Friend,
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is often remembered for his words – but far less often for the danger, sacrifice, and disruption that made those words matter.
MLK Day is not about comfort. It’s about confrontation.
Dr. King understood something that still makes people uneasy today: racial justice and economic justice are inseparable. Poverty, racism, and fear are tools used to divide working people while those in power protect their wealth and authority. That is why he organized workers. That is why he embraced civil disobedience. And that is why the state surveilled him, jailed him, and ultimately took his life.
Progress has never been handed down politely.
It has always been forced forward by ordinary people willing to take risks.
Today, our country is facing a familiar test.
We are watching authoritarian power wrapped in the language of “law and order.”
We are watching ICE terrorize communities and operate with dangerous levels of impunity.
We are watching working families crushed by an affordability crisis while corporations and political elites remain untouched.
And we are watching chaos manufactured to keep people afraid, divided, and silent.
Dr. King warned us about this moment. He warned us about moderation that prioritizes order over justice. He warned us about waiting for a “better time” instead of acting when it matters most.
So what does it mean to honor his legacy right now?
We fight for working families – for wages people can live on, healthcare people can afford, and dignity at work.
We defend our democracy against those who seek to drag this country further into autocracy and rule by fear.
We reject division and unite as Americans with a common goal: a nation that works for everyday people, not just the powerful.
And we choose courage over comfort, even when that choice comes at a cost.
Hope is not passive. Hope is something we do.
Please continue to support my efforts to fight for justice, protect democracy, and build a country worth handing down to our children and grandchildren. This moment demands action – and it demands all of us, together.
Help us turn courage into action and build a country worthy of our children and grandchildren.
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Padora For Colorado
PO Box 116
Severance, CO 80546
Let us show that a grassroots movement built on honesty, lived experience and working-class values can rise above fear, division and the politics of the powerful.
John Padora
Working Dad • Fighter • Engineer
Candidate for Congress in CO 04
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