On this MLK day, let's try to hear his voice

Martin Luther King Jr. (Courtesy photo)

If Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today, would he be heartened by the "progress" the civil rights movement has made?

Would he be proud of how some black folks reacted in Fergusson, Mo.?

In Philadelphia? In New York?

Would he be incensed that no blacks were nominated for major Oscars categories?

Would he believe blacks had made progress in digging their way out of poverty?

Would he have changed his longstanding manta of peaceful protest to "burn this mother down"?

Would he think we should open our borders to all who want to come here?

And then pay for their housing, food and education, and health care even while natural born Americans (black and white) struggle to pay off mountains of loans they had to borrow to get their tuition paid because there were no grants for them?

Who would he endorse for president on the Democratic side?

The Republican side?

What would he say about the nuclear deal with Iran?

As a youngster I remember hearing his speeches as a calm and thoughtful voice amid a generation of turmoil, over Vietnam, over civil rights and over human decency.

He had a dream.

Are we any closer to that dream coming true than in the mid-60s?

Is he looking down on us and saying "bravo"?

Or that we have a long way to get to that mountaintop.

Between the skiing and the shopping and enjoying the warmth of our homes as we watch the snow fly outside today, take a few moments, and without judging, try to answer these questions and move forward in the spirit that is his legacy.

Listen to his voice.

- HT