Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This day recognizes the late civil rights leader, and has done so since it was first observed on January 20, 1986.

This day should remind us, time and time again, that equality and civil rights are not just things that we should take for granted, nor should they be things that are noteworthy only when it is convenient to do so.

King was a man of brilliant words and oratory, of lessons learned and life lived as an African-American in the south. But those words of brilliance are applicable to all of us seeking to live the American Dream – regardless of race or gender. In 1963, he noted that “even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.” King harkened back to the words of the US Constitution – those unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

You see, King’s Dream was (and is) the American Dream – or vice versa. But does King’s Dream remain unfulfilled – even in 2012?

The initial response to the legislation proposing Martin Luther King, Jr. Day may actually show us how divided this country continues to be. Senator Jesse Helms led the opposition to the bill. Senator John McCain opposed the bill, as did President Ronald Reagan. South Carolina, home of this week’s Republican presidential caucus, was the last state to recognize it as a paid holiday for state employees. On November 2, 1983 the federal holiday was signed into law.

On August 28, 1963 – 49 years ago this August – King gave the world his legendary “I Have A Dream” speech. The words ring out as strongly today as I am sure they did in 1963:

“I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

But is this our current reality? The law would have us believe so, but what about our actions amongst each other on a day-to-day basis? Look at the television. We have political parties spewing divisive vitriol left and right and special interests with agendas hidden and not-so-hidden that foster and promote acrimonious debate. The phrase “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” is used as a rallying cry and sound bite more so than the actualization of the American Dream anymore.

This bothers me immensely. The United States of America – the Land Of The Free and Home Of The Brave - is home to one of the greatest documents – perhaps one of the most progressive pieces of thinking - ever written in the history of modern civilization. Yet so many people take it for granted.

The founding fathers proposed these truths and rights, the foundation of the American Dream, the foundation of King’s Dream:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”

King noted in a 1964 speech that

“We must learn to live together as brothers or we are going to perish together as fools.”

Maybe this is one of the most important pieces of oratory that King left us with, the most important phrase to keep front and center in our minds as we recognize this day.

Happy Birthday, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Your dream lives on.

Photo credits: ElvertBarnes