dr. martin luther king jr., "quotes about war and proverty" non-violence (more)

7/29/2019 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "Quotes About War and Proverty" Non-Violence (More)

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revolution.

=Martin Luther King, Jr., Remaining Awake Through A Great Revolution

Now the question that we face this evening is this: In the light ofthe fact that the

oppressed people of the world are rising up against that oppression; in the light of the

fact that the American Negro is rising up against his oppression, the question is this:

How will the struggle for justice be waged? And I think that is one of the most

important questions confronting our generation. As we move to make justice a reality

on the international scale, as we move to make justice a reality in this nation, how will

the struggle be waged? It seems to me that there are two possible answers to this

question. One is to use the all to prevalent method of physical violence. And it is true

that man throughout history has sought to achieve justice through violence. And we all

know the danger of this method. It seems to create many more social problems than it

solves. And it seems to me that in the struggle for justice that this method is ultimately

futile. lfthe Negro succumbs to the temptation of using violence in his struggle for

justice, unborn generations will be the recipients of a long and desolate life ofbitterness, and his chief legacy to the future will be an endless reign of meaningless

chaos. And there is still a voice crying into the vista of time saying to every potential

Peter put up your sword. And history is replete with the bleached bones of nations and

communities that failed to follow this command.

=Martin Luther King, Jr., Justice Without Violence- 3 April 1957

Nonviolence is absolute commitment to the way oflove. Love is not emotional bash;

it is not empty sentimentalism. It is the active outpouring of one's whole being into the

being of another.

=Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957

The reason I can't follow the old eye-for-an-eye philosophy is that it ends up leaving

everyone blind. Somebody must have sense and somebody must have religion. I

remember some years ago, my brother and I were driving from Atlanta to Chattanooga,

Tennessee. And for some reason the drivers that night were very discourteous or they

were forgetting to dim their lights ...And fmally A.D. looked over at me and he said,

'I'm tired ofthis now, and the next car that comes by here and refuses to dim the lights,

I'm going to refuse to dim mine.' I said, 'Wait a minute, don't do that. Somebody has to

have some sense on this highway.' And I'm saying the same thing for us here in

Birmingham. We are moving up a mighty highway toward the city of Freedom. There

will be meandering points. There will be curves and difficult moments, and we will betempted to retaliate with the same kind of force that the opposition will use. But I'm

going to say to you, 'Wait a minute, Birmingham. Somebody's got to have some sense

in Birmingham.'



--Martin Luther King, Jr., 3May 1963

We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in

Vietnam and for justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our

doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful

corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might

without morality, and strength without sight.

--Martin Luther King, Jr., "CONSCIENCE AND THE VIETNAM WAR" in The

Trumpet of Conscience (1968)

At Oslo I suggested that the philosophy and strategy of non-violence become

immediately a subject for study and serious experimentation in every field of human

conflict, including relations between nations. This was not, I believe, an unrealistic

suggestion. World peace through non-violent means is neither absurd nor unattainable.All other methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Non-violence is a good

starting point. Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity

and understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred and emotion. We can very well

set a mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built. Racial injustice

around the world. Poverty. War. When man solves these three great problems he will

have squared his moral progress with his scientific progress. And more importantly, he

will have learned the practical art of living in harmony.

--Martin Luther King, Jr., "DREAMS OF BRIGHTER TOMORROWS" (March 1965)

And the leaders of the world today talk eloquently about peace. Every time we dropour bombs in North Vietnam, President Johnson talks eloquently about peace. What is

the problem? They are talking about peace as a distant goal, as an end we seek, but one

day we must come to see that peace is not merely a distant goal we seek, but that it is a

means by which we arrive at that goal. We must pursue peaceful ends through peaceful

means. All of this is saying that, in the final analysis, means and ends must cohere

because the end is preexistent in the means, and ultimately destructive means cannot

bring about constructive ends.

--Martin Luther King, Jr., ' 'A CHRISTMAS SERMON" 24 December 1967

I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a

militaristic stairway into the hell of nuclear annihilation ... I believe that even amid

today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow ... I

still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of God and be crowned

triumphant over war and bloodshed.

