Let Freedom Ring!

Today is truly a day to reflect on just what makes this country the greatest nation on earth! On Martin Luther King Day we celebrate here in America that all people (at least here in America) are created equal! Of course we all know that ALL people throughout the world are created equal-its just that many of the other nations don't subscribe to this theory. Whether its black Africans in Sudan, white Africans in Zimbabwe, Kurds in Turkey, Indigenous people in South America, Gypsies (Roma) throughout Europe, and women throughout most of the Middle East. I could go on-but today we celebrate and hope that our American model soon catches up with the rest of the world. America of course doesn't have clean hands. No nation or people does. Every ethnic group has been discriminated against at one time or another in the world. But lets look at America today. We have just elected a president of African origin. His chief of staff is Jewish. The Speaker of the House is an Italian-American woman, the Senate Majority Leader is Mormon. Even the outgoing administration exemplified Dr. King's vision. We had a Mexican-American Attorney General and an African-American woman, the descendant of slaves as the Secretary of State. Now, I'm no bean counter and I'm no fan of political correctness. I don't vote for someone because of what they represent. I vote for someone for what they believe in. If that person is black, brown, yellow, red, white or blue- who cares?! As long as they are qualified and represent my philosophy-not my cultural or ethnic background. And that's what true color blindness is. We are all truly different and people from different ethnic and religious groups are different! But under the eyes of the law in this great nation, when it comes to civil rights- we aren't different-and that is what make us unique from the rest of the world! And we walk our talk! Of course Dr Martin Luther King, a man of the cloth, a man rooted in deep Christian values fought hard-giving his life to wake this nation up to that! I'm sure he is looking down from that great mountain right now and singing out-
"My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."


(photo- The Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, TN where Dr King was assassinated on April 4, 1968-now part of the National Civil Rights Museum)