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It's Very Easy For One Talking About Violence And Hatred For The White Man To Appeal To [negro From Ghetto]. I Have Never Thought Of This, But I Think This Is Quite True, That If, Even If You Talk To Them About Nonviolence From A Tactical Point Of View, They Can't Quite See It Because They Don't Even Know They're Outnumbered.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
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It's Very Easy For

Martin Luther King, Jr.
It's Very Easy For One Talking About Violence And Hatred For The White Man To Appeal To [negro From Ghetto]. I Have Never Thought Of This, But I Think This Is Quite True, That If, Even If You Talk To Them About Nonviolence From A Tactical Point Of View, They Can't Quite See It Because They Don't Even Know They're Outnumbered.
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Topic
Ghetto
Men
Thinking
More From Martin Luther King, Jr.
Violence As A Way Of Achieving Racial Justice Is Both Impractical And Immoral. It Is Impractical Because It Is A Descending Spiral Ending In Destruction For All. It Is Immoral Because It Seeks To Humiliate The Opponent Rather Than Win His Understanding; It Seeks To Annihilate Rather Than To Convert. Violence Is Immoral Because It Thrives On Hatred Rather Than Love.
Love
Peace
Winning
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.
Peace
Kings
Evil
Had It Not Been For The Ministry Of My Good Friend Dr. Billy Graham, My Work In The Civil Rights Movement Would Not Have Been As Successful As It Has Been.
Successful
Good Friend
Rights
Violence Multiplies Violence.
Violence
There Is Nothing New About Poverty. What Is New, However, Is That We Have The Resources To Get Rid Of It.
Poverty
Resources
Nothing New
No One Is Free Until We Are All Free.
You Don't Have To See The Whole Staircase, Just Take The First Step.
Inspirational
Positive
Faith
True Sympathy Is The Personal Concern Which Demands The Giving Of One's Soul.
Sympathy
Giving
Soul
I Knew That America Would Never Invest The Necessary Funds Of Energies In Rehabilitation Of Its Poor As Long As Adventures Like Vietnam Continued To Draw Men And Skills And Money Like Some Demonic Destructive Suction Tube.
Adventure
Men
Skills
There Is Nothing More Tragic Than To Find An Individual Bogged Down In The Length Of Life, Devoid Of Breadth.
Life
Health
Individual
The Principle Of Nonviolent Resistance Seeks To Reconcile The Truths Of Two Opposites-acquiescence And Violence -while Avoiding The Extremes And Immoralities Of Both.
Inspirational
Opposites
Two
The Majority Of The Negroes Who Took Part In The Year-long Boycott Of Montgomery's Buses Were Poor And Untutored; But They Understood The Essence Of The Montgomery Movement; One Elderly Woman Summed It Up For The Rest. When Asked After Several Weeks Of Walking Whether She Was Tired, She Answered: "my Feet Is Tired, But My Soul Is At Rest.
Tired
Essence
Feet
Pity May Represent Little More Than The Impersonal Concern Which Prompts The Mailing Of A Check, But True Sympathy Is The Personal Concern Which Demands The Giving Of One's Soul.
Sympathy
True Friend
Giving
Returning Hate For Hate Multiplies Hate.
Hate
Kings And Love
Loving Your Enemies
Love Is Creative And Redemptive. Love Builds Up And Unites; Hate Tears Down And Destroys. The Aftermath Of The ‘fight With Fire’ Method...is Bitterness And Chaos, The Aftermath Of The Love Method Is Reconciliation And Creation Of The Beloved Community...yes , Love-which Means Understanding, Creative, Redemptive Goodwill, Even For One’s Enemies-is The Solution
Hate
Mean
Fighting
Means We Use Must Be As Pure As The Ends We Seek.
Mean
Jail
Use
Three Simple Words Can Describe The Nature Of The Social Revolution That Is Talking Place And What Negroes Really Want. They Are The Words "all," "now," And "here."
Simple
Talking
Want
When Our Days Become Dreary With Low Hovering Clouds Of Despair, And When Our Nights Become Darker Than A Thousand Midnights, Let Us Remember That There Is A Creative Force In This Universe, Working To Pull Down The Gigantic Mountains Of Evil, A Power That Is Able To Make A Way Out Of No Way And Transform Dark Yesterdays Into Bright Tomorrows. Let Us Realize The Arc Of The Moral Universe Is Long But It Bends Toward Justice.
