“Early morning, April 4
A shot rings out in a Memphis sky.
Free at last, they took your life
They could not take your Pride.”

-U2, “Pride (In the Name of Love)”

It’s now been 40 years since Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated. This weekend, the “news” will look back on the turbulent 60’s and see how far we’ve come since then, but they often take the wrong perspective. They look at cultural advances and how economics and politics have been affected. That’s obvious. They will comment on how close an African American man is getting to the nomination for President of the United States.

That’s truly amazing, but what is ignored is that we, as individuals and a conglomerate, far too often forget about the spirit Dr. King embodied.

Selflessness and the need to pick our fellow human beings up when they fall is not celebrated. It’s the final story on a Sunday evening news report that’s supposed to make us feel warm and cozy because a paraplegic just finished law school, or a cancer victim learns to snowboard. That’s great. More power to them, but that’s not what we focus our attention on. The top story on Yahoo! when I woke up Friday morning was that Paris Hilton was a guest on My Name is Earl. Really? Thanks, now I can go about the rest of my day knowing she said “that’s hot” six times for two laughs.

So I won’t get preachy here and tell you what you should and shouldn’t do. We’re all adults, mostly, at least when it comes to buying liquor. I will say it’s beneficial to each of us, especially as Angelinos, to help each other out when we can. This city can sometimes make you feel like you’re drowning, so it helps when someone gives up their seat on the Metro or holds a door open for a mom with a small army of kids. I think if you keep that in mind, you’ll realize why the song is called “Pride."

Photo of MLK mural in Detroit by charphotocharphoto via Flickr