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| Martin Luther King, Jr. - American Minister |
"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter"
Martin Luther King, Jr.
"You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength."
Marcus Aurelius
"The crisis on our southern border, and for that matter, all other crises on the planet, pale in comparison to the crisis we have bought on ourselves by refusing to speak about things that matter." Bert Carson
"I can be changed by what happens to me. But I refuse to be reduced by it." Maya Angelou
"Instructions for living a life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it." Mary Oliver
"Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do." Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
"Things do not happen. Things are made to happen." John F. Kennedy
"The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have." Vince Lombardi
Sunday January 20, 2019
Sunday January 20, 2019
Tweet from NBC News President Trump won't be participating in any Martin Luther King Jr. Day service activities tomorrow. According to the White House schedule, he "has no public events scheduled.
My Regret
I know where I was 11/22/63, the day JFK was killed.
I know where I was 12/27/67, the day my oldest daughter was born.
I know where I was 1/31/67, the second day of Tet, 1968.
I know where I was April 4, 1968, the day MLK was killed.
I have vivid memories of those four days but no regrets about where I was or what I was doing. But I do have a regret. It is, I don't remember where I was on March 25, 1965, when Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech from the steps of the state capital of Alabama. Actually, my regret is that I wasn't there.
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| The Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. |
I remember all the pertinent events in our history and thank the school system for those huge old televisions we watched on. John Glenn's space flight, all the presidential swearing ins, the assinations of Martin Luther King, JFK, Bobby Kennedy, the moon landing and a bunch of other historical events of my almost 65 year life. So many changes in such a short period of time. I lived through the bomb preparedness of the Cuban crisis.
ReplyDeleteThe most horrific event was the destruction of the twin towers in New York City. With all the hate or envy against our beloved America, I find it very difficult to understand why we continue trying to assist the world as they continue to destroy their own lives and countries. Being a good neighbor is not being a caretaker. I am sickened by the influx of people who refuse to abide by our laws but are coddled and protected to prevent them from being offended. What about the rights of our own citizens? Why must the people of America who are struggling to feed and house their own children have money they work hard for taken to provide for those who only wish to come here and take while offering nothing in return but hate, accusations and the desire to have us change to reflect the very countries from which they fled! I have in recent years begun to remember many changes in what was once a proud nation as it begins to take the form of some unrecognizable third world country.... Much of the America I remember still exists but I fear it is but a passing thing. I am saddened by political parties who rather than negotiate for the good of OUR own people choose to fight and deny Americans what we need simply because they did not want the president that was elected. This is not a backyard fight among children! I do sincerely hope I do not live to see the fall of this once great nation over that! We are changing as a nation and those changes being fought for are not legal nor our own! What I see is a bunch of ill children who want their own way if only to make someone they did not want in office mad! It sickens me more than any past horrors!
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts this day. I have seen and experienced all of the history you have lived through plus a decade and I understand every word you wrote. As I read and reread your comment I had the familiar feeling of trying to console a friend who has lost a loved one. I couldn't think of the right words, so I let it rest a moment, knowing they would come. And they did. Out of nowhere, which is where all right words seem to come from, I found myself on a website I'd never visited, reading a poem that I knew I should share with you - this is it:
DeleteThe Guest House
This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
Some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.
Jalal ad-din Muhammad Rumi
from The Essential Rumi – translated by Coleman Barks
Thanks again for your beautiful comment. You are wonderful.
Dr. King would be ashamed of what strides America was once making to see how far backwards we have gone today!
ReplyDeleteOne of my first jobs involved delivering candy, tobacco, and various other sundry items to small country stores. Many of those stores had two front doors which were marked “white and colored” or “white and black.” I found it curious that no matter which door I entered the store through, once inside there was no difference. As I think of those days, I still feel the shame I felt then at having to make that choice.
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your comments – remember MLK and give thanks that we had him, and Gandhi and Chief Joseph and Golda Meir, and Abraham Lincoln… and thank God, that list goes on and on…
April 19th, 1967 I was at home where my daughter was born. No hospital, just the MD and a nurse to help for a couple of days. Our daughters are the same age. They are such big blessings. As to MLK, it was sad the price he paid for what he believed. It is satisfying to know that only the flesh died. He and is soul are still with us and he is doing his highest and best just as he did then.
ReplyDeleteI'm not unknown, your system showed my name. -- Todd
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