I just read a couple of posts on other weblogs about Dr. Martin Luther King and it occurred to me that I've never mentioned him on this site; that his past birthdays have gone unnoted here. I decided I should write something but after pummelling and slapping my brain, I've been unable to come up with anything that didn't sound obvious or self-serving. I certainly didn't want to write one of those annoying (even when sincere) screeds where the person likens his own current crusade for whatever to Dr. King, hoping that a little of M.L.K.'s stature will rub off. We ought to all respect the Civil Rights movement in this country, and Dr. King's role in it, enough to not exploit it for our own little causes.
But I also couldn't figure out what to write here if I didn't do that…because the principles of human respect for which Dr. King fought, marched and died are now so obvious and so accepted. Even a lot of the people who still trample on those principles or commit acts of racism seem to realize that's what they're doing and do it anyway. Martin Luther King and his followers raised the bar on what constitutes simple decency in our society today.
Wish I had something profound to say about any of this but it's all been said…mostly by Dr. King, himself. I'm glad we got this holiday to underscore his importance and I still think the people who tried to oppose it should be ashamed of themselves.