8/26/08|Remembering those who came before…and following in their footsteps
I appreciated Michelle Obama’s reminder in her speech last night that this week is the 88th anniversary of women gaining the right to vote in the U.S. (August 26, 1920) and the 45th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech at the March on Washington (August 28, 1963).
It made me think about all of the history that led to this moment, and the faith of many who came before us who believed in a better world against all odds, and their tremendous sacrifices to make possible a day many of them would never see.
Whether it was Elizabeth Cady Stanton, who helped launch the U.S. women’s suffrage movement that would make it possible for future generations of women to vote and hold political office, or Dr. King, who met hatred with love as a civil rights leader and paved the way for an African-American to run for president, or many others like them both known and unknown…they all renew my faith that every one of us can make a lasting difference for the better, each in our own way.
I was reminded of Dr. King’s 1968 sermon on “The Drum Major Instinct,” especially one excerpt that is frequently quoted, and with good reason:
If you want to be important - wonderful. If you want to be recognized - wonderful. If you want to be great - wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
That’s a new definition of greatness. And this morning, the thing I like about it: By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato or Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know Einstein’s theory of relativity to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve.
You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.
