Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not a saint, no more than Gandhi or Thoreau, not a prince, not a superman--but one who had tremendous influence for the better over our times.  Despite his foibles, I now live in a country where while racism is not disestablished, it is at least not openly welcomed, and in most places not tolerated.  I live in a country, where I can nurture my son and hope all good things for him because we have gradually moved away from the old attitudes.  We aren't where we should be yet--the other day at another blog, I read a violent reaction to the statement that "race shouldn't be a datum."  And that's the important phrasing--shouldn't be.  It remains so today, but let us hope that it continues to dwindle in importance until we are as incensed over a slaughter in Rwanda or Darfur as we are in Bosnia.

And one must ask--is it really so terrible a dream?

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