Today is a day when a yearning for freedom, embodied in the work of a man, is commemorated. Freedom, exercised through peaceful means, rallied those in Washington and across the nation in 1963. Just as Martin Luther King Jr. spoke of freedom ringing from the great peaks of the American mountains, his voice and his words continue to ring as a testament to the power of freedom and the endurance of a dream built upon the foundation of peace. That his words are still quoted decades later, and not merely in history classes as a note of what has happened that has been overcome, is reflexive of the longevity of ideas. That is, even if circumstances change, the longing of a human heart remains fixed, striving for truth, peace, and freedom. “Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred,” are words that do not outgrow their advice. For his full speech, supplied by the American National Archives, visit here. The ideals of humanity, shining as a guiding beacon, are a link that joins together people from disparate lands and eras. Perhaps, from a writing standpoint, that is part of the appeal of historical fiction. Though the struggle and the year is different from our own, the longings for what is right are the same. There is a bond of companionship. United for good, through daily living or the pages of a book, is surely something that Martin Luther King Jr. would applaud.
My best to you all,
Megan
