Martin Luther King, Jr. On the Edge

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday. I don’t have work today because of Mr. King. Also, I’m white. Can a white person truly grasp what he did for the civil rights movement in the United States? Probably not fully. But I sure as heck do appreciate it. He left a legacy that’s inspiring, dramatic, honorable, Godly and worthy of recognition. I’m most impressed by his ability to lead on a platform that preached service.

“Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.”

He was fearless in his speaking. He was inspired in his preaching. He was humble in his leading. What I can learn from him may not be so much about race, but more about how to be a great human being. I can serve. I can do the right thing when I have the opportunity. Most of what he spoke about were those two things, serving and doing the right thing. It’s a shame the way his life ended. I’m sure if he were still alive today, he’d still be forging ahead making this country better. Perhaps in his death, though, the message became that much more powerful.

“If a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

So on this day, celebrate the equality we have in the United States. I don’t care if you’re black, white, brown, yellow, red or blue (you’re welcome Na’vi people), we live in a the greatest country in the world. Part of that is due to the accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr.

“All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.”

“If you are called to be a street sweeper, sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.'”