Shenkman Law
- General Religion and Estate Planning
- Christian Estate Planning
- Catholic Estate Planning
- Muslim Estate Planning
- Scientology Estate Planning
- Jewish Estate Planning
- Trusted Advisors and Mental Health Concerns: Making The Case For Change
- Human Aspects of Estate Planning
- Financial and Estate Planning for the Parkinson’s Community
- Care Managers Role in the Estate Planning Process
- Addictions and Impaired Clients: Estate and Related Planning Considerations
- LGBTQ Planning: What Skills Do Planners Need to Properly Serve the Modern Family?
- Working with Beneficiaries with Mental Health Challenges
- Neurodiversity & Brain Health: What You Need to Know to Help Clients and Work with Colleagues.
- Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints Estate Planning.
- Hindu Estate Planning.
- Buddhist Estate Planning.
- Baha’i Estate Planning.
- ….and more.
Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2025 – Do More than Observe It
Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed on Monday, January 20, 2025. Wikipedia explains this day as follows: “King was the chief spokesperson for nonviolent activism in the Civil Rights Movement, which successfully protested racial discrimination in federal and state law. The campaign for a federal holiday in King’s honor began soon after his assassination in 1968. President Ronald Reagan signed the holiday into law in 1983, and it was first observed three years later. At first, some states resisted observing the holiday as such, giving it alternative names or combining it with other holidays. It was officially observed in all 50 states for the first time in 2000.”
What does it mean to “observe?” One definition from Miriam Webster is: “to take notice.” Is taking notice of Martin Luther King Jr. Day really enough? We live in a time when houses of worship of seemingly every faith have been shot at, or blown up. Hate crimes of all types against all peoples have and are skyrocketing. Hate seems to be more prevalent than hope. Too often anyone viewed as “different” based on viewpoint, religion, disability, lifestyle or other factors is subject to bias, anger, and worse.
Intolerance and hate seem to have grown, not withered. Perhaps it is time for each of us to do more than observe, as in take notice of, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Perhaps it’s time to start acting on and LIVING the principles for which Dr. King lived for, and not merely observing them.
We cannot eliminate hate, bigotry and racism against some groups, it must be rooted out everywhere in all forms. If hate is allowed in any corner it will grow into a cancer that affects more and more of society.
Martin Luther King Jr. in his book, Where Do We Go from Here? Chaos or Community stated: “We have inherited a large house…a great “World House” in which we have to live together–black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Muslim and Hindu…a family separated by ideas, culture, and interest who… must learn somehow to live with each other in peace.”
The current and disturbing state of our World House was described in an email from Tanenbaum, an organization devoted to combatting religious prejudice: “The targeting of people at church and during family religious celebrations are not random incidents. They’re the product of a culture that is fueling bias, bigotry, hatred—and violence. The hate doesn’t discriminate. And it doesn’t show up only against Christians and Jews. It also targets Muslims, immigrants, people of color and far too many others. We won’t—and none of us should—look the other way…”
By LIVING the principals Dr. King advocated for, we can each make a difference. The world needs less hate, more hope.
Stephen R. Covey, in his book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People expounds on Habit 5: “Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood.” Perhaps that is one way we can all learn how to live together in the great “World House” Dr. King described. Perhaps one way we can work to eliminate religious prejudice is, as Stephen Covey describes, first understand. Let’s understand each other’s viewpoints, faiths, cultures, and lifestyles. We need to understand the facts and realities, not the 15 second Tik Tok perspectives of our complex world, and complex relationships. It takes effort to “understand.” It also requires us to experience discomfort and be vulnerable as we will almost always learn facts and perspectives that are different than our current views. That difficulty is how personal growth happens. As the old saying goes: “There is no comfort in the growth zone, and there is no growth in the comfort zone.” A key to lessening hate is gaining knowledge. We must learn about each other and LISTEN to each other with open minds. The ignorant hatred that has infected American society must be eradicated with knowledge, not more hate. We must all study history to understand how to respect each other. “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” – George Santayana. For an ancient view of these foundational values, you might see my new book Timeless Teachings: Life Lessons from the Torah available on Amazon. The Old Testament is replete with lessons applicable today about values, compassion, respect, understanding and inclusion of all.
Below are links to an ongoing series of webinars on how religion, health issues, addictions and lifestyle choices affect estate planning. More are planned. If there is a faith, culture, health issue, disability, or interest that has not been represented let’s create one together to add to the list. Let’s work together to understand each other. Let’s work together to live the principles Dr. King spoke about. Watching a webinar about another faith might be a very small step. But we have to take steps together to improve the World House we are living in. We must seek first to understand if we are going to learn somehow to live with each other in peace.
Webinars available on www.shenkmanlaw.com/webinars:
Forthcoming.
We need help with.
Please email us if you can help us add to the above list of webinars by covering additional faiths, cultures, and people.
►If you would like original PowerPoints or other materials from any of the above programs to present in your community to build awareness just email shenkman@shenkmanlaw.com and we’ll share whatever material we have
► If you would like to collaborate on turning the above materials into articles to publish and disseminate this information, let us know.
►Resolve in the New Year to find a way you can help make a posit
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