"We can't all be born to be king but we can all have a position where we really can aspire for ourselves and for our families to do the very best that we possibly can and I want to encourage that position, " he said.

BBC: NEWS | UK | Education | Prince Charles right or wrong?

So if we look into Mervyn King's eyes and wonder what his nightmares might be, and indeed our own, it could be this: a situation where politics, economics and social unrest prove incapable of making the kind of switch that happened between 1931 and 1934.

BBC: Thinking outside the 1930s box

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. challenged us to be responsible for one another, be engaged in our communities, and empower each other to create change.

WHITEHOUSE: Service as a Life and Legacy