I have a dream?

"...reject the blind violence."
Lyndon Baines Johnson,
April 4, 1968

I remember vividly two things that happened thirty-nine years ago today. The world remembers the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., I remember I turned 11 years old.

I recall vividly my childhood righteous indignation when shortly after the assassination many openly stated that like Christ, given the opportunity, Dr. King would have frankly forgiven James Earl Ray. I was angry. In my mind, they were placing Dr. King above the Savior.

Many years later when Arizona, New Hampshire and Utah bucked the national trend and created "Human Rights Day" or "Civil Rights Day" as opposed to, "Martin Luther King Jr. Day", I remembered what his associates had said about this man in 1968. I applauded those states’ efforts by reasoning that given his selfless dedication to Civil Rights, Dr. King might be embarrassed at being singled out as the sole honoree and seemingly taking credit for the work of so many. Taking credit for the courage and sacrifice of the Rosa Parks, Phillip Randolphs, Michael Schwerners, and Roy Wilkins of the world. I found it even more impressive when current leaders in the Civil Rights movement recently were seen to be making efforts to convert just another day off into a national day of service.

And now, I wonder…

Why the belittling and bullying to force a change. We’ve changed from honoring the Civil and Human Rights that all peoples of the world deserve and hunger for, to honoring one out of the many who fought and died for those rights.

In Mississippi in 1964, three young men were brutally murdered. Their only crime was registering African-Americans to vote. Nearly forty-five years later, do you remember or even know their names?

Why do some feel the need to legislate service?

In 1994, President Clinton signed legislation designating the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday as a national day of service. Isn’t service a virtue that by definition cannot be forced?

Dr. King, was any of this part of your dream?