watch poverty slowly eat away at human dignity and the hopes of children, and not condemn ourselves?

"All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem." Martin Luther King Jr., 'Strength to Love,' 1963"

We can't sit back on what has been done, on the shoulders of those who bore a heavy load. 

"I submit to you that if a man hasn't discovered something he will die for, he isn't fit to live."

        ~Martin Luther King Jr., Speech in Detroit, June 23, 1963 

We can't forget and tell ourselves, "Yeah, I know what it used to be like."  We need to remember. We need to love.  We need to act.