Reflect
Holiday time for remembrance

Only a week after classes started, students, faculty and staff will get a day off. For most college students, this will be a day to sleep in and extend the weekend as long as possible. However, it’s important to remember the reason for the holiday and the man behind it.

Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, honoring the birthday of the man who devoted his life to ending segregation and achieving equality for all. King made tremendous strides in the civil rights battle and was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.

The national holiday Monday honors this man, his life, his work, his philosophy, his infamous “dream.”

How many people will actually celebrate King’s legacy this year? Many people take Martin Luther King, Jr. Day for granted, without giving a second thought to the significance of the day. They treat it as any other day off from work or school.

This year, especially, we should reflect on the meaning behind the holiday and remember the lessons of peace that King taught.

Sept. 11 brought war to the nation’s focus. Religious and racial discrimination became more prevalent. People of Middle Eastern descent were labeled as possible terrorists. Followers of Islam were discriminated against for their faith.

King made amazing progress toward equality, promoting peace the whole while. He taught us that change can happen, and it doesn’t require violence to bring it about. King showed us that passive resistance can be just as effective in instigating change.

While war and violence are on our minds, we should reflect on the life of a man who embraced love. This year we should try to learn something from King’s life. We should apply his lessons of love and tolerance to our own lives. We shouldn’t just sleep through the day again.

King’s philosophy of equality and peace are as relevant and critical now as they were in the ‘60s. King’s dream for the country has not been realized, so now it must be our dream.

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal.”

credits

TCU Daily Skiff © 2002