He has been branded a philanderer, a communist and a left-wing sympathizer by critics, yet he is only one of two Americans to have his birthday deemed a national holiday. What, then, is the reason for commemoration on the 74th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s birth?
To answer the question posed by cynics and critics, we first respond that King is not being honored for his shining moral character, nor is he being honored for a life void of human foibles.
Rather, he is being honored for a life of remarkable and unprecedented service that was so vital to the improvement of civil rights and race relations in this nation.
King was not a man of mere talk; he was a man of action.
Instead of simply complaining about racial segregation in public transportation, he organized a two-year bus boycott that ended with a mandate from the Supreme Court to end the segregation.
He was not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for sitting around and half-heartedly complaining about racial discrimination. He received it for years of work devoted to taking non-violent action against a system that needed reforming.
He was a man, who, in the tumultuous decade of the 1960s, called for peace and brotherhood.
He led a vast civil rights movement in an attempt to 'lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice' and to 'make justice a reality for all of God's children.'
He did this because, in a time of pessimism and disillusionment, he believed that one day 'all of God's children, black men and white men, ... will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, 'Free at last, Free at last, thank God Almighty, we are free at last.''
Martin Luther King Jr. was a visionary man. He was a man who believed that 'everyone can be great because anyone can serve.'
For many, Monday will be a day for sleeping in, skiing and shopping. But let us, as citizens of this great nation, not forget the significance of the day. Let us try to honor the man and his dream not by ignoring his legacy.
Let us remember, and, if only for a moment, reflect on the life of one whose service and leadership helped to lift our nation to a plane higher than it had ever been lifted.