On the third Monday in January, the nation celebrates the birthday of civil rights activist Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.  The creation of this national holiday was not without controversy.  For several years in Utah, the day was called "Human Rights Day" as a means to join the nation on the holiday, but not to honor Martin Luther King, Jr.  Finally, the Republican-controlled Utah legislature realized what the day meant and why it should be called Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and renamed the holiday.  We should applaud them for finally getting it.

The day is a symbol for all Americans, but particularly African-Americans, that Americans recognizes the struggle African-Americans went through in order to reach this day - a day when a representative of a race that was so brutally mistreated in our nation for several hundred years could serve as president of the United States.

This is the first time in our history that we've celebrated Martin Luther King Jr. Day with an African-American in the Oval Office.  Dr. King would have been proud that Americans made that choice in 2008.  It isn't necessary to agree with all of the president's policies, to admit Barack Obama's election and service as president is a testament to the vitality of the American dream and a witness to how far we have come as a people in recognizing that slavery and racial discrimination are ugly features that belong solidly in the past.

Recently, President Obama delivered a speech for school children across the nation.  He delivered the message every loving parent would want their child to hear from a president - stay in school, do well, make something of yourself.  Not only was his verbal message important, but as many children looked at him, particularly children who belong to historically-persecuted racial and ethnic mnorities, they saw a president who looked alot like them.   I don't think we can minimize the significance of that for all Americans to feel the American dream is within their grasp.  Just by his presence in the Oval Office, President Obama sends a message to future generations that America is a land of opportunity for all, regardless of one's race or ethnicity.  That is a message we've been trying to send as a nation since the 19th century when waves of immigrants from all parts of Europe sailed past the Statue of Liberty and began a new life in a new, free country.

Unfortunately, we haven't always been consistent in that message.  Discrimination against African-Americans, Asians, Latinos, and other ethnic and national groups still exists.   Most of the opposition to President Obama's policies is not racial, but I believe some of it is.  

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, we need to remember two things:

1. We've traveled far as a nation to reach this point.  We should be grateful that the bigotry and hatred that kept African-Americans and other minorities from involvement in the community, state, or nation has been replaced by acceptance of an equal place for all.

2. Barack Obama's election and the other progress we've made in Utah and the nation doesn't mean we've arrived.  Discrimination still exists.  Not only is it racial, but also religious. Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele said that Republicans rejected Mitt Romney's presidential bid partly because they "had issues with Mormonism."  In a Pew Research Center poll, one quarter of Americans said that they would be less likely to support a presidential candidate because he or she was a Mormon.  Only atheists and Muslims received higher disapproval ratings.   Bigotry still exists.

Martin Luther King Jr. Day is an opportunity for all of us to reflect on where we've come as a nation and how far we still have to go to incorporate into our national life the ideals of equality of opportunity for all Americans.