Dr. King's Birthday will be celebrated on January 19 in 2009. Dr. King is being honored with a National Holiday to be observed on the occasion of his birth because he was a great American. His life gave evidence to us all that perfection is not required in order to be a good person, let alone, in his case, a great one.
Hope is a singular quality he provided. And which his memory continues to provide. I call often to my mind something that Dr. King said about a person who had lost hope. This is what he said:
The cessation of breathing in his life was merely the belated announcement of an earlier death of the spirit. He died when he lost hope.
[Emphasis in original.]
Hope can be found for most Americans in the Inauguration of a new President. See, e.g., Maya Angelou, "At Long Last, Ready For The Real Deal" (Washington Post.com, Sunday, January 18, 2009).
That is much. More even than that, and in addition to that, hope can be found in other things previously despaired of. Such as courage and competence under pressure. The pilot and all the members of the crew of Flight 1549 provided that kind of hope in the week before this post. Their names are Chesley B. Sullenberger III, the pilot; co-pliot Jeffrey B. Skiles; and Flight Attendants Doreen Welsh, Sheila Dail, and Donna Dent. See, e.g., Ray Rivera, "In a Split Second, a Pilot Becames a Hero Years in the Making" p. A19, col. 1 (New York Times Nat'l Ed., Saturday, January 17, 2009); Ray Rivera and Liz Robbins, "For Flight 1549, With Age Came Wisdom," The Lede web log, January 17, 2009 post.
Hope. That Insurance Premiums will be forced to be based on actual actuarial information and not Computer Model GIGO 'projections'.
And that among other things Insurance Companies' market performance will be a result of their strong Insurance operations rather than CDSs and CDOs and other false profits.
Hope. This is a great message sent by Dr. King's Birthday. His Birthday is observed as Washington's Birthday is observed together with Lincoln's Birthday. The commemoration of Dr. King's Birthday was not enacted by the U.S. Congress as a day they gave Dr. King as his "Day," which they can take away. To the contrary. An annual observance of Dr. King's Birthday was enacted into law because of the accomplishments which Dr. King had already conferred upon the Country.
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