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It surprises me sometimes that the children of the current generation have no idea why today is important; instead, they're happy to have a day off from school so that they can play video games or eat ice cream for breakfast.  Without getting too far into the rant regarding the corruption of the culture of our youth, I'll digress and move forward.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is often seen as a leader of Black people in America.  He is often seen as a preacher.  He is very often seen as a man with a big mouth, and most oft remembered for the fact that he got assassinated for having one.

Unfortunately, few people remember that he was also a civil rights leader, a brilliant man, and a regular joe, just like the rest of us, who wanted to see a better world for his children, and his children's children, and their children's children.  Most know of the speech he gave, his famous "I Have a Dream" speech, but I was amazed to find out how few people had actually listened to the speech or read the text.

I am probably the whitest of the white girls; I can mimic valley speak to boot, I generally date white guys, and some in my family were what would you consider prejudiced against all other races.  I know there's probably a lot of people out there just like me who were raised in a specific way but choose not to believe in those same morals and choose to regard people for their merits rather than their color. 

That is why Dr. King matters.  As a civil rights activist, Dr. King knew the danger he faced, speaking out against the injustices done to a sect of people in our country.  He knew the struggle we would face after he spoke up.  He knew the effects of his words on all people, not just those with darker skin that listened to his words religiously.  But most importantly, he gave himself to this service, body, mind, and soul, in hopes of improving America and holding true to that freedom on which we built the pillars of this country.

Lack of civil rights is not a race issue, it's a human issue, and I believe Dr. King understood this.  Today, the third Monday of January, is a day of service.  I would ask that any person who was blessed with today off would sit down and consider what service they can do to their neighborhood, city, or state that will help forward the civil rights cause.  I would ask that they find a reason for being today, and that they give themselves to the service that they do for us all.  Today, my friends, is a day of selflessness, and I can only hope that there's still a little of that left in the world.

I leave you with a passage from Dr. King's "I Have a Dream" speech:

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "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."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.