Monday, January 15, 2007

King's Words Just as Meaningful Today

From “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” by Martin Luther King, Jr.
“Are we seeking power for power’s sake? Or are we seeking to make the world and our nation better places to live? If we seek the latter, violence can never provide the answer. The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate. So it goes. Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, 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.”

“The beauty of nonviolence is that in its own way and in its own time it seeks to break the chain reaction of evil. With a majestic sense of spiritual power, it seeks to elevate truth, beauty and goodness to the throne.”

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's amazing the difference that one person can make. And the void that's left behind when a person like that is gone.

Kathy said...

Abi, good observation. King had a lot of courage to speak out against the injustices he saw in our country and the world. Too bad his courage ending up killing him.