In Our View: May We Seize the Day

Great moments, it has been said, are born of great opportunity.

As we reflect upon the meaning and the power of the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., as we acknowledge the 89th anniversary of his birth today, we are drawn to the opportunities that are facing the United States. We are drawn to the words he spoke in early 1968, when he said, “I see a lot of cynicism around and a lot of despair, and it’s understandable despair, and I’ve tried to say to them, ‘Don’t lose hope; don’t give up; picture disappointments and transform them into your own assets and into something creative.’ ”

Similar cynicism and despair are abundant in today’s America. There is conflict and discord, driven by sharp political divisions that at times seemingly threaten to tear this nation apart.

And yet there also is hope. It can be found in the idea that the United States has endured through more difficult times and has come to prosper in spite of them. For those convinced that the nation is at a low point in its history, we remind you of the difficulties of 1968. The Vietnam War was devolving into a quagmire; anti-war protests were filling streets and college campuses; riots were engulfing cities; police brutality against protesters was tainting the Democratic National Convention in Chicago; and assassinations were robbing us of Robert F. Kennedy and King himself.

King was shot to death on April 4 of that year while standing on the balcony of a motel in Memphis, Tenn. The evening prior, he had told an audience, “Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I’m not concerned about that now. 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.”

Through his quest for justice and his remarkable oratory, King helped pave a path of opportunity for the United States — opportunity to live up to the ideals it professes to hold dear. In the process, he played a small role in preserving the union by remaining on a path of non-violence at a time when many African-Americans were embracing a more militant form of resistance. As The Washington Post noted editorially last year, “Dr. King worked to turn back extremism, violence and racial nationalism at the height of the civil rights movement, and to keep the cause of essential and long-overdue change in the American mainstream.”

That change continues, and it is necessary. There remains no shortage of racial enmity and prejudice, both on an individual and institutional level. There remains no shortage of gender or religious bias. Even the roots of the stirring #MeToo movement against sexual harassment can be found in the works of King and others who have courageously spoken out against injustice throughout America’s history.

Because of that, we celebrate King and his message today. Because of that, we note that even such an observance was resisted by some states, meaning that it was not recognized in all 50 of them until 2000 — 17 years after being signed into law by President Reagan. The lesson, which can be found in much of King’s life: Change comes slowly and requires persistence.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day provides a chance to examine our nation and assess who we are and who we aspire to be. Great moments, after all, are born of just such opportunities.