July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
A message for us all (1/19/04)
As I See It
Today is the day we have set aside to honor Martin Luther King Jr.
When I think of him, the “I Have a Dream” speech comes to mind. No matter what color our skin is, we all want our children and ourselves to be judged by the content of our character not by our appearance. Most of us agree with the message of that speech as it applies to ourselves.
The only thing I don’t agree with is the implication that it is only black people who are discriminated against.
Personally, I think all of us have experienced some form of discrimination. We are all judged by our appearances simply because that is the only thing most people have to go on.
We share the outrage at injustice. Unfortunately, all of us have a different idea of exactly what constitutes injustice. We are so used to discrimination that we don’t even see it. As an example I suggest you watch some of the old James Bond films. Behavior that was acceptable when the earlier movies were made would land Mr. Bond in jail today on allegations of sexual harassment or possibly worse charges.
When I think of Martin Luther King Jr. I also think back to the year 1963. It was a time of great upheaval. Our president was murdered. Our cities and streets were in turmoil because people were fed up with the status quo. They were angry because of a system that would not allow them even a chance to take responsibility for themselves.
There were people with enough courage to stand up and say, “This is wrong!” Because of the courage of those outspoken few, the rest of the voiceless felt there was a chance for positive change at last.
In spite of Dr. King’s message of nonviolence, the country exploded. There was fighting in the streets, in the jungles of Vietnam, other little countries we had never heard of and seemingly everywhere.
1963 was a very bad year. It was not just the country that was in turmoil. My home life was in as much of a state of flux as was the country. The fighting was escalating in our home as much as it was in the streets. It was as if patience, understanding and tolerance had abandoned the earth. A few months later I was removed from that environment after some truly ugly events transpired. It was several years before things settled down.
Things got worse before they got better, both for the country and for myself. It did get better. Much better.
A few years later I took my mother and my baby brothers to downtown Dayton to look at the Christmas displays in the stores. Michael was just learning his colors. He pointed and said, “Look, Mommy. There’s a brown man.” Growing up in an all-white rural community he had never seen a brown man before.
I cringed and prepared for the worst. But the gentleman just smiled and walked on by. If that had happened in 1963 we would have been lucky to have escaped with our lives. The country was no longer as belligerent and had calmed down a bit.
Life has changed since then. Violence and cruelty are no longer part of my life. I doubt if there is a child in America who has not seen a brown man at one time or another.
Discrimination and injustice still exist and we have a long way to go to fulfill Dr. King’s dream but we are making progress. It may not be enough but at least we are moving in the right direction.[[In-content Ad]]
When I think of him, the “I Have a Dream” speech comes to mind. No matter what color our skin is, we all want our children and ourselves to be judged by the content of our character not by our appearance. Most of us agree with the message of that speech as it applies to ourselves.
The only thing I don’t agree with is the implication that it is only black people who are discriminated against.
Personally, I think all of us have experienced some form of discrimination. We are all judged by our appearances simply because that is the only thing most people have to go on.
We share the outrage at injustice. Unfortunately, all of us have a different idea of exactly what constitutes injustice. We are so used to discrimination that we don’t even see it. As an example I suggest you watch some of the old James Bond films. Behavior that was acceptable when the earlier movies were made would land Mr. Bond in jail today on allegations of sexual harassment or possibly worse charges.
When I think of Martin Luther King Jr. I also think back to the year 1963. It was a time of great upheaval. Our president was murdered. Our cities and streets were in turmoil because people were fed up with the status quo. They were angry because of a system that would not allow them even a chance to take responsibility for themselves.
There were people with enough courage to stand up and say, “This is wrong!” Because of the courage of those outspoken few, the rest of the voiceless felt there was a chance for positive change at last.
In spite of Dr. King’s message of nonviolence, the country exploded. There was fighting in the streets, in the jungles of Vietnam, other little countries we had never heard of and seemingly everywhere.
1963 was a very bad year. It was not just the country that was in turmoil. My home life was in as much of a state of flux as was the country. The fighting was escalating in our home as much as it was in the streets. It was as if patience, understanding and tolerance had abandoned the earth. A few months later I was removed from that environment after some truly ugly events transpired. It was several years before things settled down.
Things got worse before they got better, both for the country and for myself. It did get better. Much better.
A few years later I took my mother and my baby brothers to downtown Dayton to look at the Christmas displays in the stores. Michael was just learning his colors. He pointed and said, “Look, Mommy. There’s a brown man.” Growing up in an all-white rural community he had never seen a brown man before.
I cringed and prepared for the worst. But the gentleman just smiled and walked on by. If that had happened in 1963 we would have been lucky to have escaped with our lives. The country was no longer as belligerent and had calmed down a bit.
Life has changed since then. Violence and cruelty are no longer part of my life. I doubt if there is a child in America who has not seen a brown man at one time or another.
Discrimination and injustice still exist and we have a long way to go to fulfill Dr. King’s dream but we are making progress. It may not be enough but at least we are moving in the right direction.[[In-content Ad]]
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