A good portion of my post college life has been spent involved in AmeriCorps. AmeriCrops is sort of like the domestic Peace Corps. You live a very simple life, and you work very hard to make your community better. I LOVE AmeriCorps. I loved my time in it, love the idea of it, love the way they do things, love love love. Part of the Ameri-way of doing things is that every Martin Luther King Jr. Day is treated as “a day on, not a day off.”

This is something I think Dr. King would have been in favor of. Celebrating his life, his birthday, and what he stood for by giving of your time and energy to help someone in need. In a world gone crazy with war, a world ruled by fear, and a time of great upheaval, a simple act of kindness for your fellow human being can be a radical protest against the status quo. Dr. King proved this with his peaceful protests against institutionalized racism.

Now I am no Dr. King, but my effort this year was focused on helping people winterize their homes. Specifically several members of a local battered womens shelter. We put plastic over their windows, added insulation behind the light switches, gave out energy efficient light bulbs and had a good time. It was fun making peoples homes warmer, and helping them to keep a little money in their pockets.

If you are sick of a world gone mad, might I suggest we take a page from Dr. King’s play book and do a good deed for our neighbors. On this holiday we so often see as just another day off of work, I find it therapeutic and uplifting to remember that humanity is not all about killing, racism, and gluttony. Dr. King payed for the dream of a better world with his life, in his honor we must all do our best to create that better world.