By Joseph Conrod This holiday has a special meaning to me, because on this day, we not only celebrate the birth of this wonderful person and his remarkable leadership, we celebrate civil rights; equal opportunity in employment, education, economic development, fair wage and labor; equal protection under the law; and all the basic rights that we sometimes take for granted, like freedom of speech and the right to bear arms. This holiday helps us to connect the past to our present and enables us to build from our previous experiences for a brighter tomorrow. This is not a Black holiday or a minority holiday, as some people would have you to believe, but it is about the continuous struggle for basic human rights for all people, regardless of race, national origin, sex, disability, religion, veteran status, economic status, and, yes, even sexual orientation. This holiday is the people’s holiday, and it represents all the people in America and its diverse cultural makeup and citizenship. This holiday is a true symbol and a quest for an inclusive America. America is far from being perfect. In a perfect world, there is equal opportunity for all people. Prejudice, racism, sexism, and all the other “isms,” don’t exist in our vocabulary. In a perfect world, discrimination, oppression, and inequality is non-relevant. Justice is blind, and all of America’s citizens, both foreign or domestic, are welcome. In a perfect world, there is no conflict between religions, and people are treated fairly regardless of race, creed or color. In a perfect world, people socialize together, work together and live among each other. Children attend the same schools under the same conditions. Men and women are paid equally for the same level of experience, and minorities have the same opportunities for advancement as a non-minority. In a perfect world, people don’t hate others just for being different, and separate themselves from their presence. In a perfect world, people don’t consider themselves as being superior to others, simply because. In a perfect world, the constitution was written for all people and protected all people. In a perfect world, slavery, segregation, humiliation, murder, rape, oppression, poverty, injustice and inequality never existed. In a perfect world, red lining neighborhoods is not true, and people fairly receive the same interest rates for homes, loans and automobiles. As a nation, we can never be truly great until there is equal opportunity that goes well beyond laws and legislation, but equality in the realms of morality. When we deny people opportunity, we deny possible medical advances, innovative technology, new products and services, and new ideals and concepts. When we deny opportunity to others, we in turn deny opportunity to ourselves. When we think of all the great minds of our past and even the great minds of our modern day, we must realize the possibility that there were many, many more that were never aspired and never developed. Without unlimited, unrestricted opportunity, we all lose. We have a long way to go, and there is plenty of work to do. As long as inequalities exist in America, we must continue our quest for inclusion. We must continue our quest for equality. We must continue our quest for freedom. Today is a day to remember the past, understand the present, and plan for a better tomorrow. As leaders of this organization, and leaders in general, we must make a conscious effort to open doors of opportunity for all that may not be easily accessible. As employees and people in general, we must continue to knock on doors. As individuals, we must continue the struggle and vision of equality for all people and keep the dream alive! Joseph Conrod is a human resources analyst at the Corporate Office.