Today, we remember a man who proved that you can change the world with simple courage, and the willingness to do the right thing.

If you haven’t listened to Dr. Martin Luther King’s entire speech overlooking the National Mall in Washington DC, today is the day to do it.

Thank you, Dr. King, for upholding the self-evident truth that everyone is created equal.

Your dream is well on its way to becoming reality.

We all remember where we were on 9/11.

I woke up, thumbed through my BlackBerry and saw the awful news that a plane had crashed into one of the World Trade Center towers. I flipped on the TV and moments later, watched as a plane appeared on one side of the screen and seconds later flew into the second tower…where I had stood just five months earlier on my honeymoon.

The world changed that day.

I remember the news anchors commenting that the Secret Service didn’t want the President back in Washington.

I remember the President, right before ordering Air Force One to take him back to the capital, speaking with moral clarity that “freedom itself was attacked today by a faceless coward…and freedom will be defended.”

Thousands of men and women in our military and intelligence agencies, led by two commanders-in-chief, have done a remarkable job of keeping us safe in the ten years since.

We still live in a dangerous world. But right now, my two kids are growing up in a time when our worst terrorist attacks happened before they were born.

I pray that will always be the case.

We will never forget.

This past Friday, Dr. Martin Luther King entered his rightful place in American history beside many of our greatest American presidents with a memorial in Washington DC.

It took 87 years to end slavery. Another 100 or so years to end segregation. And about 40 years after that, this country elected its first African-American President – a proud moment for our country, whether you agree with his policy views or not.

Dr. King took an idea enshrined in our Declaration of Independence – that all people are created equal – and turned it into a movement that changed the world and transformed the future for my daughter and every other little girl like her.

I’m incredibly thankful for his work.

Today, we’ve still got some work to do to fully realize the dream articulated by Dr. King and shared by so many. But it’s a dream that is reality for most. And that’s worth celebrating.

I just can’t wait for my next visit to Washington and visiting the new memorial.

We got him.

Nearly ten years after a September morning we will never forget, Osama bin Laden is dead.

Revenge never feels good, but justice certainly does. And justice is now done for 3,000 men, women and children killed at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and aboard four airliners.

I could not be prouder or more thankful for the men and women of our Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, CIA and others who we’ll never know had a hand in this.

Somewhere last night, a handful of Navy SEALs were clinking their beers in celebration of justice done.

We owe them a lot.

Viva USA!

100 years ago this week, a child was born to middle class parents in Tampico, Illinois.

That little boy grew up to become the President of the United States.

And then in 1987, he stood in Berlin and said the words that his own State Department criticized as naïve and provocative, words they edited out of his speech twice (he just kept putting them back in).

“Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate. Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall.”

And just two years later, that wall came down. Freedom and democracy took hold in Eastern Europe. And the world has never been the same – we saw the long-term effects in Cairo today.

Thank you, Mr. President. The world is safer and more secure, and America is a better place because of your selfless service to the American people.

A little over a week ago was the 55 year anniversary of a moment.

The establishment said that the value of a human being depended on the color of their skin.

The establishment said that if a white person got on a bus, a black person should stand up and move to the back.

The establishment said that was the way things were, and compliance would promote peace and tolerance.

The establishment was wrong.

And a tired woman named Rosa Parks – who decided enough was enough – changed the world.

As the dad of an African-American daughter, I’m so grateful that she had the courage to do something radical for her time.

So now the question lies with the rest of us.

Will we comply with the way things are because it’s the “reasonable thing to do?”

Or will we see our own opportunities to change the world…and take action?

I love how Bing chose to remember our veterans today and had to share this powerful photo. We live in the land of the free, because of the brave.

Thank a soldier, sailor, marine or airman today for their service.

Photo Credit: Bing.com / James P. Blair / CORBIS

My grandfather served in the United States Air Force during World War II and Korea, and on Memorial Day, he is often in my thoughts. I hope you take a few moments on this important day to remember the men and women who have given all for our freedom.

I’ve been all but absent from blogging for the last ten days. Part of it was work responsibilities, with a big event coming up in Silicon Valley in a few weeks. Another part was that I’ve been working on a series of posts about a cause very near and dear to my heart, and that has taken up a lot of time. Getting closer to sharing those with you.

In any case, I think that I’m back in the saddle tomorrow. Hopefully those of you who are regular readers didn’t mind the absence too much.

Have a great Memorial Day and remember that freedom is never free!

(Mobile, feed and e-mail readers: embedded video above.)

As you may remember, before he was President, Ronald Reagan was an ambassador for General Electric, touring the country and making speeches at their plants, as well as the host of the company’s weekly television show on CBS.

Today, GE is remembering President Reagan’s leadership by sponsoring the Ronald Reagan Centennial Celebration. I love the quote from the ad: “Because long before he changed the world, or led a nation, or governed a state, he inspired our company.”

On days like these, I sure miss President Reagan.

(E-mail and RSS feed readers can click through for the video.)

Most of you know that I haven’t been the biggest fan of President Obama’s policies, but he absolutely nailed it today and deserves credit for the speech that he delivered in Oslo while accepting the Nobel Peace Prize.

“Make no mistake: evil does exist in the world. A non-violent movement could not have halted Hitler’s armies. Negotiations could not convince Al-Qaeda’s leaders to lay down their arms.

“…whatever mistakes we have made, the plain fact is this: the United States of America has helped to underwrite global security for more than six decades with the blood of our citizens and the strength of our arms.”

Thank you, Mr. President, for recognizing our brave men and women in uniform for the tremendous sacrifices they have made to make our world a safer and more secure place. They deserved that speech, and you deserve our thanks for writing it.