As I write this, I hearken back to days long past and remember how I used to feel so deeply about about our country; how every government holiday effected me emotionally.  There was, in my mind, a sense of moral and ethical togetherness, community, servitude, gratitude; an eagerness to continue to help build a greater nation.

This evening I contemplate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., all that he accomplished in his very short lifetime…and all that he sacrificed.  He sacrificed his very life for a cause.  A cause more than worthy of respect.  A cause greater than himself.  A cause that encouraged each and every one of us to be greater than ourselves, to walk together arm-in-arm, hand-in-hand, to stand up for what is right, regardless of color, creed, or religion.  That cause still exists today.  In fact, that cause and many others have recently come to the fore.

I hoped, in some very deep part of my soul, that in this day and age we as humans had somehow evolved, gained some wisdom, worked for knowledge, earned a new right of passage.  That seems not to be the case.  In the last year I have looked on as people have succumbed to their baser instincts, and in their insecurity taken out their inferiority complexes on those who are weaker than them, more vulnerable than them, less protected than them.  It is not a new scenario but rather a re-visitation of an ages old play, a cycle out of which we cannot seem to emerge victorious.

I hoped.

I hoped that my countrymen and women would see logic and reason.  That of course is a pipe dream.  When it comes to rumors and innuendo, there is no greater tool to spread it than the Internet.  It is a game of “telephone” on steroids.  “Fake news” is something that can easily fool the best of us, particularly if it appeals to a particular slant to which we already subscribe.  It’s quite tricky, really.  It preys on us all and I don’t think there is a soul on the Internet that hasn’t yet been fooled by a “news source” that wasn’t on the up-and-up.  Yet I hoped that we would overcome such obstacles.

I hoped.

Oddly, I most remember Martin Luther King Day because of the Northridge earthquake back in 1994.  That quake happened in the early morning hours of the day designated by the government to celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.  It was a day we did not have off school until that massive earthquake hit.  It was a day that I was irritated both for the interruption of my sleep prior to a scheduled (and canceled) 8 am econ exam, and for the girls screaming frantically in the dorm halls.  I hate screaming girls.  I was the one with the flashlight and radio telling everyone to sit down and shut up and listen to the emergency information, not the RA.  She was screaming.  I had until then hoped that someone who was supposed to be in charge could hang.  That was silly of me.

I hoped.

Here’s the thing: Sometimes all we have is hope.  And sometimes, just now and again, it serves us well.  If hope is the only thing that gets us out of bed in the morning, it’s a blessing.  If hope gets us off our asses and helping others, it’s a good thing.  If hope gets us into the voting booth, we’re making progress.  If hope gets us into a march for civil rights or helping those less fortunate than us by serving them in a soup kitchen, it’s helping.  If hope compels us to go out of our way for another for even the tiniest thing like holding a door open, it’s helping us spread the grace of hope.  If hope gets us to consider the bigger picture, to help an animal, to help a stranger, to give blood, to share a meal, to do anything slightly selfless, it’s a good thing.

I hope.

On this Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I wish you hope.  I wish you the strength and love to carry on not just for yourself, but for others.  I wish you the grace you need to move positively and passionately through the world, leaving your imprint upon the hearts of others.  I wish you love.  But most of all…

I wish you hope.