Today it is Martin Luther King Day in the United States. I like the idea of secular holidays, with MLK Day being one of the best choices.
Much like the United Nations Day that I remember from growing up in Sweden, Martin Luther King Day sounds awfully politically correct. (Not that there is anything wrong with PC.) But unlike the UN Day that we celebrated by drawing ugly doves, MLK Day has been controversial until recently. If the bill had not passed with overwhelming majority in Congress, Ronald Reagan might not have approved it.
In Virginia they celebrated General Robert E. Lee, General Stonewall Jackson and Martin Luther King on the same day between 1984 and 2000 (Lee-Jackson-King Day). If I ever create a top-5 list of awkward holidays, that one might make it. I wonder how the discussion in the Virginia legislature went when they created that day. What kind of flag did they use for the celebrations? A Confederate flag shaped like Africa? A flag with a noose and the declaration of human rights written around it?
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