LIVE THE DREAM IN 2022?
(OR HAS IT BECOME AN IMPOSSIBLE DREAM?)
Martin Luther King Jr. said:
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"ML" as he was known |
'What are you doing for others?'"
Today marks yet another Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.
After a long struggle, legislation was signed in 1983 creating this Federal Holiday marking the January birthday of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It was first observed as such in 1986.
This third-Monday-in-January milestone is a striking opportunity to consider anew how we live the dream in 2022 as well as honor Dr. King’s legacy in these tumultuous times.
There’s a now-often-overlooked "extra" reason why: In 1994, Congress made the Martin Luther King Jr. Federal Holiday the only federal holiday also designated as a National Day of Service. (There's a Corporation for National and Community Service charged with leading this effort.)
Because of Dr. King’s dedication to human rights and a better society, the holiday was envisioned to become known as –
“A day on, not a day off.” And people were encouraged to perform acts that strengthen communities, empower individuals, bridge barriers, and create solutions.
As such this governmental national “call to service” initiative intended to encourage Americans from all walks of life to work together to provide solutions to our most pressing national problems; to empower us individually and collectively to devise and implement solutions to social challenges and move us closer to Dr. King's vision of a "Beloved Community."
So how's that seem to be working out?
Not so well in these wearying 21st Century days, right? Clearly much work lies before us if we are to realize this governmentally endorsed actuation of Dr. King’s dream.
And, perhaps presciently, MLK Jr. seems to have anticipated this unfortunate reality and formed an observation still painful to recollect.
In 1967 he spoke these words:
"[This year] finds us a rather bewildered human race.
We have neither peace within, not peace without.
Everywhere, paralyzing fears harrow people by day and haunt them by night.
Our world is sick ... Everywhere we turn we see its ominous possibilities."
But wait. There's more.
Before we fall into despair, let's also acknowledge the highly instructive follow-on observation to Dr. King's "ominous" analysis. He continued:
"And yet, my friends,
the hope for peace and goodwill toward men can no longer be dismissed
as a kind of pious dream of some utopian.
If we do not have goodwill toward men in this world,
we will destroy ourselves by the misuse of our own instruments and our own power."
TGIM/MLK Jr. ACTION IDEA: You likely know the following observation, the most famous part of the 1967 message I'm sharing above. As Dr. King concluded --
“We must learn to live together as brothers
or perish together as fools.”
Everyone should live the dream in 2022. Just as MLK Jr. set big goals and focused relentlessly on results, we need sustained citizen action to address today’s social challenges.
Even in the current civilian breach, this National Day of Service should remind us we are the inheritors of his intent. For starters, the ongoing day-on dedication of frontline health and service workers in the face of Covid and cultural challenges is a bright reminder of how the capabilities we all possess might be best applied for the greater good.
TGIM/MLK Jr. IDEA IN ACTION: As we understand it in this day and age -- newly shaped in ways MLK Jr. could, perhaps, have barely conceived in 1967 -- we must behave as we imagine he would have us behave.
And in doing so, is it trite to suggest that we, too, shall overcome?
I think not.
MLK Jr.’s charismatic leadership inspired men and women, young and old, in this nation and around the world. His speeches, lectures and writing stirred the concern and sparked the conscience of a generation. Many of his great thoughts, compellingly expressed, live on today.
Among my favorites:
“Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.
I can never be what I ought to be
until you are what you ought to be.
This is the interrelated structure of reality.”
Already feel you do your part? Then -- in the spirit of Dr. King’s legacy -- share a dream, quote, story, experience of your own.
Share it today.
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