change

As Martin Luther King, Jr. day is approaching, I have had nagging questions on my mind. What causes change? What factors need to be present in order for change to take place?
I have just finished reading Jean Sasson's Princess Trilogy. She exposes life for Saudi women in these books at the request of an anonymous member of the Al 'Saud family. The author's hope is that by exposing this side of Saudi life, changes might be made. But what will it take for Saudi society to change its views, if it ever does? My mom says that educating women is often the catalyst for change. I believe this is true, but how do women become educated in societies that won't allow it?
I have never been so grateful about being born female in America before, but I also know that things weren't always so equal here. Which generates more questions in my mind. How did change come in America? Is it that our early settlers faced rough journies out West, and the women were integral in making the journies? As I recall, the Women's Suffrage movement began out West. Were our men more open to change for women because they saw how independent and indespensible American women were?
How did Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. effect change? I believe that he was the right man for the right time, but what made the time right for America? He faced much opposition, yet he also had much support. I thank him for his efforts at peaceful change, especially on his holiday, tomorrow.
Now, I know that things aren't perfect here in America. I taught in the inner-city and I know that minorities still face many obstacles, but I am also proud that American society has been able to evolve over the years. I just wonder how we did it.
Maybe I should have been a sociologist!