Several months ago a member of the College administration mentioned to me in passing that he was involved in the planning committee for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. He explained that they were organizing several significant events in recognition of the holiday, and that many were involved.
In recent years I've developed a slight agitation caused by the events that celebrate the day. I feel that the man, and more importantly the civil rights movement, are landmark moments not only in the history of this nation, but in a global context as well.
However, I can't help but feel that there are other national holidays that commemorate equal or greater things that receive next to no attention. This is not simply specific to Dartmouth, or to certain types of institutions. It is a national phenomenon that should be considered.
I asked the aforementioned administrator if there was a Veteran's Day committee and if there would be a similar celebration for the upcoming national holiday. He said there would not be.
I followed by inquiring with him if the College felt that Martin Luther King Day was more important than Veteran's Day. In a carefully worded answer, he said that he felt the college believed that Martin Luther King Day was more pertinent to their concerns. I think that the College's three-week long observance can serve as evidence.
Though MLK Day is an important recognition of the outstanding accomplishments of the civil rights movement, I feel it is a travesty that political correctness has ballooned this holiday into a spectacle while other holidays are hardly mentioned.
I would love to celebrate MLK Day in the way that we do. In our observance we cannot come close to doing justice to the importance of the movement, nor to the magnitude of any of the subjects of national holidays.
Yet, it is simply unjust and shameful, to celebrate this holiday to a degree far greater than others.
It is actually somewhat enraging to think that the college does not recognize Veteran's Day and Memorial Day. Can we please remember that these holidays honor everyone that has ever had the courage to risk their lives for the interests of the United States and its citizens? I'm going to repeat that because we tend to think lightly these days of the concept that millions of Americans have risked their lives defending our liberty.
I know that I never want anything to do with the armed forces and am thankful that others have been braver than I am. Without their contributions, civil rights would be the very least of our problems.
I'm not arguing that the civil rights movement isn't important and not deserving of the attention it gets with Martin Luther King Day. I am arguing that the other holidays do as well, and that since we are not celebrating them, we absolutely should not be going to the ends that we do to celebrate MLK Day.
Can you really tell me that the civil rights movement is more noteworthy than every person who has ever fought in a war for the United States? This is the message that is being sent. There are points where political sensitivity is just plainly too offensive to common sense and this is one of them.
