Today is the official celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday. Dr. King's real birthday is January 15 but in the United States, it's celebrated on the third Monday of January. It's also a day set aside for doing service. This may sound cynical but I could never get my head days specifically set aside for doing service or giving charity. Doing service or giving charity should be a year 'round thing. I don't think anyone should be guilted into doing good works because it's the holidays or some one's birthday. Charity or service can be something as small as having a piggy bank at home set aside for donations to a worthy cause. The Jewish tradition offers multiple opportunities to perform acts of kindness throughout the year. It can take the form of bringing food to a family who just had a baby, stopping by someone's house during the seven day mourning period, and so forth. Giving charity is a commandment. So having a day set specifically aside for performing good works or giving charity jars my sensibilities. I don't begrudge anyone who's earned the money in an honorable manner. I don't think that a person has to feel bad about having money. I do believe that if a person is wealthy, they have a responsibility to give back by performing acts of kindness and charity. It's not a lot to ask of a person. Parents can model this for their children. I think this is what Dr. King and those of his generation had in mind when they dreamt of a better society. I suppose it's what President John F. Kennedy had in mind when he said, "Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country." It's sad to think that in this day and age, the Pope is labeled a "Marxist" by some radio blow-hard because the Pope dared to make social equality a value. It's even sadder, when people with honorable wealth are shamed for it and bullied into performing acts of love and kindness.
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