We've long ago determined how to turn a single holiday observance into the maximum number of three day weekends with just a little fancy footwork.
Simply "move" the actual anniversary, or arrival, of said holiday, regardless of its actual date/day to Monday and slap on an "observed" to make it seem legal and all.
As in, not "Memorial Day" on the Wednesday where it might actually fall, but "Memorial Day 'Observed'" on the Monday following the Sunday following the Saturday.
Following the Friday, Friday, gotta get down on Friday....
Partyin', partyin', yeah!
And now that we've solved the issue of not always getting the most bang for our holiday buck, we've begun to branch out by ramping up the dry, dusty doldrums of actual history with a little freewheelin' tweakin' here and there.
A little rambunctious revisionism, if you will.
Washington (CNN) -- The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial is set to be officially dedicated on Sunday, with lingering controversy still surrounding both the statue and a quote from King.
The monument to the slain civil rights leader was due to have been unveiled on August 28, the anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington when King delivered his world-altering "I Have a Dream" speech, but Hurricane Irene forced the event to be postponed.
President Barack Obama is expected to speak at the ceremony on Sunday.
The memorial site, which features a striking 30-foot statue of King gazing out on the iconic Tidal Basin, lies between the Lincoln Memorial and the Thomas Jefferson Memorial on the National Mall. The statue, representing a "Stone of Hope," sits forward from a "Mountain of Despair."
Visitors pass through the mountain on their way to King's statue and an expanse along the Basin rimmed with an inscription wall covered with stone carvings of some of his most famous quotes. The four-acre area will also feature the iconic cherry blossom trees that draw thousands of tourists to the Mall each spring.
King's son has praised the memorial.
"The very first time that I came to the site, I was almost overwhelmed," Martin Luther King III said. "I really was impressed by this artist. He was able to capture the essence of my dad."
But sculptor Ed Dwight, who has made seven statues of King, objects to the memorial's depiction of the icon -- and to the artist chosen to create it.
"This idea of having this 30-foot-tall sculpture of this man, and this confrontational look, he would not appreciate that, because that was not him," Dwight argues.
He also objects to the choice of Chinese artist Lei Yixin.
"I feel strongly that the whole thing should've been done here in America," Dwight said.
Harry Johnson Sr., head of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial Foundation, said: "We got the best man for the job."
And Lei, for his part, said America did not have sole claim on King.
"Martin Luther King is not only a hero of America, he's also a hero of the world," he said.
Celebrated poet and author Maya Angelou has a different objection to the memorial, saying that one of the quotes has been edited to make King appear arrogant.
It reads: "I was a drum major for justice peace and righteousness."
Angelou says an important clause was taken out of the passage from a 1968 sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
King's original words were: "If you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter."
Leaving out the "if" changes the meaning, Angelou said.
"It should not be seen like he was so full of himself. Because he was not. He was a very humble man," she said. "It is not an apt reportage of what Dr. King said. It is an edited statement."
The memorial's executive architect Ed Jackson stood by the wording and said there are no plans to alter the structure.
Jackson, who oversaw the memorial's design and construction, said in a statement issued that the memorial foundation "feels comfortable with the choices we needed to make based on the space available and the messages that we wanted to convey to visitors."
He said a "council of historians" had been consulted, adding they suggested 14 quotations and two statements for possible inclusion on the monument's granite walls that "best characterize and reflect" King as a leader as well as his values.
"In no way do we believe that this paraphrased statement diminishes Dr. King's intent of the words he delivered," Jackson said. "The inscription on the Stone of Hope comes directly from Dr. King's words."
Okay, let's put aside the debate about the facial expression/body language the sculptor opted to drape on the doc, even if he does look more like a bouncer/doorman at one of P. Diddy's posh private parties and let's zero in on the quiet riot re' the quote.
It can be fairly, if not convincingly, argued that MLK did, possibly, at one time or another in his life, adopt a stance/stare resembling the depicted design.
The quotation, though?
Not a word can be said in its defense.
It's a fabrication easily disproved by a simple ten second search on the Google.
Or even just reading the preceding article.
And here's the really candy assed attempt at explaining the edit...
".....In no way do we believe that this paraphrased statement diminishes Dr. King's intent of the words he delivered," Jackson said. "The inscription on the Stone of Hope comes directly from Dr. King's words...."
Well, okay, that makes it all better.
Except for one little chink in the chain of logic.
One word, Benjamin.
Context.
Yes, Dr. King spoke the words that make up the quote, but not in the order or manner that the quote implies.
Any quotation can be made to mean anything with just the snipping of a word or a phrase here, a word or a phrase there.
Just ask John Lennon who got pilloried forty five years ago for being quoted "The Beatles are more popular than Jesus" without having the benefit of the whole interview offered, an interview that made what he said make sense.
If that one doesn't ring a bell, let's just have a little "what if" fun with this.
And watch what happens when we do just a little tweak/omission here/there with other well known utterances.
"One picture is worth a thousand."
"If you can't stand the heat, get out."
"A little knowledge is a thing."
"Ask not what you can do for your country."
"My mama always said, life was like a box."
"Frankly, my dear, I don't give."
"It's whether you win or lose."
"Beauty is deep."
"Let there be Earth and let it begin with me."
"Two wrongs make a right."
"Jimmy crack corn and I care."
And the list goes.
On.
Two things are fairly evident as we breakdown this brouhaha.
The creators of this monument are obviously playing to the culture crowd that prefers adventure to accuracy.
And those same space and time tweakers aren't letting a little thing like facts get in the way of putting a polish on the words they've put into the minister's mouth.
Even if they've polished them to the point that they are unrecognizable.
Of course, I am discounting the possibility that the whole quotation alteration is less about bluster than about bucks.
Maybe that Chinese sculptor guy charges by the letter.
In that case, it could be worse.
He could have chiseled in "...I have a dream day".
Which would then, of course, have to fall on a Monday.
As in "...Dream Day...Observed..."
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