Dark
Power
Night
Like Anybody, I Would Like To Have A Long Life. Longevity Has Its Place. But I'm Not Concerned About That Now. I Just Want To Do God's Will.
Long
Want
Difficult Days
Do To Us What You Will, And We Will Still Love You. Bomb Our Homes And Threaten Our Children, And As Difficult As It Is, We Will Still Love You. But We Assured That We'll Wear You Down By Our Capacity To Suffer, And One Day We Will Win Our Freedom. We Will Not Only Win Freedom For Ourselves, We Will So Appeal To Your Heart And Conscience That We Will Win You In The Process, And Our Victory Will Be A Double Victory.
Encouragement
Children
Love You
The Major Problem Of Life Is Learning How To Handle The Costly Interruptions. The Door That Slams Shut, The Plan That Got Sidetracked, The Marriage That Failed. Or That Lovely Poem That Didn't Get Written Because Someone Knocked On The Door.
Doors
Lovely
Problem
America Must Begin The Struggle For Democracy At Home. The Advocacy Of Free Elections In Europe By American Officials Is Hypocrisy When Free Elections Are Not Held In Great Sections Of America.
Struggle
Home
Europe
The World In Which We Live Is Geographically One. The Challenge That We Face Today Is To Make It One In Terms Of Brotherhood.
Challenges
Brotherhood
World
My Obligation Is To Do The Right Thing. The Rest Is In God's Hands.
Hands
Obligation
Right Thing
Everybody Can Be Great, Because Everybody Can Serve. [...] You Only Need A Heart Full Of Grace.
Heart
Helping Others
Greatness
I Have Condemned Any Organizer Of War, Regardless Of His Rank Or Nationality.
War
Organizer
Nationality
Jazz Speaks For Life. The Blues Tell The Story Of Life's Difficulties.
Stories
Jazz
Speak
All Men Are Caught In An Inescapable Network Of Mutuality.
Men
Caught
Love Is The Only Creative, Redemptive, Transforming Power, In The Universe.
Love Is
Creative
Transforming
The Curse Of Poverty Has No Justification In Our Age.
Age
Poverty
Curse
Within The Best Of Us, There Is Some Evil, And Within The Worst Of Us, There Is Some Good. When We Come To See This, We Take A Different Attitude Toward Individuals.
Attitude
Evil
Different
Life Isn't Worth Living Until You Have Found Something Worth Dying For.
Inspirational
Dying
Found
The Church Must Be Reminded That It Is Not The Master, Or The Servant Of The State, But Rather The Conscience Of The State.
Christian
Church
States
We Must Have The Faith That Things Will Work Out Somehow, That God Will Make A Way For Us When There Seems No Way.
Work Out
Way
Spirituality
A Nation That Continues Year After Year To Spend More Money On Military Defense Than On Programs Of Social Uplift Is Approaching Spiritual Doom.
Change
Uplifting
Spiritual
I Am Thankful, However, That Some Of Our White Brothers Have Grasped The Meaning Of This Social Revolution And Committed Themselves To It. They Are Still All Too Small In Quantity, But They Are Big In Quality.
Inspirational
Brother
White
When People Get Caught Up With That Which Is Right And They Are Willing To Sacrifice For It, There Is No Stopping Point Short Of Victory.
Determination
Business
Believe
I Think In This Phase, After The Negro Emerges In And From The Desegregated Society, Then A Great Deal Of Time Must Be Spent In Improving Standards Which Lag Behind To A Large Extent Because Of Segregation,discrimination, And The Legacy Of Slavery.
Thinking
Legacy
Lag
Difficult And Painful As It Is, We Must Walk On In The Days Ahead With An Audacious Faith In The Future.
Painful
Difficult
Walks
Every Man [human Being] Is An Heir To A Legacy Of Dignity And Worth
Men
Legacy
Heirs
We Are Now Faced With The Fact That Tomorrow Is Today. We Are Confronted With The Fierce Urgency Of Now. In This Unfolding Conundrum Of Life And History, There "is" Such A Thing As Being Too Late. This Is No Time For Apathy Or Complacency. This Is A Time For Vigorous And Postive Action.
