Commercialism taints yet another day
By G. Michael Dobbs
Managing Editor
You know I thought it would take a little longer, but I was wrong. Martin Luther King Day is being abstracted.
Do you know what the meaning is behind Memorial Day? Unofficial start of summer? Indy 500? How about the day to recognize Civil War dead? In the South, it was called "Decoration Day," as that was the day school kids would "decorate" put flowers on the graves of Confederate Army dead.
Quick, now why do we have Veterans Day? It's not just another three-day weekend, is it? No, that day was originally to denote the end of World War I.
Abraham Lincoln and George Washington worked for this nation so their birthdays would be vehicles to sell cars, right?
My theory is when all of the people who actually lived through a time when a holiday was created pass away, the holiday loses much of its meaning. So the generation that lived through WWI is largely gone and that event is now an abstraction, a chapter in a history text.
I received a cheery press release from Ski Vermont that read in part: "The combination of snow guns and the hefty snowfall that Vermont has seen this season guarantees resorts will be running full tilt as travelers make their way to the mountains for this year's Martin Luther King Jr. ski weekend . And, Vermont resorts provide the perfect learn-to-ski/ride experience for those thinking about jumping into the sport with a quick weekend getaway the perfect way to take advantage of the MLK long weekend."
Clearly a way to use the day set aside to consider issues of race and civil rights is to go skiing in Vermont.
There are still plenty of people alive who lived through Dr. King's career. There are people alive who knew Dr. King personally and professionally. I'm surprised that King has become a historical abstraction this soon. I didn't think it would happen for years.
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Everyone misspeaks now and then. We all say goofy stuff we know is wrong the moment we close our yap. I know I have in the past and, regrettably, will in the future.
Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee recently said at a Michigan campaign stop, "I have opponents in this race who do not want to change the Constitution. But I believe it's a lot easier to change the Constitution than it would be to change the word of the living God. And that's what we need to do, is to amend the Constitution so it's in God's standards rather than trying to change God's standards so it lines up with some contemporary view of how we treat each other and how we treat the family."
Huckabee clarified his point on the FOX News show "Hannity and Combs" that he specifically was referring to abortion and same sex marriage and that he was not in favor of a theocracy.
If the former governor were here in my office, I would ask him just which "living God?" The Judeo-Christian God? The God of Islam? Buddha? The Hindu deities? The Pagan Gods?
Now I know he means the Judeo-Christian God, but here in America we have people who practice many different faiths and things can get a little murky when a presidential candidate clearly picks one faith over another for public policy in a nation where we have a separation of church and state.
I don't care how you worship. That's your Constitutional right. And I don't care if you oppose abortion and same sex marriage. That's your right, too. But, Governor Huckabee, don't try to impose your religious beliefs on me and the rest of the country through this political process.
This column represents the opinions of its author. Send your comments online to Reminderpublications.com or to 280 N. Main St., East Longmeadow, Mass. 01028.
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