Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a timeless humanitarian Published Jan. 10, 2012 By Tech. Sgt. Jeff Nix Dobbins Human Resource Development Council DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- Serendipity abounds; there are no coincidences, is a phrase I often use in attempt to explain the abundance of goodness that exists among what people normally perceive as ordinary. Such was the remarkable life and the historical contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The actual imprint he has left on humanity will long survive the fading memory of the significance of his contributions. King is singularly credited as being the progenitor of the modern civil rights movement in the United States. Many people reference him based solely on his list of notable accomplishments, such his great speeches, winning the Nobel Peace Prize, co-founding the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, or SCLC, as well as numerous worldwide awards and recognitions. While focusing on a list of data points is worthwhile in terms of historical understanding and overall appreciation of King's legacy, it's my opinion the single most important and unrecognized attribution to his life was his understanding about the fearless outworking of his spiritual calling. He was a man with a "divine" universal mission. Far beyond what we see or read about the man is his enduring impact on the evolving fragility of the human condition. From his youth, King understood that his life's purpose would be patterned from the spiritual guidance and example of his preacher/teacher father, Martin King, Sr. It's no accident that his name was changed from Michael to Martin upon the inspiration of his father when the family traveled to Germany, learning of the importance of German priest Martin Luther's work in the evolution of the Catholic Church. Little did Martin Sr. know, how uniquely parallel the paths of these two Martins would be in terms of historical significance. King was doubtless an icon of change, set forth in this life and time, by sheer necessity of man's progress in the face of the inhuman circumstances of slavery's legacy and its negative impact on the black race in the United States. Any sensible and realistic look at pre-civil rights America easily reveals the overwhelming necessity for permanent change that I believe was step two in the evolution of civilized co-existence between blacks and whites. Even in the silent contemplation of the "every man", all people recognized the disparity and polarization of segregation and the laws that sought to perpetuate the same. Things needed to change. No man-made institution could have initiated the dramatic changes that racial segregation demanded. Non violence and civil disobedience was the key to humanizing the plight suffered by the victims of racial discrimination. Eventually, and at a high price, the message took root and forced the self inspection of America and its walls of separation that existed between the races. King had a high calling: an extraordinary task that enveloped his very imagination. His inspirational relationship with the largest civil tasking of our time was driven in part by his deep understanding gained by virtue of his early world travels and the impression made on his sense of purpose by the great spiritualists he encountered along his life's way. Martin's life represented the convergence of time, necessity, situation, circumstance, purpose, vision and determination, all toward a universal goal that maybe he himself didn't fully understand as it was unfolding. King's divine objectives were larger than life, yet he was limited to living it out as a common man, suffering the same frailties and weaknesses that all share in common. He, like us, represented "treasure in earthen vessels" yet the largess of his dream was not minimized by his humanity. King so captivated the world's consciousness regarding racial equality and what was yet to come that it temporarily distracted the worldview from what was so wrong toward the dream of what was possible. He was not bound in his thinking or his actions by the harsh reality of what was. He told a different story; he imagined a different reality. He saw a different world. His dream was more than an idea about possibility; it was a foreknowledge of what he knew to be a coming reality and he lived it fully. Our task now is to simply continue to dream his dream for it is a unifying message that ensures a peaceful coexistence. Download a full color King Observance Day poster here.