Motivational
Today
Complacency
We Cannot Walk Alone.
Walks
The Way Of Acquiescence Leads To Moral And Spiritual Suicide. The Way Of Violence Leads To Bitterness In The Survivors And Brutality In The Destroyers. But, The Way Of Nonviolence Leads To Redemption And The Creation Of The Beloved Community.
Suicide
Spiritual
Beloved Community
There Is Something In The Soul That Cries Out For Freedom.
Soul
Cry
The Profit Motive, When It Is The Sole Basis Of An Economic System, Encourages A Cutthroat Competition And Selfish Ambition That Inspires Men To Be More Concerned About Making A Living Than Making A Life.
Selfish
Ambition
Men
I Think The First Reason That We Should Love Our Enemies, And I Think This Was At The Very Center Of Jesus' Thinking, Is This: That Hate For Hate Only Intensifies The Existence Of Hate And Evil In The Universe.
Jesus
Hate
Thinking
The Universe Is Under The Control Of A Loving Purpose, And That In The Struggle For Righteousness Man Has Cosmic Companionship (angels). Behind The Harsh Appearance Of The World There Is A Benign Power.
Struggle
Angel
Men
Christ Furnished The Spirit And Motivation While Gandhi Furnished The Method.
Motivation
Spirit
Christ
The Negroes Of America Had Taken The President, The Press And The Pulpit At Their Word When They Spoke In Broad Terms Of Freedom And Justice. But The Absence Of Brutality And Unregenerate Evil Is Not The Presence Of Justice. To Stay Murder Is Not The Same Thing As To Ordain Brotherhood.
Taken
America
Evil
Nonviolence Is An Imperative In Order To Bring About Ultimate Community.
Inspirational
Order
Community
We Must Remember That Intelligence Is Not Enough. Intelligence Plus Character--that Is The Goal Of True Education. The Complete Education Gives One Not Only Power Of Concentration, But Worthy Objectives Upon Which To Concentrate. The Broad Education Will, Therefore, Transmit To One Not Only The Accumulated Knowledge Of The Race But Also The Accumulated Experience Of Social Living. If We Are Not Careful, Our Colleges Will Produce A Group Of Close-minded, Unscientific, Illogical Propagandists, Consumed With Immoral Acts. Be Careful, Brethren! Be Careful, Teachers!
Teacher
Character
College
A Lie Cannot Live.
Liars
Lying
Deception
We Are Now Faced With The Fact, My Friends, That Tomorrow Is Today. We Are Confronted With The Fierce Urgency Of Now. In This Unfolding Conundrum Of Life And History, There Is Such A Thing As Being Too Late. Procrastination Is Still The Thief Of Time. Life Often Leaves Us Standing Bare, Naked, And Dejected With A Lost Opportunity. . . . Over The Bleached Bones And Jumbled Residues Of Numerous Civilizations Are Written The Pathetic Words, 'too Late.' ... Now Let Us Begin. Now Let Us Rededicate Ourselves To The Long And Bitter, But Beautiful, Struggle For A New World.
Beautiful
Struggle
Procrastination
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.
Peace
Hate
War
I Cannot Make Myself Believe That God Wanted Me To Hate. I'm Tired Of Violence, I've Seen Too Much Of It. I've Seen Such Hate On The Faces Of Too Many Sheriffs In The South. And I'm Not Going To Let My Oppressor Dictate To Me What Method I Must Use. Our Oppressors Have Used Violence. Our Oppressors Have Used Hatred. Our Oppressors Have Used Rifles And Guns. I'm Not Going To Stoop Down To Their Level. I Want To Rise To A Higher Level. We Have A Power That Can't Be Found In Molotov Cocktails.
Hate
Believe
Tired
If Physical Death Is The Price That I Must Pay To Free My White Brothers And Sisters From A Permanent Death Of The Spirit, Then Nothing Can Be More Redemptive.
