Well, the snow came down here, and it came down in Summerville as well as many other places in SC. I hope you got to enjoy it!!! It is still snowing here, but as we have been for the last few days, we are still above freezing, so none of it is sticking.
My family and I did watch the inauguration and all the events leading up to and afterwards. I thought I would share with you some of the world thoughts on his becoming a president and how much this seems to mean. In South America, they showed Shamans there doing a good luck dance for the new president. And yes, they had a small TV watching the swearing in while they danced. Hong Kong and Japan were also featured. Parties abounded and many were willing to voice their opinion of hope. Spain, who had a rocky relationship with Former President Bush, breathed an audible sigh of relief. Americans living there admitted that till now, they didn't feel free to admit they were American. In Italy, Roma ama Obama (Rome loves Obama) shirts were worn, and Americans were saying how proud they were to be Americans. The sentiment was displayed again and again all across Europe. The news commentator ended that it would seem this moment in time is, for Americans, about the hope that it will again make America great, but for everyone else, there is hope that America will also make the world great. For me, I am just so glad that, although it may only be for a brief moment, the world again can see what a great country we have.
My question yesterday was about the name of Martin Luther King, Jr. It seems an unlikely name for an African American child of The Depression. So how did he get his name? His birth name was Michael King, Jr., named after his father. In 1934, his family traveled to Germany to attend a meeting of the World Conference of Baptist Ministers in Berlin. The event, which had its first meeting in 1905 in the United Kingdom, had always been open and welcoming to African Americans. The original black attendees were even cheered at this event. Over time, the convention was attended by both African Americans as well as native Africans. The 1934 event, taking place in Germany, was a risky event at the time. It was during a growing era of Nazi power. At this convention, the well-integrated event was an audacious display against Nazi principles. The chance to learn about the German monk who led to protestant denominations as well as the atmosphere of defiance of the convention struck a deep chord with Michael King, Sr. Upon returning from the trip, he changed both his own name and that of his son of the same name to Martin Luther King, to honor this German theologian, Martin Luther. In their ideas, both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Martin Luther shared many beliefs about the treatment of the common people despite there being 450 years separating them, and both had such a great impact on the lives they sought to change.
The word for today is change: ändern (ehn dern).
The question for today is "Now we know who Martin Luther King, Jr. was named after, but just who was this Martin Luther?"
Auf Wiedersehen,
Frau Spitzer
