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As we celebrate Black History
Month and the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.,
I can't help but think of "freedom rides" of the 1960s and the destination of
uncounted buses and trains as they traveled the nation bound for places such as
Selma, Birmingham, and the Washington Mall.
I also can't help but
reflect on today's universities and the prevailing paradigm that asserts there
is no Truth with a capital "T" but only personal "truths" that are uniquely
created by each individual. "It is the journey that matters" we are told, "not
the destination. There is no such thing as a final answer. It really doesn't
matter what worldview you choose as long as you choose one. To travel is better
than to arrive. Just get on a train—any train—and enjoy the ride."
The 1930s was also a
time of uncounted trains and buses: Trains loaded not with riders dreaming of
freedom but with those plagued by nightmares of their own slavery and death. Trains
not of passengers but of prisoners. Trains bound not for the Lincoln Memorial
but for Auschwitz.
As we honor the legacy
of Martin Luther King, are any of us really ready to look
into the faces of those in the boxcars bound for the furnaces and say, "Just
enjoy the ride! The fun is in the journey! The destination really is of little
consequence! It doesn't matter what you believe as long as it works for you!"
Maybe the best way to
honor Dr. King is to remember that education is only good if it helps our next
generation of leaders avoid getting on the wrong train headed to the wrong
place.