Post 41

When I was first asked to write something for Post 41, I was not sure what to write. I am more comfortable with responding to what others say than I am with writing essays. But then someone suggested something in a theme of President's Day. And that made me wonder. Why do we have a President's Day? There is a rather boring and uninspiring history behind President's Day , but that is not what I wondered about. Why do calendar publishers bother to mark President's Day on the calendar? So we will know when the best sales on bed mattresses are near? No one makes nearly the deal out of President's Day as is made of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday. And speaking of Martin Luther King, Jr., February is Black History Month. Why? What's the point of all this?

Some 70 years ago the idea of Black History Month was born. At that time, it was called Negro History Month . Now, I do not really know why the idea was first conceived, but I really doubt it was just so black people would have something to do during February. Yet the question remained, why does Black History Month exist? The obvious answer is to highlight the contributions of black people to society. Yes, but why? The answer here seems to be to encourage a sense of heritage and confidence in the black community, but also to encourage racial integration. Martin Luther King, Jr., was speaking to that desire for racial integration when he said, "I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character." That is arguably the most famous quote from King's famous, "I have a dream..." speech. And yet today, the most vocal leaders of the "African-American" community seem to have stepped backward and begun working for the day when the color of one's skin is still important, and respect is shown not by ignoring shades of melanin, but by using the right label for a person of a particular shade.

For me, the most profound argument I know of against this thinking is in the 1967 film Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. In one scene, John Prentice (played by Sidney Poitier) is having a private talk with his father. Near the end of that scene Prentice says, "But you think of yourself as a colored man. I think of myself as a man." Isn't that the goal of racial integration?

Anyway, let's go back to President's Day. Why does President's Day exist? Yes, it has roots in Washington's birthday and all that. So what? Why do we care about Washington's birthday? Or Lincoln's birthday, which is also closely associated with President's Day? Washington and Lincoln were great men. Washington is not only one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America, but also known as the Father of America. Lincoln fought to keep the United Stated whole. Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation. Both men are rightly revered as two of the greatest presidents America has ever had. But there are many great and beloved men whose birthdays we do not celebrate. There is no Albert Einstein Day, no Louis Armstrong Day, no John F. Kennedy Day. But perhaps we are still too close to those men. What of men like Thomas Jefferson, David Crockett, and Daniel Webster? Why Washington and Lincoln? I think I know why, but this is only my opinion.

The reason why Washington's and Lincoln's birthdays stand out is because of the place of these men in our national culture and consciousness. Whatever the facts of their lives may be, they are men of legend. They are men whose strength of character rivals the physical strength of Hercules or Superman. They bore unbearable burdens. They fought incredible battles. They were truly honest. The courage of their convictions was absolutely unshakable. They endured and struggled against insurmountable odds and were nothing short of victorious. They are American heroes. They are American legends. Yes, everyone knows that legends rarely match the facts of reality, but in this case the facts are irrelevant. The legends are what matter. The legends are the people whom honest men and women strive to emulate. And after all, isn't that what legends are for? To bring us ideals of what we should and could be?

So then the next question is: What does this mean for us, for you and me and your neighbor and the people on the other side of the cyberspace from you? Well, since this is my article, I'll tell you what I believe it means. I believe it means that when we get these holidays, these historical reminders, Black History Month and President's Day and the like, we ought to do more than just acknowledge that the reminders exist. Examine yourself. Are you an "African-American" man or a "European-American" man or an "Asian-American" man or a "Native American" man, or just a man? Did the person with the brown skin who shopped behind you at the grocery store make you worry because his or her skin was different shade than yours? When the copier jammed because you used the wrong kind of paper, did you confess or tell a lie? Do you say of that problem that seems so big, "Oh, nothing I do will change it," or do you stand firm and work to find the solution? When your principles are challenged, do you buckle or do you remain steadfast, regardless of what others may think? I believe that what all of these historical reminders mean is to challenge and encourage us to become better than we are.

What do you think they mean?