“…free at last”.
Greetings and salutations from the sand, sun and surf of Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and the sunny, delightfully cool island of Nantucket. Great to be with you on this Monday morning, the 19th day of January, 2015. MLK Day here in the U.S., as the nation celebrates the remarkable life and times of Martin Luther King, Jr.. A man who seemingly (single handed), took this nation (back in the early 1960’s), from a country where blacks were considered second class citizens--peoples who were marginalized and oppressed, beaten and bloodied for far too long–forward even in death, to a nation that even though still has a long way to go, is much more tolerant and kind to the racial diversity all around him or her, seeing with real eyes that color is only skin deep, having nothing to do with ‘the content of one’s character.
Yes, it was really this man, and this man alone, who sparked something deep within US all, prompting even great men like Bobby Kennedy into even greater deeds all the way until he was also shot by an assassins bullet. Former U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson was the catalyst in creating the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and should be celebrated as such,carrying on the traditions that began with the heroic efforts of one African-American preacher who believed that a better life awaits all; as we attend to our better Angels…
Combined with the spirit of millions who marched with him on Selma and Washington D.C., so many moons ago, culminating in the ‘Sunday, Bloody Sunday’ march where people of color were run down by those whose hearts could not open and whose eyes could not see…
The error of OUR collective past as a sovereign nation of immigrants and upstarts from far away lands cannot be swept under the rug, thus WE have a duty to remember the struggles of the past, so that they will not repeat themselves in the future, truly creating “that more perfect union” our former leaders spoke of so often. The polar opposite of doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results (the very definition of insanity). Hence, a national day of remembrance of a great man who took US all to that mountain top. May have well have been “El Capitan” in Yosemite National Park, a four hour ride from SFO, where two brothers climbed a 3000 foot granite face in the hopes of reaching the summit. Without ropes, with just their feet and their hands, against all odds, a feat never done before, done this past week for the first time, reached that summit. Enduring those lonely nights on that cold, rock face, armed with only their FAITH and guts to reach that monumental perch–a space high above the pettiness and ‘things’ of man; a space where not only Eagles fly, but also those who dare follow them.
Full in Knowledge, hence comprehension of what the word freedom actually feels like. Where that dream of little black boys holding hands with little white girls is actually fulfilled. A metaphor for all mankind as this ‘terror’ alert vies for our ever growing attention, something people hell bent on destruction tend to demand. Reverend King did not bow to that brand of hate then, nor should we now. He laughed at it and defied it with Love, forgiveness, understanding, and above all peaceful demonstrations against it’s continued presence. Keeping in mind the gift of SERVICE to your fellow man. Who may just turn out to be your savior, as you give that sandwich or blanket to a homeless man of the streets, never really knowing who that man really is…
A magnificent humanization of Divine Will within the moral universe. An arc that is long, ever bending towards JUSTICE!
Have a great MLK DAY and week ahead!
PRESERVE THE WILDERNESS! Peace~M
