Today is January 17, 2011. It's cold outside, and snow lays on the lawn as a blanket does a bed. This is typical New Jersey winter weather. However, this day is not typical. It's one for a king. This is not the type of king who would rule a country like Charlemagne or Henry VIII. This is a day for Dr. Martin Luther King, who reached millions asking for people to judge based on "character" and not "skin."
Martin Luther King's impact on society parallels that of Gandhi. While some leaders of social change sought to do so through war, the preacher from the south sought to use different means to impact social change. Instead of war, he chose protests. Instead of guns, his tool was words.
In his "I have a dream" speech, he spoke about a place where his children could live. This was not a Utopian society that he craved as St. Thomas More wrote about. It was a place where people could get an education free of persecution. All Dr. King desired was for his children to be judged on their core and not on their skin tone.
Martin Luther King day is a gentle January reminder for all mankind. It's a reminder to not judge someone on how they look. America's "golden voice" shows that beyond the exterior may lie something beautiful, something worth believing in. Let it be a reminder to not judge the surface of a person. After all, skin color is just an additive, no different then adding red food coloring to a glass of water.
JL
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