Day Tripping: April 4
The DREAM did NOT DIE here
Look deeper into this image and see his spirit, alive and vibrant.
This image should burn into every soul for all eternity, not as a testament to man’s inhumanity towards man, but rather as a hope that Dr Martin Luther King Jr’s life will always have lasting meaning.
A prominent man in the world whose only concern in life is for the peaceful coexistence of people, steps into the fresh evening air. When that life was suddenly snuffed out by a single bullet in 1968, it naturally sparks a rage within the people who loved him.
The reality, unfortunately, is that people are generally given to gut reactions rather than deeper thought and reflection over an incident of this magnitude. But, the ensuing displays of violence that continue today whenever injustice is done, only deflect from the focus of a great individual’s legacy.
It is not the circumstances of Martin Luther King Jr’s death we should dwell on, but the message permeating through his life’s work instead. His utterance of these words is what mattered then, and should even more today.
“I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.”
These thoughts were no more important than at the time of his untimely death. Martin had no illusions that someday he would meet his fate in this way, but he continued to deliver the MESSAGE all the same. He lived without fear of consequence to himself.
At a time of year when some of us reflect on a story of freedom from oppression, and many more others recount a day of rebirth, Dr. King’s thoughts and beliefs remind us where our emphasis should lay.
Like any of the great individuals that may be remembered at this time of year, they were first and always humans, with faults and frailties just as any other. They also lived without fear of consequence to themselves. If there is one thought that Moses, Jesus, Mahatma, or Martin would all carry to their graves…
The MESSAGE is far more essential than the Medium.
It is their MESSAGE alone that should ring loud and clear above all else. If there were ever to be erected a Mount Rushmore of oratory, these are the words that should stand taller than any building, or mountain, or nation.
“I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”
May his life always be for a blessing, and may he rest in peace. — said after Kaddish, a Jewish prayer for the deceased.
Musical Milestones
Billboard chart spots number 1 to 5 are all held by the Beatles in 1964.
Narratives
Paul Allen and Bill Gates form a partnership to found Microsoft in 1975 with the intent of selling their BASIC program to enhance the Altair 8800 computer.
Remembrance
The first journalist to win a Pulitzer Prize for criticism, Roger Ebert was a highly respected movie reviewer and host of a syndicated television show, At The Movies. He passed away from thyroid cancer in 2013.
Notable Births
1913 — McKinley Morganfield was widely regarded as the father of Chicago blues. He was better known to us all as Muddy Waters.
1928 — Maya Angelou was a renowned poet, author of seven memoirs, and vocal civil rights activist.
1932 — Anthony Perkins will forever be remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Psycho, a legacy that would plague him his entire career.
1963 — Graham Norton is an Irish comedian who makes late-night talk shows witty and fun by bringing his celebrity guests on together.
1965 — Robert Downey Jr. defines the word ‘survivor’ in Hollywood terms. The Iron Man has had his share of other massive hits as well as some real stinkers.
K. Barrett Katie Wallace Maria Rattray Maryam Merchant Dr Mehmet Yildiz Tree Langdon Myriam Ben Salem Phil Truman Chelsea Mandler MAT Terry Mansfield Hollie Petit, PhD. Terry Trueman Dr Preeti Singh John Gruber Bill Abbate James G Brennan ScienceDuuude Marcus Liam Ireland Claire Kelly Noorain Hassan, BMS Amy Pierovich David Acaster
The Story Of Day Tripping Through History What’s Past Is Often Present