We are quickly approaching a national holiday that I feel is celebrated but not necessarily understood. Martin Luther King Day is coming up and there are a host of commemorative events here at Vanderbilt. With such celebrated King scholars at the University like Dr. Lewis Baldwin and Dr. James Lawson anybody who has never attended the MLK festivities and lecture series is sure to miss out on a highly enlightening and enjoyable opportunity.
That being said, however, it is important not only that we celebrate the legendary civil rights figure, Dr. Martin Luther King, jr. but also realize exactly how and why this holiday is critical to both our nation and the world. Forty-five years ago the United States was embroiled in racial and ethnic tensions. Jim Crow still ruled the South and the simmering conditions of poverty throughout the country were put on display by the civil rights movement as it began to gain more momentum. We were also caught in growing tensions about the escalation of American troops in Vietnam and under constant threat of nuclear holocaust with the advent of the Cold War. With all of the darkness in the world, enter Dr. King and the thousands of members of the civil rights movement who galvanized the nonviolent practice of passive resistance and loving your enemy. Their dreams of a unified mankind, with dignity, respect, and love prevailing literally changed the way in which Americans lived, worked, and thought. Dr. King showed us that there was no need to be afraid or threatened by those who are different. People should be respected and loved despite their race, creed, economic prosperity, or lifestyle. While disagreements will always be around, there proved to be a way to settle differences without relegating to the use of violence. It was a promising time marked by optimism, intelligence, and purpose.
Fast forward to the present. How far have we really come since those days of the civil rights era? We are still a nation divided by hostility, and caught in a recent escalation of violence both at home and abroad. War has dominated our relations with the rest of the globe for the past four years, and people are more concerned with new technology for personal entertainment value rather than using it to better themselves and the world around them. Mass catharsis has become the premier commodity. As Dr. King said, "Where do we go from here?" Can we, as a people keep that dream of a better world alive? Can we work to end the necessity of violence and the wages of hatred in this world? Do we elect to work towards a common goal of a brighter tomorrow? It is important to celebrate Dr. King's life and accomplishments this coming holiday, but in order to fully respect his memory we must use the gifts he and others have given us. We must also keep pushing to ensure that his dreams do not die but still have an impact in our present and future world. As MLK, himself stated, "The time is always right to do what is right".
Think about it.
-Eddie
