We Still Have A Long Way To Go

As a child, we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day every year. We learned who we was, what he stood for, memorized a part of his "I Have a Dream" speech, and Lord knows how many times I watched "Selma, Lord, Selma"--in school and at home. This year, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day felt especially important.

Just a few days ago, our current President-elect made yet another offensive and unfounded remark. This time he barked back at Rep.John Lewis, who had questioned the President-elect's legitimacy as President. The President-elect claimed Rep. John Lewis is "all talk, talk, talk -- no action or results." Could he be more wrong? At a time when our country is so deeply divided and seemingly stepping back into certain dark periods of the 20th century, the President-elect's ignorant and immature tweet stings deeply. It made me so angry to think that the person who is about to become my president could be so uninformed and uneducated so as to essentially disregard such a crucial time in our American history...my blood boils. I mean, does the guy even know what the Civil Rights Movement is? It felt to me like he might as well pull a Turkey and deny Bloody Sunday. Clearly, the President-elect did not read up on American history, or pay attention in school, or even watch the movie "Selma."

I don't need to go into everything that Rep. John Lewis has done, especially during the civil rights movement, because the internet has already taken care of that for us, but this MLK Day is bigger than celebrating one man. MLK Day is representative of ALL those who stood for positive change in our country, those who stood up and spoke out for what's right. It's clear we still have a long way to go here, which is why this MLK Day is so important.

As I reflect on what this day really means, I ask myself, what can I do, as an American, to move my country forward? That is something we should all think about. Instead of dividing ourselves, what can we do to move ourselves and our country forward? Because this is one damn, beautiful country we live in, with a vibrant spirit unmatched anywhere else. Let's not lose the American spirit.

BIG LOVE & HUGS

Love,

Justine