There's a special type of individual that comes along with the ability to change the world. Change cannot happen overnight. It is a process where that individual first lets the world know that a change is needed, and makes the world understand that this change is for the better. This is extremely hard because some people don't want the world to change. Some people see the world as a one dimensional place where they can sweep change under the rug, and people mean nothing to them, and there is no such thing as justice for all. They are happy with a system that they control, and have and would kill to protect in an effort to dominate and prevent the change from happening. This individual has to understand this, and accept that nothing short of complete dedication and conviction to this cause will result in the desired effect of change. That individual has to accept the fact that the people who don't want change will do anything, and that means even murdering you to prevent this change from happening. You must have a thick skin, a smart mind, and know the system in order to break it, and above all else you must make everyone around you want to be a part of the blood sweat and tears that this sacrifice of change will incur. Because the change must be just, and noble, and even though it may seem to benefit a few, it will actually benefit all humankind. Yes it takes a special individual to know accept, and execute these aspects of change. There have been people in history that exhibited these traits of greatness. Which brings us to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
The task of taking on a cause is overwhelming. The idea that a person can change things and make a difference is often daunting to those who would love to do it, but don't know how or where to start. It is one thing for someone to proclaim themselves a leader, but quite another to actually be a person who people want to follow. Great leaders never proclaim that they are the leaders of something..They just are. People want to listen, and follow because they see something of themselves in that person that instills pride, and hope, and gives them a reason to believe that they themselves can change the world for the better, and not the worse. Dr. King offered that feeling. he symbolized a struggle that was just, and moral, and went about defining the idea of that struggle with dignity. Was he a perfect man? Of course not. No one is. But what great men and women have in them is the ability to make the people around them understand that they themselves are not bigger than the cause. The cause encompasses people, and those people are the movement. The difference between the movements of today's America, and the Civil Rights struggle that Dr. King came to be a symbol of, is that struggle was one of humanity. That struggle was one that demanded that you question just who you are, and how you defined yourself as a human being, and how you saw others around you.
When I listen to Dr. King's speeches today, or even read his brilliantly written words, I am moved to want to be a better person not just to other people, but for myself. What Dr. King tried to teach all of us was that truth and love will always outlast lies and violence. And the measure of a person is not how he or she engages in lies or violence, but how they embrace truth and love. It is an awful hard thing to do when trying to change the world, because change is not pretty, nor quick. I can't imagine the intense pressure that was on this man being a symbol. A symbol for not only this just cause that he spirited, but for all of us. Dr. King represented what all of us have in our minds when we picture the strength of America. But unfortunately heaped upon him was the task of having to fight the very things that were the weakness of America. The seedy underbelly of this country that to this day seems to rear its head up constantly.
I am constantly in awe of the intellect, the perseverance, the sheer magnitude of thought that included the possibility of death that this great man had to endure. Why? So that the world could be better. Not just the South, and not just America, but the world. the idea is to enter in this world and try to leave it a better place than when you got here. Dr. King did just that. No he didn't do it alone, as there were millions of people of all races and hues who stood up, and put their lives on the line. But behind every movement that tries to change the perceptions of people there has to be someone to listen to. There must be a voice that can speak for the people of that movement. There has to be someone who you can look at and say, "I want to help make it better." Dr. King made it better. He spoke for all of us. The civil rights movement may have had its roots in the unjust treatment of Black Americans, but the end result of what Dr. King struggled for and eloquently spoke about and led in the movement, benefits all of us, no matter what race you are, no matter who you are, and no matter where you are from.
I am proud to be standing on the shoulders of Dr. King because great people of that ilk only come a few times in our lifetime. Courage, conviction, strength, wisdom, and yes the ability to love in the face of hatred, are all characteristics that we can often strive for, and some do make it. But to lead a people and pursue a just cause to make the world a better place is as noble a thing that anyone can possibly do. His legacy is all of us. When I see children of different races, laughing and playing together, when I look at the rainbow of colors of people who are my friends, and when I see people of all hues working together at a business, I think of Dr. King, and how he would be smiling. yes, we still have a long long way to go. Anyone who says we don't just isn't paying attention. but because Dr. King was here, and just what he did, and stood up for, and eventually died for..The trip is a whole lot shorter than what would have been had he not come along.
Thank you Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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