Martin Luther King, Jr.

As I watched a History Channel show last night about Martin Luther King, Jr., I was impressed by his tireless persistence to make the world a better place. Not only was he the "moral leader" of the civil rights movement, but he reached out across races to dig down to the greater issue of poverty. Much has been accomplished in the 40+ years since his death; however, there is still a great deal of work to do. Racism (and other ugly siblings like sexism, religious and ethnic bigotry or other intolerances) may not be as blatantly obvious as it was 40 and 50 years ago, but it still certainly exists in the hearts of too many people. King preached non-violence in a time of violent reactions to peaceful protests, yet violence today is still a way of life around the world. Poverty continues to plague not only the world, but the cities and rural areas of our country. If we are to continue to grow and prosper, we all must continue to work toward acceptance of differences and finding peaceable solutions to our problems.