By LYNNE TERRY/editor-in-chief || OREGON CAPITOL CHRONICLE
Today, like many federal and state workers, we mark Martin Luther King Jr.’s 95th birthday.
This is the only day throughout the year that’s designated as a day of service. Use it, if you can, in service of others. HandsOn Greater Portland lists several opportunities if you live in the metro area. AmeriCorp also has suggestions for areas around the state. Just plug in your ZIP code.
This is a also good day to think about the fragile state of our democracy and the state of civil rights and social justice. We are far from achieving King’s dream, though much has changed since his assassination in 1968. More people of color and women hold reins of power in government and the economy. The county has had a Black president, Barack Obama, and we currently have a Black vice president, Kamala Harris, who is the first one. But racial inequality still abounds in Oregon and across the country – in business, health care, education and housing, and especially in financial stability.
In all ways that count.
The country has also seen a terrifying resurgence of racism in recent years that rips at society, and the state of the U.S. democracy is fragile. So are human rights.
So, take a moment if you can to do something today, this month or year to help. 2024 has just begun. Let’s finish it on a higher note. Let’s bring in more goodwill.
Be kind to yourself and try to help those less fortunate.
George Custer lives in Oakridge with his wife Sayre. George is a former smokejumper from his hometown of Cave Junction, a former captain in the U.S. Marine Corps. and ran a construction company in Southern California. George assumed the volunteer duties as the Editor of the Highway 58 Herald in 2022. He loves riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle, building all things wood, and playing drums on the weekends in his office.
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