But at the same time, I've noticed that MLK gets more attention than many other American heroes. Isn't it odd that MLK gets a whole day devoted to his memory while two previous holidays, each celebrating George Washington's and Abraham Lincoln's birthdays, were lumped together to one day and dubbed presidents' day? Who is it to say that MLK was more significant than Washington or Lincoln? And why do so many other presidents and influential people receive no national recognition in the form holidays?
To repeat, this isn't any sort of attack on MLK and his many accomplishments. I just have trouble understanding why some people get so much more national recognition than others, and why some people don't even get recognized at all.
If you look up public holidays in the United States, you'll find that most of them celebrate groups of people or American values. Only a select few celebrate individual people. But there have been many brilliant Americans that have done wonderful things. In fact, there probably aren't enough days in the year to celebrate them all. So instead of recognizing some American heroes over others, I say we should celebrate groups of people and American values.This way, we will be honoring all Americans without any discrimination. What do you think?
David, I don't think that there is any sort of discrimination here. These dates are determined based on the birthdays and the magnitude of the heroes' accomplishments. For example, when you said that Lincoln's and Washington's birthdays are lumped together into Presidents' Day, you have to understand that their birthdays are 10 days apart, so the government is just trying to make our lives simpler by combining them.
ReplyDeleteBut for those who feel like that is a bit disrespectful, I'd like to point out that banks, DMVs and other government buildings are closed on President's Day AND the Washington/Lincoln birthdays (except schools). So technically, these guys get more days off than MLK.
And another thing: you are absolutely right when you said that there are too many heroes to have an individual day of commemoration for each of them. This is why the government declares holidays for the heroes who have done bigger and more important things. MLK paved the way for Civil Rights. That's a pretty big deal if you ask most people. No wonder why he gets his own special day.