Martin Luther King Jr Day is not for shopping

Aside from sports, I watch very little live television. I record most of my programs specifically so that I can fast-forward through the ads. 

I say this because, having not watched ads for years, I didn't know if American commerce still pushed sales on Martin Luther King Jr Day.

But, of course, I'm a librarian, so I research. And yes, there are plenty of deals to be had on this day.

Now, I'm a capitalist. Not a laissez-faire one. Not an ideological one. I believe in a strong welfare state. I believe that certain sectors, most notably health and education, shouldn't be at the mercy of the profit motive. But people starting their own businesses, or being paid good wages for work done, is the lifeblood of a free society. 

However, like health and education, some things should be beyond the capitalist, profit-driven gaze. The day we honor the birth of the American Moses should be one of those things.

Dr. King's life and example should not be subject to a 30% off deal. It should be a day of reflection and service, as President Barack Obama celebrated it, and as incoming President Joe Biden will celebrate it tomorrow. 

It's okay for some things to be kept out of our consumerist culture. The Republic won't fall. The economy won't crash. 

In spite of what right wing Christian fundamentalists would have you believe, we live in a secular society. The only religious holiday we truly celebrate, Christmas, has been shorn of its sacred nature. Sure, we may go to church, or temple, or mosque; but, against the odds, most of us maintain that separation between the sacred and profane.

What America has is a secular religion. It consists of honoring and remembering and building upon the struggles we as a people have gone through to make this a more perfect Union. And the icon of that secular faith, the figure who stands for the multitude which has engaged in struggle, is Dr. King.

Today should be a day of reflecting on how much we've achieved, and how much further we have to journey on the path to justice. If not for the pandemic, it should be a day devoted to service. It should not be a day to be lured out of your home to stock up on baubles and fripperies. There are things of more import, first things which address the nature of who we are as human beings and as a nation.

I hope that today, as we prepare for a rebirth after four dark years, we can look on Dr. King and his peers—Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, Dolores Huerta, Shirley Chisolm, and countless others—and live up to their examples, continuing their work to banishing the dark with light. That would be one proper way to honor Dr. King's birth. Save the sales for Presidents' Day.

Epilogue

I came across the picture fronting this piece this past weekend. Dr. King took on a great burden during his lifetime, and we now place an equally large burden on him as a symbol of what's good in this country, and yet how far we have to go. It's good to remember that he was a man, who loved his wife, and who enjoyed his life away from the front lines.