post your favorite MLK quotes,as I prepare his birthday editorial

[w8liftinglady]

I plan to do like I have done for the last 5 years-compare his views with world/national events and show how truly wise he was...

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. The arc of history is long, but it bends towards justice...

[w8liftinglady]

2. ...

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching
spiritual death.

[Oceansaway]

3. Our lives begin to end the day we

become silent about things that matter.....

[OneGrassRoot]

4. I refuse to accept the view...

"I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word."

[w8liftinglady]

5. mine from last year

My tribute to Dr. King printed in my RED paper today
Posted by w8liftinglady in General Discussion (1/22-2007 thru 12/14/2010)
Sun Jan 10th 2010, 10:52 AM
http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2010...
To the Editor,

As Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday approaches, we should take a few minutes out of our busy lives to reflect on this great American and his positive influence on all the citizens of this nation. I was privileged enough to see Dr. King speak in Washington, D.C. Little did I know at the time the profound effect his words and actions would have on the world.

Dr. King devoted his life to non-violent resistance to raise the standard of living for all citizens. “He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it. He who accepts evil without protesting against it is really cooperating with it.” Dr. King opposed our involvement in Vietnam, objecting to the drafting of underprivileged young men while the privileged received infinite deferments. Dr. King would undoubtedly oppose our occupations in Iraq and Afghanistan as examples of needless waste and aggression, while people in our nation suffer from the collapse of the economy as trillions continue to be squandered.

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.” Dr. King would have been active in the debate surrounding health care. It is unconscionable that 45 million Americans have no health coverage and that many more are destitute because of health care and medication costs. If we would devote the trillions invested in aggression to caring for those who have served our country bravely and in the course been exposed to unthinkable violence, poison, and spiritual trauma, it would be a start.

“Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.” Dr.King would be active in the fight against poverty that remains rampant in this country. Under the direction and guidance of Dr. King, a minimum wage of $2/hour was established in 1968. Forty-four years later, the minimum wage is $6.25/hour for those lucky enough to be working. I realize now how fortunate I was to be a part of history. With a little help from all Americans, Dr. King’s dream can still come true. “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality ... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”

[w8liftinglady]

6. and from 2008

Thu Jan 15th 2009, 01:11 AM
http://www.thedailylight.com/articles/2009...
To the Editor,

On the eve of his birthday, I wonder what the world would be like if Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. were alive today. I thought his quotes would best point out where his efforts would be directed.

“Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.”

Dr. King would surely protest the torture done by America in Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

“We must rapidly begin the shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society.”

Dr. King would have been active in the discussion of the crimes committed by Wall Street financiers that have resulted in the economic crisis today.

“A right delayed is a right denied.”

Dr. King would have protested the passage of the Patriot Act, which removed several Constitutional rights after 9/11.

“One of the great liabilities of history is that all too many people fail to remain awake through great periods of social change. Every society has its protectors of status quo and its fraternities of the indifferent who are notorious for sleeping through revolutions.”

Dr. King would have vigorously protested the “family detention centers” such as the T. Don Hutto Immigration Center in Taylor, Texas.

“Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”

Dr. King would have been at the forefront of equal access for all Americans to medical and dental care.

“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”

Dr. King would have opposed the War in Iraq and campaigned for use of those dollars for programs that would have benefited all Americans and ultimately, the world.

“Now, I say to you today my friends, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: — ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

On his 80th birthday, Dr. King would sit back, proud that an African-American is going to be sworn in as president. I hope Dr. King’s dream is finally coming true.

[marmar]

7. ............

"An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law."

[Cerridwen]

8. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.

marmar quoted my other favorite. It's kinda hard to choose just a couple.