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While few figures are as worthy of remembrance as Martin Luther King Jr., I always worry about this sort of commemorative day.  When we go too far in idealizing a human being, it has the affect of discouraging people in the present day from striving to be as great.  It creates an image of perfection or near perfection that those who would wish to do good believe they cannot live up to.  It also creates an excuse for those who hesitate to do the right thing.

The other concern I have about such days is that the very institutionalization of the memory of a radical leader is often a form of silencing: the most threatening (to the status quo) portions of their messages are excised, made invisible.  (See Adam Howard’s article on going beyond the “I Have a Dream speech”.) It is the same thing that happens to many outside writers when they are brought into the canon.

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