Free At Last

According to this poll, in 2011, more Americans came together; black and white, young and old, gay and straight, Jewish and Buddhist, bald and hirsute, male and female, Jet fan and Steeler fan to lie about what they were going to do on Martin Luther King Day.

Thirty percent of Americans would do something to commemorate MLK on his birthday? I highly doubt it. And surfing past a History Channel documentary on King does not count. If we break down the thirty percent, we are destined to find some truth-tellers. There were parades. There were speeches. There were those who answer the call to service in Dr. King's honor, but I would put that number closer to ten percent, roughly. The other twenty percent were people who confuse their desire to be well-intentioned with the reality of their agenda.

Some people just want a day to plop on the couch and say "Free at last, free at last. Thank God almighty, I'm free at last until tomorrow" and that's okay. It is still a sign of progress. In this country we used to only loaf around in honor of white men. That has changed. I would not say that this is the Dream of which King spoke, but it is an added benefit.

To that proportion of the thirty percent who had every intention to get out and celebrate in some fashion but did not plan accordingly, there is still Martin Luther King Day 2012. Start planning now!