A Quote to Live By

Martin Luther King Jr. said, "If you've got nothing worth dying for, you've got nothing worth living for."
This is one of my favorite quotes for many reasons. Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American civil rights activist. He challenged social views on segregation and the abundance of racism in our country, and paved the way for justice.
I believe that this quote not only speaks of who King was as a person, but also how he believes our lives should be lived.
Society has become fast paced, constantly looking for the latest and the greatest. We never stop to wonder why, we just do. Why? We have the belief that the media is right and that if that family with creepy, huge smiles likes that vacuum cleaner(bad example), then we will too. We have become a part of the social conformity, almost like one huge pile of peer pressure.
You may be wondering what any of this has to do with the quote that I began the blog with.
Well, in society we have come to the point where we have stopped thinking about WHY we want that vacuum cleaner(again, bad example), we just know we "HAVE" to have it.
It may be simple to answer the question, "What do you live for?" Some may think about it for a long time and have a deep answer, others may say shoes and socks. Whatever your answer is, you may take this question seriously or as just a playful conversation topic.
However, when asked, "What would you die for?", this question has a different meaning. It may be one thing to say you would live for it, but do you feel strongly enough for something that you would risk your life? Martin Luther King Jr. felt that way about civil rights. He risked and lost his life because of something he believed in. He felt that the only way to see change in the world was to make it, so he did. He was not even the only one. Rosa Parks, the African American woman who refused to moved to the back of the bus. And even recently, at the Columbine shooting. A young woman name Cassie Bernall was approached by one of the shooters in her high school. They asked if she believed in God, and she said yes, and they shot her. She died for believing in God. Now, if you asked her what she would die for, would she say a latest trend on TV? No, she would say that she would die for her belief in God. She never gave in and she stayed strong to what she believed in.
I believe this quote is a quote to live by.
When you are living for something, you believe that it is the reason you are here, maybe the reason you keep going.
When you would die for something, you know that you would risk your life for this, that you know your commitment and belief is that strong. It may not even be just a risk for yourself, but others as well.
So, if you have nothing you would die for, what are you living for?