As 2013 kicked off, it was certainly hard to get excited over the promise of a new year. With the tragedy in Newtown still fresh and seemingly everyone bickering over the right way to make our nation safer, it has been difficult to find reasons to be optimistic.

But only 22 days into 2013, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day arrived and reminded us of how good America can be when we stop fighting and start uniting.

As our first African American President was sworn in for his second term in office, people all across the nation celebrated the birthday of the man who helped usher in the civil rights era and achieve equality for African Americans in a time when they were not allowed to use the same restrooms as white people – let alone sit in the Oval Office.

All weekend long and throughout the day Monday, Atmore residents joined together for special church services, singings, prayer breakfasts and, of course, the annual MLK Day parade.

When the events came to an end, people gathered for the annual community celebration. Color did not matter. No one was arguing over legislation or public policy. It was simply a nice break from the all of the things we are typically wrapped up in. A time to look back at a period when actions we would consider atrocious today were common practices and one man fought to change things.

Today, things are certainly not perfect. There are plenty of issues facing Americans in 2013, but a lot of progress has been made.

No longer is treating someone people poorly based on the color of their skin or their sexual orientation acceptable.

That way of thinking is common place now thanks Dr. King and others like him. Today, we have new issues that are just as important and potentially dangerous as the civil rights movement, maybe if we all spent a little more time facing those issues the way Dr. King would have, we will be a little better off by 2014.