On Monday, I listened to men and women of different races, colors and ages honor the legacy and words of Martin Luther King Jr. as a man who had a dream. Some even had me sniffling while remembering.
Every newspaper and TV news program praised his memory and his dream for the future. But he was assassinated by hate at 39 years old. He was a believer in his countrymen, sure that justice would prevail over hatred. He was a leader for America — a moral leader — who expected us all to do the right thing. But he was assassinated by hate. If only, not just on the day of his national remembrance, but constantly, we would help make Martin Luther King’s dream come true: to have a country where every one is truly respected equally, regardless of race, religion or ethnicity; where segregation is a forgotten word; where civil rights are everyone’s right; where division is only for math and not for people; where there are no longer minorities, but only a majority who live together in harmony; where violence only happens in the jungle between wild animals — if only.
I have to believe it’s a dream many Americans have. Even after eight years of a nonwhite president, Barack Obama being the chief of our nation did not stop prejudice or pain. The dream remains a nightmare.
A new man has taken the oath of office to be the president of the United States, and it would seem to be creating more division, more fear, more distrust, and instead of being one nation, under God, we appear to be closer to “divided we fall.” Each of us must look within ourselves and hopefully choose to make our own small piece of our country a place where politics takes a back seat, and a handshake and smile replace anger and fear. If that would happen all over our nation, maybe “live and let live” could be our motto.
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We have been such a privileged nation, and even the hardships are less than in other countries. Acceptance means “agree to,” and though we can march in protest with thousands of others, and verbally disagree with our political leaders, we have to agree to accept our differences as well as our sameness, and listen to each other. No, we can’t fix everything, nor can we expect everything to be suddenly great, but we can start by pointing a finger at ourselves and get rid of our own bias and fears so that our children and young people will grow up to have a united state, wherever they live in the United States. Let’s fight for the right together.
On a lighter side, here are some fun sayings that were part of a competition for lexophiles. People who love words put together these unique word descriptions: A boiled egg is hard to beat; a bicycle can’t stand alone — it’s just two tired; when the smog lifts in Los Angeles, UCLA; when you see one shopping center, you’ve seen a mall; a thief who stole a calendar got 12 months; and finally, police were summoned to a daycare center where a three year old was resisting a rest. Thanks for sharing, Dody.
If any of you come up with new ones, please let me know by emailing me at [email protected]. Then I hope you have a great day because you deserve it. Thanks for reading. Fly your flag.
Lorrie Woycik is a freelance columnist for the Post-Tribune.