Summing it up:
The Founding Fathers were no angels, but that doesn’t diminish the force of their ideals and the conviction with which they held them. Martin Luther King is of that number.
The United States, perhaps unique in the world, is a nation of documents that are peculiarly significant to our identity, because we were founded on written principles that each generation must explore and amplify.
Monday honors the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his contributions to the great canon of political and moral principles that define ourselves and our ideals. King is most often described as a “civil rights leader” and, while the categorization is indeed accurate and we were reminded of it with the recent death of Rosa Parks, it tends to pigeonhole the man.
At a crucial point in American history, the turbulent ’60s, King eloquently made the case that the great promise of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution had not yet been fulfilled for all our citizens. His “I Have a Dream” and “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speeches and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail” are essential reading in any course of American history because they are American history.
The “Mountaintop” speech is especially poignant both because of its optimism and because, in it, he seemed to foretell his death:
“I just want to do God’s will. And He’s allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land.” And, because of people like King who appear throughout our history, we will. He was murdered the next day.
King was not always so eloquent. He could be direct and this quotation is about as succinct a summation of equal protection as it gets: “It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can keep him from lynching me, and I think that’s pretty important.”
In his most famous speech, in 1963 on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, he harkened back to America’s founding document. “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.’”
King had great virtues and some failings, and he has been treated to the debunking that all heroes receive from posterity. The Founding Fathers were no angels, but neither does that diminish the force of their ideals and the conviction with which they held them. And King is of that number.
– Scripps Howard News Service
Opinion
The Rev. King Jr., defining America
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Forever thankful
Monday is Memorial Day, a national holiday to remember those who have died while serving our country.
Memorial Day officially
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Cheers and Jeers - Saturday, May 26, 2012
Thanks for your kindness
Terry Siegrist, a paralegal in Salina, Kan., sends this Cheer:
“The family of the late Esther Sprinkle wishes to send our heartfelt thanks to all who gave so generously of their kindness and sympathy in the death of our beloved mother and grandmother. We especially want to thank those who visited us at the funeral home and sent flowers, cards, memorials or food.
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USPS scales back plans
The issue: Postal Service plans to keep smaller post offices open.
Our view: Agency deserves credit for listening to the concerns of customers.
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Sign change is overdue
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Tips on flag etiquette
Monday is Memorial Day – set aside to honor those Americans who gave their lives in this nation’s wars. Lots of folks fly the flag every day as a show of patriotism, but what many might not know is that there are specific rules outlined in the U.S. Flag Code concerning its display.
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Cheers & Jeers - Saturday, May 19, 2012
Carriers collect 19 tons of food
Brian S. Kidwell of Branch 533 of the letter carriers union sends this Cheer:
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Walk a lap, fight cancer
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Program eyes troubled kids
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Editorial - May 15, 2012: Hard work still pays
The issue: The Class of 2012.
Our view: Congratulations on your achievement, graduating high school seniors, and remember to thank those who helped you along the way to success.
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de la Bastide: Indiana, the nation lose true statesman
During his 36 years in the U.S. Senate, Richard Lugar was noted for his ability to compro-mise when it came to legislation impacting the nation, and as a statesman when it came to foreign policy issues.
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Forever thankful