Inspirational
Change
Sister
I Question And Soul-search Constantly Into Myself To Be As Certain As I Can That I Am Fulfilling The True Meaning Of My Work, That I Am Maintaining My Sense Of Purpose, That I Am Holding Fast To My Ideals, That I Am Guiding My People In The Right Direction.
People
Soul
Maintaining
I Have A Dream That One Day Even The State Of Mississippi, A Desert State, Sweltering With The Heat Of Injustice And Oppression, Will Be Transformed Into An Oasis Of Freedom And Justice.
Dream
Oasis
Justice
Brutality Was Imprisoned In A Lumious Glare Revealing The Naked Truth To The Whole World
Naked
Brutality
World
History Is A Great Teacher. Now Everyone Knows That The Labor Movement Did Not Diminish The Strength Of The Nation But Enlarged It. By Raising The Living Standards Of Millions, Labor Miraculously Created A Market For Industry And Lifted The Whole Nation To Undreamed Of Levels Of Production. Those Who Attack Labor Forget These Simple Truths, But History Remembers Them.
Teacher
Simple
Labour Movement
[people] Don't See That There's A Great Deal Of A Difference Between Nonresistance To Evil And Nonviolent Resistance.
Differences
People
Evil
Commit Yourself To The Noble Struggle For Human Rights. You Will Make A Greater Person Of Yourself, A Greater Nation Of Your Country And A Finer World To Live In.
Country
Struggle
Rights
The Real Problem Is That Through Our Scientific Genius We’ve Made Of The World A Neighborhood, But Through Our Moral And Spiritual Genius We’ve Failed To Make Of It A Brotherhood.
Spiritual
Real
Brotherhood
It Is Cheerful To God When You Rejoice Or Laugh From The Bottom Of Your Heart.
Inspirational
Laughter
Heart
The Purpose Of Direct Action Is To Create A Situation So Crisis-packed That It Will Inevitably Open The Door To Negotiation.
Inspirational
Doors
Direct Action
And See Ominous Clouds Of Inferiority Beginning To Form In Her Little Mental Sky.
Clouds
Sky
Inferiority
The Human Heart Is Like A Ship On A Stormy Sea Driven About By Winds Blowing From All Four Corners Of Heaven.
Love
Heart
Emotional
We Must Substitute Courage For Caution.
Substitutes
Caution
I Won't Have Any Money To Leave Behind. I Won't Have The Fine And Luxurious Things Of Life To Leave Behind. But I Just Want To Leave A Committed Life Behind.
Determination
Want
Fine
I Became Convinced That Noncooperation With Evil Is As Much A Moral Obligation As Is Cooperation With Good. No Other Person Has Been More Eloquent And Passionate In Getting This Idea Across Than Henry David Thoreau. As A Result Of His Writings And Personal Witness, We Are The Heirs Of A Legacy Of Creative Protest.
Writing
Ideas
Evil
There Is Nothing But A Lack Of Social Vision To Prevent Us From Paying An Adequate Wage To Every American Citizen Whether He Be A Hospital Worker, Laundry Worker, Maid Or Day Laborer
Vision
Citizens
Adequate
The Conservatives Who Say, "let Us Not Move So Fast," And The Extremists Who Say, "let Us Go Out And Whip The World ," Would Tell You That They Are As Far Apart As The Poles. But There Is A Striking Parallel: They Accomplish Nothing; For They Do Not Reach The People Who Have A Crying Need To Be Free.
Moving
Accomplish Nothing
People
Now There Is A Final Reason I Think That Jesus Says, 'love Your Enemies.' It Is This: That Love Has Within It A Redemptive Power. And There Is A Power There That Eventually Transforms Individuals.
Jesus
Love You
Thinking
If An American Is Concerned Only 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?
War
America
Citizens
Often The Oppressor Goes Along Unaware Of The Evil Involved In His Oppression So Long As The Oppressed Accepts It.
Long
Evil
Oppression
The First Principle Of Value That We Need To Rediscover Is This: That All Reality Hinges On Moral Foundations. In Other Words, That This Is A Moral Universe, And That There Are Moral Laws Of The Universe Just As Abiding As The Physical Laws.
Inspiring
Reality
Law
I Firmly Believe That The Gandhian Philosophy Of Nonviolent Resistance Is The Only Logical And Moral Approach To The Solution Of The Race Problem In The United States.
