This past week I helped my two little girls celebrate their birthdays. My oldest turned nine-years old on January 15th and my youngest turned six on January 11th. My oldest of course has her birthday on Martin Luther King Jr day. Granted he is a very celebrated man in this country because he led the way in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s and was martyred allegedy by James Earl Ray. Ray admitted to the killing at first, but later retracted his confession saying he was "duped" into it by some other people.

I don't wish to take away from the celebration of this day by many black people or minorities, but it isn't a holiday that I celebrate. Mostly because I am not black. Don't get me wrong I support those who celebrate the holiday because it is important that we don't discriminate against people because of race in this country. But I don't take the day off from work for it or go to any civil rights rallies or anything like that. I would rather celebrate my daughters' birthdays because they is more important to me as far as anything that has happened in my life to date. They mean much more to me than anything in this world.

I respect those who fight for what they believe in and when they win they should celebrate. However, is the fight for civil rights complete in this country? I am not totally convinced. I believe that when we stop looking at the color of one's skin completely we will have won. In many ways we are still so far off from victory. Even those in the Civil Rights movement would agree. We have won some important battles but the war rages onward.

Martin Luther strived for more Christian Freedom and that was the struggle he fought from Wittenburg to Augsburg.

Let Freedom Ring