We Still Have Work To Do

Hi there! Dave-El here and welcome to I'm So Glad My Suffering Amuses You, the blog that does not judge you by the color of your skin unless it's really, really orange in which case, lay off the artificial tanning, it's not good for you. 

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Today is Martin Luther King Jr Day for which I have the day off from work. Other holidays like Labor Day or Memorial Day sadly have seen their importance give way to just being "a day off from work", I think its important to remember the people who's hard work and their valiant sacrifices have built and shaped the foundation of this country. 

And in the case of today, I think it is just as important to remember the dream of Martin Luther King Jr, the dream of all people being judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. Because this dream has not been achieved, at least not fully. 

Yes, great strides have been made in not just racial equality but learning to respect those of different religions, sexual orientations and other things that make each of us unique. But there are too many examples where these great strides have not yet brought us to the end of the journey. 

• The freedom of women to have control over their own bodies is still under siege. 
• Same sex couples have seen many attempts to curtail or take away the rights enjoyed by other people. 
• People of faiths not our own are treated with suspicion. 
• And yes, black Americans are still too frequently not treated as equals. 

In the matter of racial equality, what we have seen in the past year reflects too many disturbing set backs and shortcomings. The incidents of unarmed black men killed by the police, for example, has shown a spotlight on the fissures that still exist between blacks and whites. It's a bit disheartening to see in this, the 2nd decade of the 21st century, that there is so much distrust and frustration. It is particularly disheartening because we have come so far to still have these things be a problem.  

So on this day, let's take pride in what we've done so far as a people, as a nation. We have done good things, great things in making the promises of our founding fathers a reality for all our citizens. But let's all take this day to remind ourselves, on this day off from work, we still have work to do. 

And we can succeed if we do this work together. 

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Click here for last year's MLK Day post. 

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So that's what I've got for today. Thanks for reading and please check back in tomorrow for... stuff. I don't know, I'll throw something at the wall, see what sticks. 

Until then, be good to one another.