MLK Day

Today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dr King was a champion of Civil Rights movement. He united a divided nation with his “I Have a Dream” speech. Since then this speech has been quoted numerous times as a beacon of hope in times of civil unrest. Ironically though, 45 years later it is still only a dream, with racial division very apparent in the society. Dr King lived before my time and I only read and heard the life of African Americans during those years, specially in the South, my current adopted home.

Comparing the times of Dr King, I agree people of color live a better life today. There are no separate restaurants, public restrooms, water fountain, etc. for “black” and “white”. I can’t begin to imagine what it was like to be categorized as “inferior” because of the color of one’s skin. Would it not be wonderful if we were more geared towards science? We would then be aware that our varying outward color is because of differences in skin pigmentation and not because one race is superior than the other. How wonderful is science!

Unfortunately, we are not as logical as science. We have our prejudices and our baggages. We are unreasonable in our liking and disliking of people. My analysis is that we need to make someone else inferior when we ourselves lack confidence, in order to feel superior. More on that soon….