A very happy MLK day to all of you. I spent the day cleaning the house and staring blankly off into the space. For some strange reason, I felt the need to stay up until 3am last night, effectively undoing all of my hard work on catching up on my sleep. Who knew sleeping could be such a lot of work? Certainly not me!
But, that’s neither here nor there. For today! Is MLK Day! And, unlike most holidays that don’t involve decorations or parties (Columbus Day and Veterans Day, I’m looking at you), MLK Day is a holiday that I actually care about. It’s especially moving this year, because tomorrow our country will inaugurate our first black president…. and that’s really something.
I read an interesting article the other day about how Martin Luther King would have been damn happy and proud about the inauguration of Barack Obama. At the same time, however, he would have seen it as a waypoint and not the end of a journey (I would link the article for you, but it was in one of those free daily papers and their archives aren’t online). Basically, MLK was a fighter and an activist and nothing short of world peace and complete and utter racial harmony. Heck, even with peace and harmony, he probably would have fought for us all to get puppies like Malia and Sasha.
Being a bit of a fighter myself, I can appreciate that article writer’s perspective. Just because we’ve come a long ass way, that doesn’t mean that we have a lot farther to go. It’s good to stop along the journey and admire the view, but just because it’s kindof nice partway up the mountain doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t try to make it to the top. Or at least drag your sorry behind along a little farther.
I think about my Mom whose high school integrated while she was a student there. I think about my Nephew and the fact that he will grow up never having known a world where only Rich White Men were our presidents. Now we just have to work on the fact that our best schools are filled with privileged white kids. And the whole rich men part of the presidencies.
I think about Proposition Eight in California and how incredibly unfair it is to withhold a basic human right (marriage) from gay people. How only a few decades ago we withheld that same right from interracial couples. I don’t know if this cheers me up (slow as it is, we’re still making progress) or depresses me (how many decades will it be before marriage can be enjoyed by everyone?)
I try to be a glass half full type of person, but when it comes to this stuff, is it better to think of the glass as half empty? “Well, the world is more equal than it was twenty years ago, so that’s not bad.” But there is still so much inequality left to deal with.
And, sadly, I must admit to thinking that I’m tired enough to want another day off tomorrow.
