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I think I was sixteen when I first watched “Eyes on the Prize” and had my first in-depth look at the life and times of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. My curiosity was piqued. As I became more interested in the legacy of Dr. King I observed that his remarks appealed to the mind through the heart. In Dr. King’s own words, “We shall so appeal to your hearts and conscience that we shall win you over in the process and our victory shall be a double victory.” His remarks are wonderful because they don’t simply aim to appeal to the obvious and the ordinary, the legal and the written, to the things we can see. Instead, the many memorable remarks of this great man appeal to something greater - the human heart, the soul of mankind. Like a touchstone delivered from on high, Dr. King explained in terms easily grasped by the least educated to the most academically decorated, the abstract notions of justice and freedom that descend from a higher power. In this sense the legacy of Dr. King is more religious than rational, more spiritual than political. He appealed to our collective humanity. Recently, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton remarked that the dream of which Dr. King often spoke so eloquently needed President Johnson “to get it done.” Nonsense! The rationality of the mind kicks in only after the heart is won. LBJ had no choice. The hand had to write what only the heart could see. I'm not sure most of us fully appreciate that. Sure, we have all encountered some level of injustice in our lives. But they are small injustices when compared to those faced by Dr. King and generations of African-Americans throughout our nation’s formative years. To be sure, injustices of significant measure are still faced by some here and across the globe. However, armed with the historical teachings of Dr. King and viewed through the polished lens of his legacy, the proportionality of this great man’s character to ours should leave us each humbled. There remains a great challenge for society. Liberty and freedom as spoken of by Dr. King is a timeless truth and an unbound absolute. It cannot be created in the crucible of a science lab or measured under a magnifying glass. Freedom and liberty are bestowed by our Creator into the hearts and minds of those who are free. To get freedom, ironically, we must give it. We must give it in our daily lives, in the work place, at home and in our encounters with others. Therein lies our challenge: to overcome our mere humanity with something greater. On this day let the words of Dr. King inspire you to give freedom, so you may also have freedom.
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