The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

A few months ago there was quite a brouhaha in Houston.  A group of black Republicans had a billboard put up that said Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Republican.  Eventually, the billboard owner took it down, there was such an outcry!

Anyway, no matter what kind of mess his personal life may or may not have been, MLK had some great lines in some great speeches.  And you know what?  I do dream of the day when my children are judged by the conent of their character.  We are not a post-racial society, yet, and never will be as long as every story insists on parsing and collating people according to race.

My sister pointed this out, too.  Obama is the “black” president, even though he’s half “white”.  I put “white” in quotations because that’s a pet-peeve of mine, that’s a rant for another day.  Tiger Woods is “black” even though he’s actually part Asian.

At least we don’t use the word octoroon anymore.  I guess that’s progress.

Anyway, some favorite quotes from Martin Luther King, Jr.

To be a Christian without prayer is no more possible than to be alive without breathing.

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.

Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead, and the unborn could do it no better.

Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, ‘What are you doing for others?’

Watch the I Have a Dream Speech today: