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October 25, 2005
A Sad Day...
Today marked a very sad day for me, as I learned of the passing of Rosa Parks. When I think of fairness, equity, and knowing the difference between right and wrong, I think of Ms. Parks. Since I first came to know her story, I considered her one of my heroes. She stood up (or sat down, in this case) for what was fair, equal, and most importantly, for what was right. She was not out to change the world, or to become a hero, but she accomplished these things unkowingly, and, to some extent, unwittingly.
If I were to believe everything my teachers and the history books taught me, I would be in a lot of trouble. It seems that there were at least two women who were arrested before Ms. Parks was, for doing the exact same thing. Community leaders at the time, in Montgomery, Alabama, needed someone who would help bring their cause to the masses, and for varying reasons, the women before Ms. Parks were not suitable for the task. But Ms. Parks was. She agreed to challenge the very racist, unfair, unequal and wrong policy that kept black men, women or children from sitting in the front of the bus.
When I think of brave, courageous individuals, I think of soldiers, firefighters, police officers, and the like. As a firefighter, I choose to lay my life on the line, because that is what I want to do. Ms. Parks was not afraid to give up her seat to a white man. She could have been beaten, kidnapped or murdered, but she was not afraid. She saw that behind the hatred, the violence, and the unfairness, stood a world that believed what she did, which was a place that we could all live together and ride buses together, despite our differences.
I am sad that Ms. Parks died yesterday, but having known about her story and all that she did for all of America and her citizens, makes me happy to know that people like her were here in the first place.
You will be missed Ms. Parks. May your legacy and your beliefs drive us to that better place.
Posted by Jon at October 25, 2005 08:31 PM