Editorial: Honoring King with action
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Rather than let the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. holiday come and go this week, organizers of an event in Northampton urged people to embrace the rights so many take for granted, 43 years after King's assassination.
The 250 people attending a celebration Monday at the Edwards Church received an invitation along with the songs, political critiques and personal stories on the anniversary of the great civil rights leader's birth.
Jeff Napolitano, program coordinator for the western Massachusetts chapter of the American Friends Service Committee, asked people to fill out cards and join a new effort to safeguard civil rights in our communities.
Doing so, he suggested, celebrates King by acting upon his principles, not just honoring his memory. "We have to look deeper," Napolitano told audience in the sun-drenched church.
By the end of Monday's program, about 50 people had indicated interest in joining the effort. A session Feb. 2 will continue that conversation. It begins at 6 p.m. at the AFSC's office in Suite 2B at 2 Conz St. in Northampton.
The new local effort is sponsored by Napolitan's group and by the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts and the Bill of Rights Defense Committee. That last group's national grassroots coordinator, Smith College graduate Emma Roderick, happens to live in Northampton - creating an opportunity for people in our area to provide meaningful help to a nationwide cause.
Roderick's group focuses on building support back for civil liberties that it asserts have eroded amid the nation's response to the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
By design, the committee's efforts to shore up those rights varies from one community to another.
Support for civil rights isn't a partisan cause, it's an American one. We wish this new campaign well.
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Take a deep breath
Fans of the New England Patriots woke up Monday morning and found that the world had not ended, as many thought the night before. Yes, Sunday night's 28-21 loss to the New York Jets was painful. Yes, it left an empty feeling for avid Patriot fans.
After all, the season is over. The loss triggered knee-jerk reactions from sports columnists and avid fans that the season had been a failure, a bust, a waste.
Columnists and fans can fall prey to a win-at-all costs mentality, which makes losses more devastating and wins more euphoric than they really are.
But consider what a wonderfully entertaining ride this Patriots season has been. A team that everybody predicted would be no better than 8-8 went 14-2, the best regular-season record in the NFL.
The team won its last eight games of the regular season and led the NFL in scoring with 32.4 points per game. Its quarterback, Tom Brady, led the NFL with most touchdown passes (36) and fewest interceptions (4).
Looking forward, they have the most high picks in April's draft. The Pats have two first-round picks, two second-round picks and two third-round picks - far more than any other team.
The Patriots will no doubt next year give us another wonderful season.
And if they lose in the playoffs again?
Well, OK. That just might be the end of the world.
