MLK

Yesterday was Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. I took the day off. Really. I did absolutely nothing on purpose. While doing so, I read newspaper articles on MLK and reflected on what I remembered about the man.

Sunday, while at church service, the choir sang the Battle Hymn of the Republic. The chorus to the song stayed with me the rest of that day. It was still on my mind on the holiday. One line took me back to MLK during his heyday. It goes like this. “His truth is marching on.” Over and over it rang in my head. I asked myself what is it about that line resonating so in my head? It took a while, but I figured it out. It was the word truth.

Lately, this country has been in daunted with scandals, hypocrisy, cover ups, embezzlements, and old fashion falsehoods, all leading to the simple word, lie. A lie is the opposite of truth. MLK was always pleading with this country and its citizens to face the truth, the truth about our attitudes, practices, and deeds. All he ever wanted was for America to accept the inequities and fix them. All he ever requested was what we call truths. In his famous speech he said, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.”

That’s when it hit me. There have been some changes but, not enough. There are still attitude adjustments to make. Practices are still out of line and deeds need work. That’s why the line “His truth is marching on” says it all. We must keep walking, talking, and marching until the truth prevails.

Later yesterday another song replaced the hymn. It was an old song by Neil Diamond. On Oprah’s show he sang one more time a favorite of mine. He sang “America.” Do you remember the last chorus lines? “They’re coming to America, Today!” Just think. That’s why many still come and yet, we still have a way to go to get to the truth.