The True Meaning of Dr. King Day

I just received the ad posted above as an email a few minutes ago. Can you believe it? Of course you can.

CHARLIE BROWN: Isn't there anyone who knows what Martin Luther King Day is all about???

LINUS: Sure, Charlie Brown, I can tell you what Martin Lutler King Day is all about....Lights please?

"From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

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And if America is to be a great nation, this must be true.
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And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire!
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Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York!
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Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
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Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado!
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Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
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But not only that -
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Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
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Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
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Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi!
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From every mountainside, Let Freedom ring!"

LINUS: That's what Martin Luther King Day is all about, Charlie Brown.

They have trivialized the birthday of Jesus Christ. Is anyone terribly surprised that the money-changers would do the same thing to Martin Luther King? I ask you....

Have a grand 'n' dandy Dr. King Day, folks!

Tom Degan

Goshen, NY
tomdegan@frontiernet.net 

SUGGESTED READING:

Let the Trumpet Sound: The Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

by Stephen B. Oates

AFTERTHOUGHT:

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I have a record of some of Dr. King's speeches (Yeah, I still listen to vinyl - so sue me!) Sometimes, when I'm feeling depressed about my country (which, fortunately, is only when I'm sober) I'll give it a listen. Whatever my frustration level may be when I drop the needle on Side One, by the time the tone arm of my turntable edges its way down the play-out groove of Side Two, I always end up feeling a little better about America. That we can produce a man such as this is cause for hope, I suppose. Maybe, just maybe, such a person is within out midst at this very moment; gently reaching out to the better angels of our nature. Maybe we're just not listening.

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Shh....Listen....