Martin Luther King Jr.

Today is the observance of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday. When looking back on the past, it's easy to point out the greatness of certain individual's and their monumental efforts because the ripples of their lives has had time to resonate throughout the annals of history. I read this piece this morning and was feeling a little bit short-changed that we haven't seen the likes of MLK in years. Then I began to wonder how often it is that we are in the midst of a remarkable human being and we can't even recognize it. It could be at the end of our nose and we wouldn't even know it.

That's exactly what happened with King, to the point that people made an effort that proved enough to make him a martyr. In the last five or so years, do you think you could point out someone who is on his level? I think Ronald Reagan approaches that kind of mystique. I wonder if Romney might some day as well.

If he ends up winning in Florida, then he has a pretty good path to the presidency. If he somehow manages to win the presidency, will we be pointing to his speech on religion that he gave a couple of months ago as one of the speeches of our generation? I wonder...

In any case, do yourself a favor and read (or reread) some of Martin's greatest pieces. Go here for his letter from a Birmingham jail. Here for his I Have a Dream speech, audio and video. And his last speech the day before his assassination.