Jan. 20 was a holiday that NMU enjoyed staying closed. But while having Monday off was a luxury, we wouldn’t have had the glory of that extra day if it weren’t for a man who had a dream. 

Perhaps the greatest words of all time are evident in the “I Have a Dream” speech of MLK Jr. Though it is a very specific message for his time, it’s still very much alive and relevant today and the best blueprint for how we should view conflict in this world. Times have changed, but what still remains is the human race as one.

We’ve created a habit; we like to identify ourselves in where we fit in best. What isn’t necessarily intended with an unhealthy motive, we decide that place is where, and who, we’re meant to be. Let it remain below you to stray from neighbors of other groups, and work your best to show that we are fighting the same fight and are on the same side.

By remembering history through the words of MLK Jr., we must not forget that America is a blessed place for the land of the free and home of the brave. Specifically, our freedom is “inextricably” bound to the same and equal freedom as those around us. Our “thirst” for this freedom is to remain on the “high plane of dignity and discipline” rather than by “drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.”

There will always remain indifference, unhappiness and offense so long as we stick to our true nature. One’s ideas often differ from the next, but let the handling of this reality be dealt with by the “content of one’s character.”

MLK Jr. believed in something greater; who we are at our core. He never lost his message of unity by non-violence, and the best way to celebrate his influence is to lead our lives as if he were still here. 

As journalists, we are to be a voice for the voiceless; “we are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the victims of our nation and for those it calls enemy, for no document from human hands can make these humans any less our brothers and sisters.”

In his absence we are each responsible to carry on his message not only in conversation but actions and attitudes. We owe it to this country and to his mission.