Monday, January 20, is Inauguration Day because that’s the date set by the 20th Amendment of the Constitution. This year, Joe Biden leaves his career and his Presidency at 12:00 noon as required by law. The next guy, who was also the former guy before Biden, takes the same oath he did in 2016.
By coincidence, Monday is also a federal holiday. The third Monday of January is dedicated to Martin Luther King, Jr. KIng’s real birthday is January 15, but somewhere Congress decided to make most federal holidays always happen on a Monday. It gives people a reason for a three day weekend. He would have been 95 this year.
The King Center’s theme this year is “Mission Possible: Protecting Freedom, Justice, and Democracy in the Spirit of Nonviolence365.” I can’t help but suspect that the theme is a response to the next guy coming in. The next guy has a long history of not placing value on freedom or justice. He’s also the guy who wanted to shoot protesters in the legs. I don’t think he wants anything to do with nonviolence, let alone promote it year round.
A good way to honor Dr. King is to commit to doing something for your community. Spend some time volunteering for something. Help out at a public school or library. Get to a food bank. Shovel the driveway of your senior neighbor. Almost anything that shows you belong in your community, that you care for it and the people around you. It’s a lot better than listening to the next guy spout his usual nonsense.
January 20 is also important, at least to me, because it would be my Dad’s 112th birthday. My commitment for January 20 is to be more like him. This was my Dad before he married Mom.
He was a good guy. So is Joe Biden. So was Dr. King. The next guy, not so much.
