Welcome To All Our Favorite Holidays

You Have come to the right place to read great stories and see terrific video of all your favorite holidays!

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

In the Turbulent Sixties One Man Rose Above All for Civil Rights and Peace

 
 
It was a turbulent time for all Americans.  When we look back in the history books some say it was the decade of love.  My sisters and I were young then and the love issue we lived and saw as a dream. As I grew older I realize it was only that, a dream of youthful minds. Where I went to school at the time we were all friends but my friends and I did not live in the south or the intercity. I went to a good suburban school where we could not really see the events of the decade unfolding around us as we lived through the experience. Civil Rights, Vietnam, and the power in politics was a complete conflict of interest for young and old alike. Some values of the older generation did not seem to mix well with the younger generation including the draft, dedication to duty and country. And, the worst of all this is a generation being condemned by the statuesque for not wanting to serve our country in a land that offered nothing but controversy from the day we entered the war. Even worse the North Vietnamese ended up occupying the entire country with the fall of Saigon in 1974. All those lives lost and all those Veterans disabled or plagued with the effects from Asian Orange and other mental problems and for what?

When we think of the Sixties and we think of it as a decade of peace or the fight for peace. Go Figure! fight and peace in the same sentence together. In the midst of this is the idea that this  country's leaders not only had to look out for it’s younger generation and it’s voice but the call to civil liberty. Civil Rights is not all white men were considered equal but all women, minorities, and the young men women and minorities dying overseas should be as equal as well. This made the call for peace and Civil Rights an even bigger task and not to mention a challenge.

One man stood at the top and brought about change in a peaceful way. Who stood for Civil Rights all and preformed his entire movement in a civil manner while others followed. Who is to imagine if the Rev. / Dr. Martin Luther King did not stand up for Civil Rights from the fifties through the Sixties in this peaceful movement what would our world look like today? Imagine the chaos on top of all the mounting pressure of the time brought into future decades. He changed how people lead in politics while proving that the many were not just going to put up and shut up any more. He stood for their vote and made what they had to say count and be heard in the name of justice while not raising a fist or weapon. That not just a few ultra conservatives, radicals or extremists were going to have a strong hold on our country any more with their distorted and selfish idea of freedom.  Or, for all to forget the idea to be a good citizen all you had to do is just follow the rules and not say a word. People were being repressed and dying asking for the same liberties this country was founded on when we defeated the British in the American Revolution. With that foundation Reverend King believed this country belonged to all people and not just certain groups of people and spoke his mind for all the repressed.

Reverend King only started the movement, now the rest of us have to finish his chore and a tall one at that. We have to remind those who run this country we are the ones who elected them and we are in charge not special interest. Special interests have not always been beneficial to the many but only to the few. We in many ways have come a long way from the Sixties whether it has been human evolution or breaking down the barriers among us keeping us apart. It will all come together one day when all men and women of all races respect and hear each other’s side then take action for the good of all people. Look back at how it was then and how it is now. We can say some things about our times are similar but yet the solutions have been different with less lives lost. Radical change just angers groups to rise for or against issues that need solving, where civil change is more of a human evolution and compromise to change. The Reverend King studied this and used it in his daily life with every appearance and speech he delivered. Yes, because of men like the Reverend King and others like him of all races have heard the call of peace we have come a long way. And yet, we all need to remember we still know we have a long way to go.

During this Martin Luther King Day work together with others in your community. Help form the bond that is community by helping each other with a community goal or challenge. If you have to work this Martin Luther King Holiday think of community and the Reverend King and find a time in the near future to volunteer or organize a community effort or project. Your gender or race does not matter when you spend time to work with and for each other in the best cause of all PEACE and a better future for us all.
 

“Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress….One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law.” – Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
 Read More
 
For the Adults

 
We Can't Forget the Kids
 

No comments:

Post a Comment