Still Climbing the Mountain

Monday marks the US national holiday honoring the life and work of Martin Luther King Jr.

While no one can dispute the incredible amount of civil rights progress that the U.S. has made since his death, I believe it would be hard to find agreement that the work is done. Hate crimes still fill the news each week and intolerant groups continue to terrorize those that are different from them. According to FBI statistics, the year 2003 saw 9,100 hate related crimes. That is roughly equal to 25 victims every day. It’s almost impossible to believe that the types of attitudes and belief systems that influence these acts could still be around in the 21st century. In our lifetimes, more people from more races and lands than ever have become interconnected as a result of advancements in technology and the growing global economy. It is hoped that the closer we get to our neighbors on a global scale, the more we will come to depend on and appreciate one another. Unfortunately, the same systems that are helping people to cooperate with and understand one another have also worked as recruitment grounds for those that hate and wish to harm anyone different from themselves.

I hope that everyone will take at least some portion of today to reflect on their own experiences with people of other races and beliefs and really think about how each one of us can help our society, as a whole, to get over that mounatin top and “behold the promised land.”