4A |
SATURDAY EDITION
| JANUARY 19, 2019
Siuslaw News
P.O. Box 10
Florence, OR 97439
NED HICKSON , EDITOR
| 541-902-3520 | NHICKSON @ THESIUSLAWNEWS . COM
Opinion
“I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend.” —Thomas Jefferson (1800)
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Words left unspoken by Dr. King are
equally important to remember
His speech the night before,
while meant to be a pep talk for
those within the movement, had
traces of his regret, as well as con-
cern and deference to the hands of
ifty-one years ago this April,
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was fate.
“It doesn’t really matter with me
awaiting approval of permits from
the City of Memphis for his second now,” he said during his speech to
parishioners.
march in support of black city
sanitation workers.
Five days earlier, he had led
a peaceful demonstration that
From the Editor’s Desk
ended in panic after militant
Ned Hickson
protesters showed up and in-
cited the crowd, forcing police
“I’ve been to the mountaintop.
to break up the march.
After spending most of April
Like anybody, I would like to live a
long life — longevity has its place.
4, 1968, relaxing at the Lorraine
But I am not concerned about that
Motel following his now fa-
now. ... I’ve looked over and I’ve
mous “Mountaintop” speech the
night before at a local church, he
seen the promised land.”
Shortly after 6 p.m., standing
stepped onto the balcony of his
on the balcony outside of room
second-floor motel room and ex-
changed light-hearted banter with 306, his banter with friends was
cut short by the loud crack of a
friends who had gathered in the
gunshot.
parking lot below.
He was taken to a hospital, where
It was in stark contrast to his
mood the night before, which had he never regained consciousness
carried regret over the failed march before being pronounced dead less
than an hour later.
a week earlier, as well as a politi-
According to Rev. Jesse Jackson,
cal environment that had become
who was with Dr. King that day,
unpredictable.
F
the Civil Rights leader “refused to
be afraid of the risk of ambush or
sabotage; he refused to stop what
he was doing out of fear — because
he did it out of courage and con-
viction for what was right.”
Fifty-one years later, we once
again find ourselves in the midst
of marches, protests and demon-
strations as we grapple with a
multitude of issues facing our
nation, from immigration to
gun control, the economy to
climate change.
Regardless of where we stand
on these issues as individuals,
finding and agreeing on the solu-
tions requires a collective desire to
support each other’s right to voice
opinions — and when in disagree-
ment, to do so respectfully.
Fifty-one years ago this April,
the life of Dr. King was taken by
someone who did not believe in
that principle.
As we remember his life and
death, and reflect on the powerful
message he spoke of equality and
service to one another, we must
also remember the equally power-
ful message of those words that he
was forced to leave unspoken.
Celebrating and recognizing Dr. King’s message of service
(Editor’s Note: Viewpoint sub-
missions on this and other topics are
always welcome as part of our goal
to encourage community discussion
and exchange of perspectives.)
In the Reverend Martin Luther
King Jr.’s speech on service, he
spoke of one’s greatness and how,
with that greatness, we must be-
come the servant.
“Everyone can be great because
everyone can serve,” he said.
His mission, passion and life’s
work was to help people who
needed him most. And in that
spirit of greatness and service
we have MLK Day as a federal
holiday and day of service.
It’s a day ‘on’ — not a day ‘off.’
Central to each religious tradi-
tion is a basic universal principle
“Do unto others” and in some tra-
ditions “Put others first.” And in
this spirit of doing, by serving we
take a posture of humility — which
rather than being a sign of weak-
ness is a sign of strength.
Of greatness.
We all value different things in
different ways but the virtues of
service give us a common ground;
our humanity. And this outreach
of serving when done in a spirit of
kindness and care ultimately make
us happier, healthier and stronger
people.
Service gives us something in
common and unifies us in our
common humanity.
Service is an action. And this ac-
tion of service is very much alive
and woven into what makes our
community unique; it builds our
sense of community and connects
us in this common, useful and uni-
fied way. And when we become
unified, it strengthens us as indi-
viduals and as a community as we
move forward in whatever we set
out to accomplish.
Guest Viewpoint
By Frances E. Klippel
Florence Baha'I Church
It is also out of this desire to
serve that social justice is present.
Service transcends race, gender, re-
ligion, politics and age. To care for
others or each other is to hold the
hand of the dying or infirmed, to
shelter those who are homeless, to
feed the hungry, to educate and to
protect.
We see this in our many local
many organizations that serve
those in need through warming
shelters, resources and safety made
available for families, food pro-
vided each day or week, building
homes for low-income families,
and even the love and protection
given to our beloved pets.
Service is a love, a commitment
and a calling to do something and
that is translated into action.
To serve others, we serve each
other. This transcends the increas-
ing “us vs. them” polarization and
brings dignity and humanity to
each person regardless of their sta-
tus or condition. Serving each oth-
er reflects our greatness.
As we honor Dr. King, we honor
all those who serve in our commu-
nity, whether they be profession-
als, volunteers, advocates, wheth-
er paid, donated or gifted. Service
and volunteering are central to
our lives as citizens of Florence
and the Siuslaw region, and we
see this vibrantly every hour of
every day in our caring and ge-
ner-ous community.
Monday afternoon, Jan. 21, from
2 to 4 p.m., Reverend King’s vision
of service and social justice will be
honored during a special program
hosted by The Florence Baha’I
Church and open to all commu-
nity members. The event will in-
clude speakers from Food Share,
Free Lunch, Siuslaw Outreach Ser-
vices, the Warming Shelter, Help-
ing Hands and more. The program
will also include several local poets
and two young, local singers Wil-
liam Owens singing “Georgia” and
Nyah Vollmar singing “Man In the
Mirror.”
There will also be a 52-minute
documentary, “American Story:
Race Amity and Other Traditions.”
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Emal letters to:
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WHERE TO WRITE
Pres. Donald Trump
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave. NW
Washington, D.C. 20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
Switchboard: 202-456-1414
FAX: 202-456-2461
TTY/TDD Comments:
202-456-6213
www.whitehouse.gov
Oregon Gov.
Kate Brown
160 State Capitol
900 Court St.
Salem, Ore. 97301-4047
Governor’s Citizens’ Rep.
Message Line:
503-378-4582
www.oregon.gov/gov
U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office
Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-5244
541-431-0229
www.wyden.senate.gov
U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office Bldg
Washington, DC 20510
202-224-3753
FAX: 202-228-3997
541-465-6750
www.merkley.senate.gov
U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio
(4th Dist.)
2134 Rayburn HOB
Washington, DC 20515
202-225-6416
541-269-2609
541-465-6732
www.defazio.house.gov
State Sen. Arnie Roblan
(Dist. 5)
900 Court St. NE - S-417
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1705
FAX: 503-986-1080
Email: Sen.ArnieRoblan@
oregonlegislature.gov
State Rep.
Caddy McKeown
(Dist. 9)
900 Court St. NE
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1409
Email: rep.caddymckeown
@oregonlegislature.gov
West Lane County
Commissioner
Jay Bozievich
125 E. Eighth St.
Eugene, OR 97401
541-682-4203
FAX: 541-682-4616
Email: Jay.Bozievich@
co.lane.or.us