A tip of the hat to first responders

This week the Daily Inter Lake profiled four local first-responders honored for their work serving and protecting the community.

The awards given by the Kalispell Lions Club went to Logan Shawback of the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Don Thibert of the Kalispell Fire Department, John Fusaro of the Kalispell Police Department and Andy Horton of the Montana Highway Patrol.

Common traits could be found among all of the honorees, but most prominent seemed to be each man’s sense of selflessness and commitment to giving back to the community. All of these men have made sacrifices in their personal lives for the betterment of the Flathead.

We tip our hat to these honorees for the important — and often dangerous — work they do, and for their devotion to going above and beyond the call of duty.

Honoring King’s legacy

A half-century after national civil-rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was gunned down on a hotel balcony in Memphis, Tennessee, his message is still very much alive in the American psyche.

He preached a message of non-violence and dreamed of a country without racial prejudice. During the 50th anniversary of King’s death this week, marches were held in his honor and we all had a chance to reflect on the legacy of this remarkable leader.

We’re a country still struggling with the complexities of race issues, equality and civil rights. They were challenges for King’s generation and to a large degree they remain unsolved issues. Progress and peace are fickle things to gauge. Perhaps that’s why King’s “I Have a Dream” speech still rings in our ears. He dared to imagine and hope that his children would “one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.”

We still cling to that dream and it behooves every American to mindfully work toward racial equality. It’s the only way to turn a dream into reality.