Today I have written solely about the words, aspirations and dreams of one of the greatest Americans of the 20th century, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. It is so vitally important to remember what Dr. King gave to humanity.
He wasn't a perfect man, far from it. He had vices and foibles, just like the rest of us. Still, despite his imperfections, Martin Luther King Jr. was a credit, not just to his race, but to the entire species.
He provided hope to millions when there was little to hope for. He provided courage when fear was widespread. He provided a beacon when the skies were dark and foreboding. He provided a dream when many had given up dreaming.
Dr. King came into the national spotlight during a time in our history when fear, bigotry and hatred were rampant. If you look around our world today, this three-headed monster has reared its head again. We need another Martin Luther King, Jr. to rally the people together, to fight injustice with justice and to oppose violence with peace and love.
As in earlier entries today, I am going to share with you more of the words and thoughts of this great man. It is my sincere hope that these words will inspire not only you, but me, to greatness in the service of humanity.
He wasn't a perfect man, far from it. He had vices and foibles, just like the rest of us. Still, despite his imperfections, Martin Luther King Jr. was a credit, not just to his race, but to the entire species.
He provided hope to millions when there was little to hope for. He provided courage when fear was widespread. He provided a beacon when the skies were dark and foreboding. He provided a dream when many had given up dreaming.
Dr. King came into the national spotlight during a time in our history when fear, bigotry and hatred were rampant. If you look around our world today, this three-headed monster has reared its head again. We need another Martin Luther King, Jr. to rally the people together, to fight injustice with justice and to oppose violence with peace and love.
As in earlier entries today, I am going to share with you more of the words and thoughts of this great man. It is my sincere hope that these words will inspire not only you, but me, to greatness in the service of humanity.
Selections from The Strength to Love, 1963
Selections from Strive Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story, 1958
- If an American is only concerned about his nation, he will not be concerned about the peoples of Asia, Africa, or South America. Is this not why nations engage in the madness of war without the slightest sense of penitence? Is this not why the murder of a citizen of your own nation is a crime, but the murder of citizens of another nation in war is an act of heroic virtue?
- The chain reaction of evil -- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars -- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
- Is not fear one of the major causes of war? We say that war is a consequence of hate, but close scrutiny reveals this sequence: first fear, then hate, then war, and finally deeper hatred.
- Hatred and bitterness can never cure the disease of fear; only love can do that. Hatred paralyzes life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonizes it. Hatred darkens life; love illuminates it.
- Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.
Selections from Where Do We Go from Here?, 1967
- To accept passively an unjust system is to cooperate with that system; thereby the oppressed become as evil as the oppressor.
- To meet hate with retaliatory hate would do nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe.
- Love that does not satisfy justice is no love at all. It is merely a sentimental affectation, little more than what one would have for a pet. Love at its best is justice concretized.
- Our only hope today lies in our ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring eternal opposition to poverty, racism and militarism.
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