Happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! Today is the second federal holiday of the year. Most government employees and officials have the day off. The U.S. Postal Service is not delivering mail today and post offices are closed.
If you have 17 minutes to spare. Listen to Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream Speech."
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Birthday celebrations and national holidays end up being empty gestures if they are not about the authentic quest to fulfill Dr. King's dream to end militarism and to end the systematic oppression of the poor and the workers. What would Dr. King say about the violence against the earth inherent in the human causes of global warming? President Obama's recent eloquent message in Tucson about unity and healing can help move us toward domestic civility. However, we must also address this fundamental core of violence present in our culture.
Would Dr. King be surprised and shocked at the recent killings and attempted assassination in Arizona? Each day the violence of war is promoted as the way to solve our international problems by our president, generals and the culture at large. Whether it is the violent electronic games our children play or our history of brutal slavery and the bloody marginalization and elimination of indigenous people (usually ignored in our school curricula), violence has been our consistent historical solution of choice.
If YOU are looking for a meaningful way to pass the day, visit MLKDay.gov, an official government Web site operated by the Corporation for National and Community Service that allows you to type in your hometown or ZIP code and find nearby volunteer opportunities.
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