The long vision is what eventually prevails. We celebrate the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. for what he achieved in his lifetime, and more importantly what he saw as the future.
 “But it really doesn’t matter with me now, because I’ve been to the mountaintop … I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land”
The road has been rocky and there have been numerous setbacks along the way but there has been progress and there will be more progress in the future and more setbacks. The human condition is fragile, but in many ways resilient.
As a nation we suffered the pain and death of more than 600,000 of our people in the civil war. We then saw the assassination of a beloved president. Then there were the many sins of the reconstruction period, and a litany of other travesties directed toward the individual and the state. We survived all that. We will again.
Now we are suffering under the weight of an insurrectionist. A man who has lied to the American people constantly. A man who would rather see this nation torn asunder than to relinquish the trappings of power. But giving up the power that he holds will certainly happen.
Will the journey back to being the country we all love be short? I don’t think so, but I liken it to the wounded soldier when he comes back to a new normal. I’m thinking of Senator John McCain when he said he would never volunteer to go through the pain that he had suffered as a prisoner of war, but I know that, that experience made me a better man than I might otherwise have been. (not an exact quote).
Martin Luther King Jr. was a man who knew the danger that he faced every day. One of Doctor King’s brave disciples was John Lewis. Mr. Lewis was called the conscience of the Congress. These are the real heroes of this world and because they exist in every generation, our country will survive. “The road gets rougher, it’s lonelier and it’s tougher” (a line from an old Frank Sinatra song)
Because of the bravery of Reverend King and the many good examples of humanity we have, celebrate this day with gratitude.

Ernie Fazio