And now forty years

We remember people on their birthdays. As a nation, that is. We forget to remember them with holidays, days of remembrance, or even just a few minutes of silence on the anniversary of death. Even when that death is so monumental. I’ve thought all day about what to say about 4 April, today.

I really don’t know what to say, except that I’m sad and the world feels a little bit more lonely when this loss is recalled. We didn’t deserve him. We really didn’t. But then again we did. Mostly, we needed him. Since it has been forty years since King, Jr. was shot and killed in Memphis, I’ll just post this short clip from his final speech. And hope you find some time, sooner than later, to track down and watch At the River I Stand, a documentary that will remind you just how serious King, Jr.’s ideas were, how huge his vision, and how much we forget – even when we remember as a nation – the endless work to which he called us.

“longevity has its place…”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0FiCxZKuv8&hl=en]

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The full speech without video…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6yZ2YrKPlI&hl=en]