Dream Now. Act Now.

Today, I, along with my brother Wesley and my best friend Mike went to visit the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial in Washington, D.C. I was appreciative to all of the organizers, the politicians, the King family members and friends, the donors and the sculptor, among others who were persistent in making this memorial a reality. This is such a beautiful tribute to a man who sacrificed so much because of his love of God and of mankind. The irony is that although such a tribute is deserved, I think that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  really would not have wanted all of this done for him.  He was more concerned about the issues. Through the nonviolence approach that he adopted, King advocated for an end to racial prejudice, for jobs, for human rights, and an end to unjust wars.  He explained that his outspoken position came about from his deep love for the U.S. and his vision that America can be a great and moral nation and an example for the world.  Today, we face some of the same issues in the U.S. that King spoke out about over 40 years ago: job creation, ending an unjust war, equality for all people. Interesting, huh?

At the time of his death he was as unpopular as he had ever been, but shortly afterward his popularity rose to great heights as people realized that he gave up so much in an effort to bring all people together in love at the table of brotherhood.  As I looked around today at the memorial and saw people of different races all gathered to experience the memorial and read King's words etched in stone, I thought to myself that Martin Luther King, Jr. would want us to not focus so much on him, but on the Spirit that moved him to action and to work to improve the conditions of all people; the same Spirit that inspired Jesus to bring about change and promote revolutionary ideas like loving one's enemies; the same Spirit that lives today and that has the power to lead and guide us to make great and lasting impacts on this world. This memorial has inspired me to strengthen my faith in the Almighty who has the power to send his Spirit to encourage and inspire me to do His will, just as it inspired Martin Luther King, Jr. In King's last sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, King stated that at his funeral he would not want people to mention where he went to school or that he has 300 or 400 awards, or that he won the Nobel Peace Prize. He wanted it instead to be mentioned that he tried to clothe the naked and feed the hungry; that he tried to be right on the war issue and ultimately that he tried to do God's will. Tears come to my eyes when I hear this because I know that this too is what I want people to be able to say about me. King knew that he was not perfect. I know that I am not perfect. With God, however, all things are possible. Let us keep King's dream and the dream of others alive by taking a stake in our country, putting silly political arguments aside, and working together to make America what it ought to be: a beacon of morality for the world.  Deep down, I think that everyone wants to be great.  In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , "Everyone can be great because everyone can serve." Dream now. Act now.