The Importance of Martin Luther King Day in the us
Martin Luther King Day in the United States recognizes the impact of one of the most influential civil rights leaders in its history. King fought peacefully for the equal treatment of all Americans, but especially sought to end discriminatory practices that kept black Americans from reaching their full potential.Controversy Based on CostActivists fought long and hard to get King’s birthday recognized as a national holiday, but many Americans opposed the idea because of cost concerns. They said another federal holiday would cost bussinesses and the government too much. Some also said the government already had too many holidays.Controversy Based on CommunismAccording to theWashington PostOpposition to the King holiday was led by Senator Jesse Helms from North Carolina who felt that King’s strong ties to communists were enough to warrant rejection of a national holiday in King’s honor. Helms distributed declassifiedFBI documentsthat show King had many troubling associations that cloud his noble achievements.Controversy Based on PlagiarismSerious concerns over Martin Luther King’s integrity surfaced when the Martin Luther King Jr. Papers Project discovered that many of King’s essays, his dissertation at Boston University, his books and his sermons and speeches were systematically plagiarized. Many in the academic community, includingGerry Harbison of the University of Nebraskaopposed the King holiday because of this.TheNew York Timesreported that Boston University acknowledged that nearly half of King’s dissertation was plagiarized, but decided that revoking his doctorate (as would likely be done for an ordinary person found to have plagiarized a dissertation) “would serve no purpose.”National MLK MonumentAlthough the United States has enshrined Martin Luther King on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., many believe the monument is a testimony to a nation in decline.Rather than continue the tradition of high quality, meticulously-crafted monuments in the nation’s capital, the U.S. outsourced creation of the King monument to China where it could be crafted for less money. As a result, many say that King’s visage has Chinese overtones.Chiseled into the side of the monument are misquoted words attributed to King.The shoddy workmanship and cheesy appearance has led some Americans to suggest the monument does more to discredit King and his country than it does to honor them.Repairs AuthorizedAfter months of lobbying, activists hoping to preserve a remnant of honor for the MLK memorial have finally been acknowledged the Obama regime’s Department of the Interior. Secretary Ken Salazar, the chief of the department responsible for the entire King monument fiasco recently announced he has approved plans to have the erroneous inscription on the monument fixed. According toWHTC, the decision to correct the false King quote on the monument is an encouraging sign that the country might improve its tacky remembrance of such a significant person.Now, if they’d only do something to make the monument look more like Martin Luther King and less like Chairman Mao.ContributionDespite the fact that many valid concerns existed over establishing the King holiday, powerful lobbying efforts and a fear of being perceived as racially insensitive persuaded Congress to establish the holiday by an overwhelming majority vote. Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1986.Despite the many flaws associated with Martin Luther King Jr., his leadership helped end an era of where lingering segregation and discrimination pervaded much of American society. The U.S. now enjoys a society where people are judged not by their ethnicity, but by their character and their inherent value as human beings.
