Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Today we celebrate the life of one of the greatest men, and greatest Americans to walk this earth. Dr. King has always been a source of inspiration to me, not just because of the things that he did and what he accomplished, but the way he went about his life. He was a man who spoke out against injustice and fought for human rights, but without violence or hatred.

The words he spoke are as applicable today as they were 40 years ago. We again find ourselves in the midst of a long and brutal war. There is perhaps now an even greater divide between rich and poor. And while I hope and believe that we have made progress against the overt racism seen in the 60s, we still do not live in a country where every person has the same opportunities.

Dr. King was also a man of deep faith. He possessed the kind of faith that I strive for. A faith that not only convicts you to believe certain things, but forces you to act. A faith that will not permit you to react in anger, hostility, or violence, but requires something more of you. A faith that will not allow you to judge another person by their race or class, but one that makes you respect and treat all people with dignity.

Below are two speeches from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. which I find especially inspiring. The first is his famous Mountaintop speech, given the day before his death. This speech reminds me so much of the night Jesus went to the garden with his disciples to pray. He knew the end of his life was near, and while he asked if this cup could pass from him, he did not shy away when God told him that it would not.

The second is one I listened to for the first time today about his opposition to the Vietnam War. He says something in this speech which is so wise and honest, “And I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without speaking clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today, my own government.”

This is the type of man that our country and our world so desperately needs today. A man that will speak out in love against the things that are wrong and will unite people to bring about what is possible.

Today, let us take a moment to reflect back on what Dr. King said and see what we can do to make this more of a reality.