Brother King
Today is the designated holiday to celebrate the life and work of Brother Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Today is a day when people perform a multitude of service projects, from rebuilding playgrounds and schools to feeding the homeless to just broadening their own racial, cultural, and spiritual horizons. What does it all mean, though? After writing a letter from the Birmingham, Alabama jail, to winning the Nobel Peace Prize, to delivering one of the most memorable and influential speeches in human history, can Brother King's legacy be neatly packaged into a holiday once a year which focuses on community service projects? (For Anyone's Information, I refer to Dr. King as "Brother" because we were both initiated into the greatest fraternity in the world, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. ) Of course not. One day out of the year is not enough to highlight the problems of those in need. One day out of the year is not enough to address the savage and reckless economic inequality that exists within our society. One day out of the year is not enough to reflect on the good we have done for others, and the tremendous amount of good yet to be done.
Despite this need for greater emphasis of the compassion and work of Brother King, the reality of everyday life keeps most of us from doing more. We get up, we go to work, we go to school, we come home, we make dinner, we go to bed, we get up, we go to work, we go to school, we come home, we make dinner, we go to bed. After awhile it can just seem like we do the same thing over and over until one day we wake up and don't even remember why we do what we're doing. Everyday life can get pretty monotonous, and after worrying about work, bills, and whatever else we have to deal with in our crazy lives, most of us usually just want to shut off non-essential parts of our brain and "veg"- whether it be in front the television, radio, or on the internet (thanks for reading my blog, by the way).
We can do more than we think we can. Just as we find little pockets of time throughout each day to procrastinate, we can use little pockets of time to serve others and to try to make our world a better place. One such example is being a Penpal for DC public school students through In2Books, an organization which promotes literacy amongst DC youth. All you have to do is read children's books and write to your assigned student about it. Everything you need is provided by In2Books. It's really pretty simple.
Outside of organized programs, you can help by just providing a smile for someone else. Hold the door open for others as you walk into a store. Give up your bus or train seat for someone elderly (of if you're a guy, get up for any standing women). Or just go feed the birds and say a prayer for someone. It really doesn't take alot to incorporate Brother King's legacy into our everydays lives, just a little bit of compassion. Of course, we should all feel free to rebuild schools and feed the homeless any day of the year, but we don't need a day off to make it a day ON.
P.S. In the spirit of giving, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Foundation still needs some millions of dollars to construct the monument to Brother King on the National Mall. Whatever you can give would be great.
Despite this need for greater emphasis of the compassion and work of Brother King, the reality of everyday life keeps most of us from doing more. We get up, we go to work, we go to school, we come home, we make dinner, we go to bed, we get up, we go to work, we go to school, we come home, we make dinner, we go to bed. After awhile it can just seem like we do the same thing over and over until one day we wake up and don't even remember why we do what we're doing. Everyday life can get pretty monotonous, and after worrying about work, bills, and whatever else we have to deal with in our crazy lives, most of us usually just want to shut off non-essential parts of our brain and "veg"- whether it be in front the television, radio, or on the internet (thanks for reading my blog, by the way).
We can do more than we think we can. Just as we find little pockets of time throughout each day to procrastinate, we can use little pockets of time to serve others and to try to make our world a better place. One such example is being a Penpal for DC public school students through In2Books, an organization which promotes literacy amongst DC youth. All you have to do is read children's books and write to your assigned student about it. Everything you need is provided by In2Books. It's really pretty simple.
Outside of organized programs, you can help by just providing a smile for someone else. Hold the door open for others as you walk into a store. Give up your bus or train seat for someone elderly (of if you're a guy, get up for any standing women). Or just go feed the birds and say a prayer for someone. It really doesn't take alot to incorporate Brother King's legacy into our everydays lives, just a little bit of compassion. Of course, we should all feel free to rebuild schools and feed the homeless any day of the year, but we don't need a day off to make it a day ON.
P.S. In the spirit of giving, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Foundation still needs some millions of dollars to construct the monument to Brother King on the National Mall. Whatever you can give would be great.
posted by Talib at 3:38 PM
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