Tribute to a Man with a Dream

Hi Everyone,

Well, I presume you all know what today is. Martin Luther King day!Today we celebrate the birthday, the life, and the continuing legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He proclaimed that he had a dream, and he fought for it through all the abuse, the brutality and legal trouble that the Civil Rights Movement endured from 1954 to 1968. From Birmingham, Alabama and Philadelphia, Mississippi to Selma, Washington, and even Topeka, Kansas, the battle King waged had many setbacks and many triumphs. Although his life ended too soon, King's legacy has never faded from this earth. As I write this, it's raining outside my window. I like to think that's justice raining down like a mighty torrent, to paraphrase a quote from Dr. King.

King's legacy has not faded, but it could use more commemorators. In words, from a lonely blog in the urban wilderness of Southern California, to the President of the United States speaking in a large church in the Ivory halls of Washington, DC, we commemorate that legacy in speeches. But we must also commemorate it in action. Whether large or small, actions are the best way to judge a man. Judge them by the fruit they bear, to paraphrase the Bible. That action may be earthmoving, or it could be small, like working in a soupkitchen for an afternoon, or giving money to Red Cross, for those suffering in Haiti, as we will do. Those count, too. You may think what you do is insignificant, but if enough people do those small actions, they add up, and as King would probably have said, then the powerful will have to listen to that call.

In 1954, people felt left out, oppressed, in despair. King urged them to overcome, to not give in. To remain firm in their resolve to resist oppression, without becoming oppressive themselves. He asked the best of us in this country. Though imperfect and flawed, the promise of our country was still there. As it was in 1954, so it is in 2010. People today are feeling left out, oppressed, in despair, which they are. We must not give in to our instincts to give in, to fear others, to scapegoat. That would be the easy thing to do. But to quote Obi Wan Kenobi in The Empire Strikes Back, "If you choose the quick and easy path, that is the easiest path to the dark side." We must look within ourselves, who we are, if we are to change our world.

Though it's difficult, we have to proceed with the faith of Martin Luther King. Perhaps not a belief in the supernatural, but a belief that one day, justice will roll down like a mighty torrent. So, here's my hope. In 2010, the same call that emanated from Washington on August 28, 1963, must be heard and seen again. It must ring, as King said, from the highest mountaintops. From The Blue Ridges of North Carolina, to the Appalachians of West Virginia, to the Rockies of Colorado, to the Canyons of Arizona, to Mt. Whitney in California, let that call ring again. Thank you, and,remember, We Shall Continue to Overcome.

This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.

Emergency in Haiti

Hi everyone,

Well, something has happened since I last wrote. You've probably heard about Tuesday's giant earthquake in Haiti, off the coast of Port-au-Prince. It would be one thing if an earthquake of that magnitude occurred in a country with no other troubles, but this is Haiti. Haiti was in really bad shape to begin with, and with this earthquake, the country has been devastated. The capitol is all but flattened, and foreign aid vehicles are having a difficult time getting into the country, since there is no infrastructure in Haiti. It's a perfetct storm in Haiti.

So what can you do to help? You can give some money to Red Cross, Oxfam, or whoever else you think will do the best job of helping the Haitians in this time of crisis. Also, pay attention to any text alerts. If you see or hear a message telling you to text a number to some address, it will automatically pull $5 or $10 from your account to fund whatever recovery efforts are in progress. But beyond immediate action, we need a long term effort to help Haiti get out of desperate poverty.

Before this, Haiti was in debt to all sorts of countries. The people had so little that they had to eat dirt to survive. This disaster can be the opportunity for those of us in the rich developed nations to shine a light on this destitute poverty in the third world, which comes as colsse to us as Mexico or Haiti. This can be an opportunity to forgive the unjust debt that the countries have because of dictators, it can be an opportunity to promote a working infrastructure in Haiti, and help the people, help them. I hope you'll do what you can.

This is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.

It's 2010, Now What?

Hi everybody,

Yes, I know I missed the holidays. I hoped yours were merry and happy by the way. And I know that I missed our anniversary of one year on this blog, so happy anniversary. Anyway, it's a new year, and a new decade. So what's ahead for us?

First of all, what are we going to call this decade? What are we going to call last decade even? There was the "seventies" and "eighties" and "nineties." But what about the last one? The "O's" the "O-O's" the "two thousands?" Time will tell, I guess, which name sticks. Anyway, I'm going to call this new decade the "teens." Simply because most of the years in this decade will be "-teen" years.

And then there is the "twenty-" part. Last decade, it was "two thousand-," since you could have said "twenty-o-nine," but it would have sounded odd. So the "two thousand nine" pronounciation stuck for the decade. But at some point this decade, that will become impractical, since nobody is going to want to call a year, say "two thousand twenty four." So, this year could go either way. You could either call it "two thousand ten" or "twenty ten." At some point, though, the latter pronounciation will be phased in.

With that in mind, what are your resolutions for this year? I'll tell you some of mine. Mine are to get out more, to relate better to people, not that I don't now, but I can always do better. Next is to form more relationships. Finally, I will get on this blog more than once every two months. Write in some time and tell me some of yours if you'd like. I'll have another post up for you soon.

For the first time in the year 2010, this is the Daily Reeder, Over&out.