In the US at the moment, it’s MLK Jr day. Seth Godin has some comments about it.
The Fedex woman stopped by my office on Friday. She wanted to know if we were going to be open on Monday.
I explained that our hours really never make sense, but that my team and I would be thinking of Dr. King and his work all day, regardless of what we were doing.
She sighed deeply and said, “Every year, we’re supposed to ask if offices are going to be open, and last year it made me so sad, I had to stop asking. I even got written up for not doing it.” It turns out that most people either said, “what holiday?” or “oh, we don’t celebrate that…”
I had assumed it was a national holiday, but it appears that a large number of people work it anyway. I think thats a bit sad. Kinda like working Waitangi Day. Things like this, I think, need to be remembered and celebrated, even if, in my case, I spend most of Waitangi Day outside, in the sun, listening to Regee (it’s also Bob Marley’s Birthday on Waitangi Day – Wellington has a big outdoor concert on that day).
The full text, video, and mp3 are all available here. He’s a powerful speeker, and it’s worth a listen. He preaches non-violence, tollerance, and unity, which is, I think, something that a lot of people today – especially in politics and media – should be thinking about.
