BUCKING THE SYSTEM: NATIONAL HOLIDAYS DESERVE NATIONAL, NOT PARTISAN RECOGNITION

In two days many of us will commemorate the life of a national hero by taking a day off from school or work. Like only a handful of other phenomenal Americans, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. has had a specific day set aside by our national government to honor his works on behalf of "we the people."

It took a hard-fought battle by a number of people from many walks of life over several decades to see this honor bestowed on King. Oddly enough, however, this holiday doesn't receive the recognition it deserves because of some people's misperceptions.

I feel obligated to honor all of our nationally recognized holidays, even though I just don't get some of them. For example, my dad's a veteran, as are several of my uncles and aunts. Some of them were drafted into military service; others volunteered. I can't see myself doing anybody's military service, but I respect anyone brave enough to take up arms in service to our country.

And then there's Labor Day. I just never have understood that holiday. I appreciate it, I'll always cherish it, but too many people work on that day for me to really understand its existence.

Even so, I have no problem paying homage to all our national holidays, as well as to many religious days outside of those Christian, even though I may not have a full understanding of why those days are set aside. We are an eclectic group of people, and our bonds become stronger through better understanding.

In fact, that's the whole point of commemorating holidays, in my opinion. It's a time to learn more about someone or group or thing that is revered enough to require national attention annually.

Unfortunately, many of us have a problem accepting some holidays as our own. Some people actually believe Veterans Day should only be remembered by veterans, and MLK Day is a black holiday.

Those are dangerous misconceptions that hinder rather than help understanding.

As I've already stated, these holidays are American holidays. We shut down our banks and our post offices and our schools and our government offices because these are days our government -- that is, we -- believed should be honored. We honor our veterans, we honor our presidents ... we honor Dr. King.

You know, it all boils down to being American and celebrating everything American. I like who I am; in fact, I can't think of another nationality I'd rather be. Whether we're talking about baseball or pop culture or chitterlings (chitlins to us southern folk), I like to think we Americans "got it going on."

Just because Dr. King was a black American doesn't mean his day should be recognized only by black Americans. We all need to know why this man's life is worthy of recognition, and we should all -- whether we live in Perryville, Marble Hill, Cape Girardeau or wherever -- claim this holiday as our own.

~Tamara Zellars Buck is a staff writer for the Southeast Missourian.