Dear Senator,

Today I stood in front of Dr. Martin Luther King’s statue at his park in downtown Charlotte and thought about you. Born in 1929, assassinated in 1968, where would he be today? Would he be standing beside you, or with all of us, outside your office?

Senator, you can do the right thing today. It may cost you the support of some of your base. But, you will be doing the right thing.

And I haven’t even mentioned the issue. That’s because, in this country, in 2013, we have no shortage of issues for you to address. You can educate your constituents, take the right side of the issue and explain to them that the conservative talking points and downright lies that they’ve been reading and hearing are wrong. Half of your constituents will agree with you. Half may listen and learn and understand why they are wrong. And you may lose their votes. But, unlike members of the United States House of Representatives, whose districts have been gerrymandered to prevent the election of a challenger, you are not going to be victimized by your base. You represent the State of North Carolina and you are protected by the numbers.

You don’t have to worry about your primary. You do, however, have to worry about history. 

Where will your statue be built?