What great timing for this topic! With Martin Luther King Jr.’s national holiday being this week, it couldn’t have been better planned. So glad for those moments when the universe aligns.
To me, there is not a greater message than the one Dr. King brought on unity. I believe in people, and that together we can achieve everything we need to in our lifetime. Today, we stand in a world that is facing many challenges, and unfortunately at the root of much of this is a lack of unity.
Most of those reading this fortunately live in neighborhoods and communities that are mostly unified, with safe and progressive schools, churches and places of business. My greatest concern is that we get distracted from what is really going on in our country. We hide behind busy schedules and soccer games, the latest big sport contest (since the Chiefs are out, I’m cheering for the Broncos!), etc. Let’s not forget that last year we faced multiple hate crimes (I hate even typing those words) in America, and some within driving distance. One of my colleagues grew up in Ferguson, Missouri and her neighborhood was a victim of the fighting. It could easily happen in every neighborhood.
I’m sure many of you, like me, have friends of all races and religions. If you talk to them long enough, you know that even today, they face regular accounts of prejudice behaviors. It’s ugly and makes me sick to think about. As you know UNITY goes far past the issues of race and religious freedoms, and our current candidates for president are showcasing that well, as they clearly are not unified on most topics. As Dr. King’s words indicate below, our silence on these larger issues that impact our country will be felt eventually. Let’s not be silent.
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
This blog is really about our country. We need bold visions and bold actions in order to secure it for the generations that follow. I encourage you to really take the time to understand the issues and in November to vote for a candidate that can unify our country. We cannot be silent. I personally know I need to do more. How about you?