MLK

Circumstances are bizarre to ludicrous when you have to put as much of your delicate fresh food in the fridge as you can, because that is the warmest spot in the kitchen. Water in the dish pail in the sink in the kitchen froze solid and yet my heart is warm. It is MLK Day as it is referred to here, Martin Luther King day, since a few years an official paid holiday. Yes even in Arizona Dr King Junior is remembered with parades and fiestas and gathering of people singing We shall overcome, one day... It is an absolute necessity for us to overcome racism and to grant everybody her and his civil and human rights. By now research has proven that diversity is a plus in society. Companies with a diverse workforce do better. Diversity, even without communication, just the presence of others (race, sexual orientation, gender, religion, handicap) reminds us there may be other ways of looking at the world than our own. In knowing, learning how to do this, we don’t get stuck in a rut, we try to think outside the box and acknowledge that there are different life experiences. On NPR (National Public Radio, the American version of BBC World) during the morning edition, we could learn that a growing body of research suggests that diversity in the workplace not only helps companies stay in tune with their customers, but also adds to the diversity of ideas and attitudes. Columnist Shankar Vedantam deals with this subject in his column to be found under Human Behavior in the Washington Post.
It is a good day for us all to remember that Martin Luther King was non-violent, that he spoke out against the war in Vietnam and that in honoring his legacy we should all speak out against all war. Also we all should have a dream for bright, multicolored, multifaceted futures.