I’ve been re-reading some of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s sermons from the 60s, in honor of his birthday celebration. This particular passage is a response to America’s involvement in the Vietnam war. How prescient, how relevant it seems today!
“[W]e must find an alternative to war and bloodshed….President Kennedy said on one occasion, “Mankind must put an end to war or war will put an end to mankind.” The world must hear this. I pray to God that America will hear this before it is too late, because today we’re fighting a war….”
“It is no longer a choice, my friends, between violence and nonviolence. It is either nonviolence or nonexistence.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution (bold emphases mine)
You can read more of Dr. King’s thoughts on war and peace here or listen to a short speech excerpt — a call to arms for those who might reasonably wonder how a single individual can help make world peace a reality.
UPDATE: Check out the side-by-side rhetoric stylings of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Bill O’Reilly.http://dg.specificclick.net/?u=http%3A//www.livejournal.com/stc/fck/editor/fckeditor.html%3FInstanceName%3Ddraft%26Toolbar%3DUpdate&r=
I especially like Kennedy’s quote. There’s so many people in history, and now, to look to.
Me, too…if only we’d listen.
(check out the UPDATE link to see but one reason we’re still stuck in Iraq.)
Oh, I so admire him.
I do, too. I found myself yearning for a contemporary voice with the same message, but was heartened to hear John Edwards echo his words yesterday, in the very church where Dr. King first spoke them. More, we need more people with that courage, that vision. More, without measured words, and NOW.
It’s funny how history usually repeats itself. What MLK jr. is saying really pertains to what is going on in our world today. Thank you for sharing =)
Yes, it does. Too bad we don’t learn the lessons the first time around…
Be sure you check out the YouTube link at the bottom of my post. I think you’ll enjoy it… 🙂
Thanks hun. I’ll check it when I get home =)
He was truly an amazing and incredibly remarkable man. I can’t even begin to wonder how much better this world would be if people like Dr. King, JFK and RFK had lived and had been able to help shape the future of this country.
I’m at work, so I can’t listen to that King/O’Reilly clip, but I will when I get home!
I agree with you. And I’m sorry that it didn’t turn out that way (understatement). Now, however, we find ourselves in a place so desolate that we MUST develop our own voices, become our own Moses, if you will, rather than waiting for someone to lead us to the Promised Land of peace. No longer do we have the privilege and luxury of waiting for things to change in the next year/election/whatever…we have to be the change we want to see in the world. This is what I’m thinking tonight…I’m searching my soul for ways to be a servant (as MLK suggests) for peace.
Soapbox back under the bed now. Enjoy the clip.
Very well said. You’re right, things in this country have become incredibly desolate and there aren’t enough people who are willing to stand up and develop their voice. You’re also very right that we don’t have the luxury of waiting for things to change. It’s on us to force the change, or as you and Ghandi said, to be the change we want to see in the world.
And you might want to leave that soapbox out where it’s handy. I’ve got a feeling we’re going to need yours and millions of others.