An important day passed this week with little fanfare. Our newest national holiday is dedicated to one of the greatest Americans, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., but it is often overlooked in the aftermath of the twin excesses of Christmas and New Year's Eve.

I think it is an important day because the life of Dr King holds many lessons worthy of reflection. Dr King is an inspiration to many, including me. He achieved great, lasting triumphs in his heroic struggle to right historic injustices. He succeeded with a campaign of non violence to reverse institutionalized beliefs about race, although the struggle continues today, many years after his death. In the process of his many campaigns and marches, he surmounted the obstacles of cultural tradition, ignorance, prejudice, indifference, unfair laws, a hostile government bureaucracy and even deep hatred that flared up in spectacular brutality. He faced it all with a spirit of peace, and confidence in the historic magnitude of his mission, and absolute conviction in the rightness of his cause.

It's hard to believe that, in my own lifetime, the US was characterized by policies of racial segregation and attitudes of racial superiority. But it was and in some respects those poisonous attitudes linger to this day. The great evil of slavery has cast a long stain over American history, one that may never be entirely removed. But Dr King's sacrifice helped to galvanize the national conscience: and ever so slowly the climate has shifted to a point where such attitudes are dimly, and rarely, tolerated, and ever so slowly through such advances the stain may gradually fade if not disappear entirely. Who at the time of King's assasination in 1968 could envision a day 40 years later when the most exciting presidential candidate was an African American?

Many people do not realize that Dr King discovered practical inspiration and a personal role model in Mohandas Ghandi. It was Ghandi who first applied the Jainist philosophy of non violence in the political sphere, first with Salt protests against the British Raj. King visited the Ghandi family in India in 1959, and the Ghandi creed of non violence became the cornerstone of Dr King's poltical initiatives. In many respects, Dr King is responsible for bringing the views of Mr Ghandi to the United States and thereby enrichening our own political landscape.

Some people also do not realize that Dr King campaigned for many groups in American society, not just the African American groups and the Civil Rights movement. At the time of his death, he was organizing a political campaign to eliminate poverty in America.

Today Dr King is frequently remembered as the Dreamer (from his famous speech "I Have A Dream") but in fact his greatest work took place in the real world, in a day to day struggle to overcome dehumanizing institutionalized segregation. His life was devoted to restoring and honoring the dignity of all men and women. And he did so without resorting to political violence or terrorism. A nobler purpose would be difficult to imagine.

The study of Dr King's life will reveal many timely lessons and perhaps a source of inspiration for the reader in times of struggle or despair. Dr King is one of my heroes, and I hope he is one of yours, too.

RT