--Martin Luther King, Jr., Address in Acceptance of Nobel Peace Prize - 10 December



1964

More recently I have come to see the need for the method of nonviolence in

international relations. Although I was not yet convinced of its efficacy in conflicts

between nations, I felt that while war could never be a positive good, it could serve as

a negative good by preventing the spread and growth of an evil force. War, horrible as

it is, might be preferable to surrender to a totalitarian system. But now I believe that

the potential destructiveness of modern weapons totally rules out the possibility of war

ever again achieving a negative good. If we assume that mankind has a right to survive

then we must find an alternative to war and destruction. "Don't ever let anyone pull

you so low as to hate them. We must use the weapon oflove. We must have the

compassion and understanding for those who hate us. We must realize so many people

are taught to hate us that they are not totally responsible for their hate. But we stand in

life at midnight; we are always on the threshold of a new dawn."

=Martin Luther King, Jr., "Pilgrimage to Nonviolence" in Strength to Love (1958)

World peace through nonviolent means is neither absurd nor unattainable. All other

methods have failed. Thus we must begin anew. Nonviolence is a good starting point.

Those of us who believe in this method can be voices of reason, sanity, and

understanding amid the voices of violence, hatred, and emotion. We can very well set a

mood of peace out of which a system of peace can be built.

----Martin Luther King, Jr., December 1964

I am convinced that love is the most durable power in the world. It is not an expression

of impractical idealism, but of practical realism. Far from being the pious injunction of

a Utopian dreamer, love is an absolute necessity for the survival of our civilization. To

return hate for hate does nothing but intensify the existence of evil in the universe.

Someone must have sense enough and religion enough to cut off the chain of hate and

evil, and this can only be done through love.

----Martin Luther King, Jr., 1957

In struggling for human dignity the oppressed people of the world must not allow

themselves to become bitter or indulge in hate campaigns. To retaliate with hate and

bitterness would do nothing but intensify the hate in the world. Along the way of life,

someone must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate.

This can be done only by projecting the ethics of love to the center of our lives.

----Martin Luther King, Jr., undated

There are two types of laws: there are just laws and there are unjust laws ... What is the



difference between the two? ..An unjust law is a man-made code that is out of harmony

with the moral law.

----Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963

The ultimate test of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and moments

of convenience, but where he stands in moments of challenge and moments of

controversy.

--Martin Luther King, Jr., 27 January 1965

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. Hate multiplies hate, violence multiplies

violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a descending spiral of destruction.

--Martin Luther King, Jr., "Loving Your Enemies," in Strength to Love

Non King Quotes

Truth and non-violence are not cloistered virtues but applicable as much in the forum

and the legislatures as in the market place.

--Mahatma Gandhi, 8May 1937

Nonviolence is not a garment to be put on and off at will. Its seat is in the heart, and it

must be an inseparable part of our very being.

--Mahatma Gandhi, 1948

There is no way to peace; peace is the way.

--A.J Muste, undated

The survival of democracy depends on the renunciation of violence and the

development of nonviolent means to combat evil and advance the good.

--A.J Muste, undated

Once one assumes an attitude of intolerance, there is no knowing where it will takeone. Intolerance, someone has said, is violence to the intellect and hatred is violence to

the heart.


Non-violent resistance implies the very opposite of weakness. Defiance combined with

non-retaliatory acceptance of repression from one's opponents is active, not passive. It



requires strength, and there is nothing automatic or intuitive about the resoluteness

required for using non-violent methods in political struggle and the quest for Truth.


I contend that non-violent acts exert pressure far more effective than violent acts, for

the pressure comes from goodwill and gentleness.=Mahatma Gandhi, 26December 1924

I believe that it is impossible to end hatred with hatred.

--Mahatma Gandhi, 23 November 1924

Stability and peace in our land will not come from the barrel of a gun, because peace

without justice is an impossibility.

=Desmond Tutu, undated

dr. martin luther king jr., "quotes about war and proverty" non-violence (more)

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