Let All Men Be Free and Everyone Enjoy the Dream that Martin Luther King Jr. Once Shared with the World
Thinking about Martin Luther King Jr.’s day this year brings the speech to light that he is best known for. While inequality is a topic of wider range than ever before, we have not made nearly the progress I’m certain that iconic freedom crusader was hoping for. Do you ever wonder what Martin Luther King’s take would be on the cancel culture we all live in fear of today?
According to Webster, freedom is the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. This definition defines everything Martin Luther King, Jr. and many others continue to fight for. Each of us lives in a country that boasts about the freedoms we have fought for generations to maintain. Yet, it would appear that we try to more firmly control those who deserve these freedoms each year. Our free speech, Martin Luther King, Jr. used to rally generations to the fight for equality for an entire subset of people, has been proven to be able to tear down as much as build up.
In cancel culture, much of what is causing bigotry against certain individuals for gender, religious, political, or just general personal reasons is becoming a movement of negative portions holding people hostage to oppressors who disagree with their choices. Social media can spread both the good and the bad of our society today in ways that have never been accessible in years past. While this communication vehicle can be a wonderful way to educate and spread messages to larger audiences, it is also causing a movement of suppressed freedom of speech that is becoming detrimental in very noticeable ways.
Today, maybe we should all take a clue from Martin Luther King’s quote: “Darkness cannot drive out Darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Stop being part of the lynch mob on social media, trying to cancel those that you don’t agree with. Be kind to anyone that you come across, no matter their gender, religion, sexual orientation, or other qualities and decisions they have made. Use the freedom of speech that you have been granted to build up and not spread hate. Let everyone live free of bigotry, anger, and oppression. Can you imagine what our world would look like if we all treated everyone positively for being uniquely themselves and not trying to fit in the mold of our making?
One person CAN make a difference is what we all learned from Martin Luther King, Jr. So, today, what change can you make to allow everyone the freedom they serve from oppression in any way? Let’s cancel the cancel culture trying to take hold in our society. Let everyone live free in a world where we can live side by side in peace and with a more positive outlook for our children and future generations. Maybe the change we need to start on this day is turning this heavy current societal cloud positive and being a beacon of light, hope, acceptance, and freedom for future generations.
Happy Martin Luther King, Jr., Suncoast!
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