Martin Luther King Day prompts us to not only remember this great man of peace but to pause and ask ourselves about our own efforts towards reconciliation.
On this date, Jan. 18, 1919, delegates of many countries convened in France to begin a peace conference in hopes of ending The Great War. The French president, Raymond Poincare, told the delegates in his opening address “You hold in your hands the future of the world”.
After years of chaos and death “the war to end all wars” would cease. Since that time there have been many wars and conflicts as the human heart seems bent on killing one another. But Dr. King’s words can spur each of us to change our hearts and end the rhetoric of hate so prevalent now as we move towards electing a new president. We can choose words of acrimony or words of conciliation to define our place on this planet.
Dr. King said, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”. We, too, hold in our hands the future of the world.
