Today is the holiday but Dr. King's birthday was actually this past Friday. This is what I put up last year around this time:
MLK Day
I've always felt uncomfortable saying "Happy Martin Luther King Day." I don't say "Happy Presidents Day" or "Happy Columbus Day" either, and I could go on about other holidays in this same space. It just doesn't seem fitting to my eyes or sound comfortable rolling off my lips.
This holiday also didn't mean a whole helluva lot to me in years past. MLK Day wasn't a holiday while I was still in the military and I worked every MLK Day after it was designated as such... the Feds and State gub'mint employees are about the only ones off today... nearly everyone else works. My only observance of Dr. King's birthday in years past was to occasionally re-read his "I Have A Dream" speech, and I performed that small act only after the the internet came into being. (I was busy being inducted into the Air Force on the day Dr. King delivered the speech at the Lincoln Memorial, so I missed it.)
But this year is different, innit? Tomorrow the first African-American man in our history will be sworn into the highest office in the land. We should ALL be proud of that fact, regardless of our political views or loyalties. While Dr. King's dream hasn't been fully realized by any means, tomorrow's inauguration of Barack Obama at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol marks the biggest symbolic step in that direction I've seen in MY lifetime. It makes me proud to be an American... so VERY proud.
Happy Martin Luther King Day.
I stand by those words one year later. While I am NOT pleased with what Mr. Obama has done as president I remain proud of the fact America elected him. One is tempted to speculate about the role race played in the election but I'm not gonna go there. Not today... or any other day for that matter. I believe the American electorate made a supremely dumb move in electing Mr. Obama but that thought is based solely upon his laughingly/shockingly (you choose) thin qualifications for the land's highest political office and his political ideology. It's too bad someone like Thomas Sowell or Colin Powell couldn't be sitting in Mr. Obama's chair today. Those gentlemen may or may not be more deserving but they sure as Hell are better qualified.
MLK Day is a day off for some of my friends, but pretty much just another day for me. It was a busy weekend for ski resorts - back in the day, but now it means the post office is closed. No racial overtones here - I feel the same way about President's Day, Columbus Day, etc.
ReplyDeleteI never thought that MLK deserved a holiday in his honor. Even though I have deep respect for his mission, I think America, and the American experience/story is much bigger than individuals.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like Lincoln's b-day, nor do I understand Columbus Day either. I could go with Washington's Birthday, but if we must have a holiday, President's Day is okay.
Memorial Day. Yep.
Labor Day. Yep.
Veteran's Day. Yep.
If we're going to honor a group, or a movement, I think it should be for all involved in it...not just its' most noted spokesman.
But that's just me.
Cool Blog. I will be back for more great reading!
ReplyDeleteYeah, what Andy said. If a space alien was living in my laundry room, and he one day asked me to explain why "President's Day" had to be de-individualized and scrubbed of any mention of George & Abe...while MLK day remains inextricably welded to an individual's biography...I'd have no idea how to answer that. Guilt, I suppose. Makes people do funny things.
ReplyDeleteThen he'd go for the kill: We were trying to get past our race-based animosities in 1776, we're trying today, when are we gonna get past it? "Is America ready for a black President?" was used repeatedly by those who wanted the black President, for all sorts of insidious reasons besides His blackness, who inside had no doubt whatsoever that if they pushed hard enough, they'd succeed; and now that He's there, not a soul among them is ready to say "I take back what I said about America, we did have it in us after all."
The sad part is, if we really followed King's advice about judging one another by the content of character rather than by color of skin, Obama would be a used car salesman and nothing more than that.
Lou: I haven't been out and about yet today, but based on my "lookin' out the window" observations it seems most denizens of Beautiful La Hacienda Trailer Park have the day off.
ReplyDeleteAndy: VERY well said. And I'm in complete agreement.
Realliveman: Thanks for the kind words and thanks for dropping by. I like your blog, too, and will definitely be paying you a lot o' visits.
Morgan: Your final paragraph really says it all. My allusions to the role race played in the election have everything to do over-compensating.
Hear, hear.
ReplyDeleteInteresting isn't it - that we feel like we have to point out that while we may not approve of Obama, we sure are proud that the country elected him.
ReplyDeleteI know it's not probable that you are saying it for this reason Buck, but I find it fascinating that those 2 statements seem to go hand-in-hand alot these days. We can't disapprove of the President w/out indicating it's not because of his race.
So much for the vaunted post-racial president.
We can't disapprove of the President w/out indicating it's not because of his race.
ReplyDeleteSelf-defense, Kris. We ALL know even mild disapproval of The One is an indication of raaacism in some circles, now, don't we? cf: that frickin' obnoxious-beyond-belief idjit Janeane Garofolo.
"Well, just paint my face black, and call me a racist!"
ReplyDelete- J.C. Watts
No, J.C. didn't really say that. Yeah, it's a pain, Buck. And, "frickin' obnoxious-beyond-belief idjit" does not go quite far enough to describe Queen Janeane. But, I know that profanity is not allowed on this hyar blog!
I, for one, am very happy that a black man CAN be elected President of these United States. Now, if we can only find one (I mean, a black MAN) willing to run.
JUST. SAYIN'.
But, I know that profanity is not allowed on this hyar blog!
ReplyDeleteAh... we've been known to drop an occasional F-bomb when circumstances warrant - we're mostly all adults here. But I generally do like to keep it clean in print.
Your point about man - spelled EM... da-da-da-bomp... AY... da-da-da-bomp... EM... da-da-da-bomp! - is VERY well taken. Which is why I gave a tip o' the ol chapeau to Powell and Sowell. Powell had his chance but passed for personal reasons (his wife?), which I can understand.