Flag should be flown on King's day, too

The History Channel has been running a series on our presidents. The character of Washington was almost "godlike" - risking his substantial wealth and jeopardizing his fate to the hangman's noose or firing squad, staying with his men as they froze to death at Valley Forge while his officers went home on leave, digging trenches with those same ragtag troops as they faced down Cornwallis at Yorktown.

Even Abraham Lincoln did not fight in the trenches during the Civil War. But he did serve during the Black Hawk War, lead us valiantly, held us together as one people and paid for his faith, service and dedication with his life. For this we fly our flags in their honor.

Until the weekend before the inauguration, I never really understood how Dr. King was drawn into the Civil Rights movement. Because Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat, he was drawn into a conflagration that America had to face. He was asked to represent his people.

As a child in the '60s I, like many whites, feared the civil unrest and uncertainty. The violence and burning cities. But it came upon us just as surely as the "War to Save the Union" came upon Lincoln. And King saw it through to the end, always somehow knowing his ultimate fate.

As Obama takes office I ask myself, isn't it time we fly our flags on King's Day too?

Frank Kowynia

Schaumburg