The Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.

Well, I guess this rant is a day late, being that Martin Luther King Jr. Day was Yesterday, but I am firmly of the opinion that one day a year is not nearly enough to remember the words and lives of the great men and women of history.

I don’t think I will be able to do him justice, as he is now a legend and a martyr for the powerful causes that drove him. His own words echo as a prophecy to his end, as we review the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr:

“I submit to you that if a man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.”

Martin Luther King Jr. was not only fit to live, but destined to become a Legend, and his ideals and philosophies will live forever. He is recognized as one of the most powerful orators in American History, and gave hope to one generation, while paving way for the ones to follow.

I love the story of his life, because it shows all of us the power of having a dream and a vision that is bigger than ourselves. I’m sure you’ve heard this quote before, but it’s so powerful that I have to place it here today:

“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character… I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit together at the table of brotherhood.”

Our society still has a long way to go before all of our unnecessary hate and oppression has been wrenched from it, but just a few short decades from his barbaric assassination, his dream and his vision is continuing to make our world a better place.

Listen to these powerful words, close your eyes, and think what they mean to you:

“Almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better.”

I purport that these words transcend the bounds of race, color, religion and politics. Unfortunately creativity, dedication, vision, and ethics is a dying force in our world. It’s up to those of us that still have it beating in our hearts, and flowing through our veins, to once again rise up and give hope to the world.

I cringe when I read these words, spoken prophetically by King,

“A nation or civilization that continues to
produce soft-minded men purchases its own
spiritual death on the installment plan.”

We live in a time when many things in the world look bleak. Be that as it may, I believe there is enough fire left in the souls of men, to create a flame that can flicker as hope to the generations we are leaving behind.

Again, in King’s words: “All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.” My grandfather put it another way, “Anything worth doing is worth doing well,” and, “Always leave a place better than you found it.” These philosophies have driven much of what I do in my life.

Martin Luther King had a dream and a vision that was bigger than himself, and he uttered the importance of that with these words:

“An individual has not started living
until he can rise above the narrow
confines of his individualistic concerns
to the broader concerns of all humanity.”

How big is your vision? How big is your dream? Is your vision all about you? Or, is your vision big enough to include the others that choose to follow with you?

I have a dream that there are thousands of people out there that I can help to escape from the chains of our corporate society. I have a dream to inspire the masses to remember what it feels like to believe they “Can.” I have a vision to create an empire that inspires the hearts of man to remember what it is like to have a dream.

If you don’t have a dream, get one. If you have forgotten it, close your eyes and try to remember; close them tight until you can see it as vividly as these words before your eyes. When you have it locked in your mind, remember these words from the great man we are honoring today:

“A genuine leader is not a searcher for
consensus but a molder of consensus.”

If your vision is big enough, you will make it happen, and the universe will have no choice but to help you, the people that you will need will find you, and you will become the person you are destined to be.

To Having a Dream,