MLK

Today is a national holiday in the States, commerating the life and achievements of Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. In some parts of the country there are candlelit vigils, services, projects to serve the disadvantaged taking place. In other places its a time for family and friends. Or an extra day off, a chance to hit the shops. Again. When its like that I feel a bit like I do at Christmas where everyone's partying and kinda forgotten why. I want to make a bumper sticker saying something like
"Civil Rights is for Life, not just for MLK Day"

In the news and magazines, there's a lot more about the story behind the story of Martin Luther King. The internal wranglings of the civil rights movement, or the personal indiscretions of Dr King. It reveals the flawed hero. Its easy to get distracted by all that stuff and forget what was achieved, what he stood for. And yes the other stuff is a bit disorientating, but then so is some of the stuff about King David in the Bible and I'm still reading Psalm 23.

What I love about MLK and the movement at that time is that equality was not just an ethical issue, a justice issue. Racial equality, gender, class equality was, is, a spiritual issue, a God thing. A battle against evil. Such inequalites were (still are) offensive to God, and wrong, so Christians got up and did something about it. Their example showed there is a difference between saying you disagree with injustice and being proactive enough to change the staus quo.

So what of today - how should you spend MLK day? Find someone of a difference race and hang out? Ask a colleague about any "isms" they encountered and hear their story? I don't quite know, but much as I appreciate a day off, I think I'd like to do more than shop.

Ever the idealist, I believe that inequality of all kinds should be confronted and changed. Ever the optimist , I think the church should lead the way. Maybe less passivity about what really matters and more proactivity would be a decent place to start. For me included.