Monday, January 19, 2009

Martin Luther King Jr

Today (heh, only just barely, as I'm posting this near midnight) was the anniversary of the birth of Martin Luther King Jr.
I think you'll agree with me that that's an event worth celebrating. I also hope you'll spare a thought for the many unsung heroes of the struggle to create a better world.

I read his letter from a Birmingham jail earlier today, and found myself very moved. It's really worth at least skimming through. It's actually somewhat uplifting, seeing how far we've come. Although I found myself thinking "Man, I wish I'd done something that productive in jail...."

Here is a YouTube link to one of his most famous speeches too.

Prejudice and discrimination of any sort is inherently counter to the best interests of humanity at large. Xenophobia is a deeply ingrained part of our neuro-psychological make-up, yet examples of overcoming this limitation abound. A heterogeneous society is strongest, it's diverse sociological and genetic make-up allowing it to weather the broadest range of physical and idealogical disaster; allowing the most evolution and advancement.
Thus I think it's important that we continue to advance in a societal revolution, overturning social norms that create the rigid paradigm that allows such destructive behavior, such as sexism, racism, and other expressions of xenophobia to continue.

Lobby your politicians, your mayors, senators, congressmen and school boards to revolutionize our education system. Education is a self-renewing resource. The more and better educated our citizens are, the more people there will be to educate each successive generation. Don't bother trying to impose "tolerance" from the outside, but teach rationality, and that horse will drink all the water it needs.

Heh, I think you can tell this is something I feel passionately about.
The world can be better than it is now. Let us stand on the shoulders of giants, giants such as Martin Luther King Jr, and continue our climb higher.