I Salute Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Monday, January 15, 2007 was Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day which actually fell on his birthday this year. I'm too young to remember Dr. King but I'm not to old or young to salute him. In school they teach you the highlights of who he was and what he did for the struggle for civil rights in America. Every year you learn of his humble beginnings, his great intelligence, his eloquence and his sacrifice. You learn about the Montgomery Bus Boycott, the March on Washington, and his assassination. You hear his famous "I have a Dream Speech and the end of his Promised Land speech.

On Monday morning on the way to the gym for my early morning workout I was blessed to be able to hear that final speech made on April 3, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee in it's entirety. I was moved almost to the point of tears and surely to the point of a few Hallelujah's. It inspired me to actually want to read the book that he talked about writing in that speech. It made me reflect on how fleeting our lives are and how important it is to make the most of every opportunity. It made me think about how much has changed and how little has changed since 1968. The biggest change is that we no longer have people who are willing to stand up for what is right even if it hurts, and to speak for those that the world would rather pretend does not exist. Not even the blacks and minorities exclusively but the poor every where, cause it doesn't even really matter in America if you're black or white but really just if you're rich or poor, for that is what truly determines if you're weak or poor.