Philosophy
Believe
Equality
Why Should There Be Hunger And Deprivation In Any Land, In Any City, At Any Table, When Man Has The Resources And The Scientific Know-how To Provide All Mankind With The Basic Necessities Of Life? There Is No Deficit In Human Resources. The Deficit Is In Human Will.
Men
Land
Cities
Racial Segregation Must Be Seen For What It Is, And That Is An Evil System, A New Form Of Slavery Covered Up With Certain Niceties Of Complexity.
Covered Up
Evil
Slavery
If America Does Not Use Her Vast Resources Of Wealth To End Poverty And Make It Possible For All Of God's Children To Have The Basic Necessities Of Life, She Too Will Go To Hell.
Children
America
Doe
America Has Given The Negro People A Bad Check, A Check Which Has Come Back Marked 'insufficient Funds.'
America
People
I Have A Dream Speech
Find A Voice In A Whisper.
Voice
Many People Fear Nothing More Terribly Than To Take A Position Which Stands Out Sharply And Clearly From The Prevailing Opinion. The Tendency Of Most Is To Adopt A View That Is So Ambiguous That It Will Include Everything And So Popular That It Will Include Everybody. Not A Few Men Who Cherish Lofty And Noble Ideals Hide Them Under A Bushel For Fear Of Being Called Different.
Men
Views
People
A Nation Or Civilization That Continues To Produce Soft-minded Men Purchases Its Own Spiritual Death On The Installment Plan.
Motivational
Spiritual
Men
Our Goal Is To Create A Beloved Community," Said Dr. King, "and This Will Require A Qualitative Change In Our Souls As Well As A Quantitative Change In Our Lives.
Kings
Beloved Community
Goal
My Place Is In The Sunlight Of Opportunity.
Opportunity
Sunlight
And When This Happens, When We Allow Freedom Ring, When We Let It Ring From Every Village And Every Hamlet, From Every State And Every City, We Will Be Able To Speed Up That Day When All Of God's Children, Black Men And White Men, Jews And Gentiles, Protestants And Catholics, Will Be Able To Join Hands And Sing In The Words Of The Old Negro Spiritual: Free At Last! Free At Last! Thank God Almighty, We Are Free At Last!
God
Spiritual
Children
The Church Must Be Reminded That It Is Not The Master Or The Servant Of The State, But Rather The Conscience Of The State. It Must Be The Guide And The Critic Of The State, And Never Its Tool. If The Church Does Not Recapture Its Prophetic Zeal, It Will Become An Irrelevant Social Club Without Moral Or Spiritual Authority.
Spiritual
Church
Doe
You See, My Friends...you Begin To Ask The Questions, 'who Owns The Oil?' You Begin To Ask The Question, 'who Owns The Iron Ore?' You Begin To Ask The Question, 'why Is It That People Have To Pay Water Bills In A World That Is Two-thirds Water?'
Two
Iron
Oil
We Must Learn That Passively To Accept An Unjust System Is To Cooperate With That System, And Thereby To Become A Participant In Its Evil.
Inspirational
Hero
Evil
An Individual Has Not Begun To Live Until He Can Rise Above The Narrow Horizons Of His Particular Individualistic Concerns To The Broader Concerns Of All Humanity. And This Is One Of The Big Problems Of Life, That So Many People Never Quite Get To The Point Of Rising Above Self. And So They End Up The Tragic Victims Of Self-centeredness. They End Up The Victims Of Distorted And Disrupted Personality.
Inspiring
Self
People
The Hope Of The World Is Still In Dedicated Minorities. The Trail-blazers In Human, Scientific And Religious Freedom Have Always Been In A Minority.
Religious
Minorities
World
Human Progress Never Rolls In On The Wheels Of Inevitability; It Comes Through The Tireless Efforts And The Persistent Work Of Dedicated Individuals Who Are Willing To Be Co-workers With God And Without This Hard Work Time Itself Becomes An Ally Of The Primitive Forces Of Social Stagnation.
People
Effort
Progress
Personalism's Insistence That Only Personality-finite And Infinite-is Ultimately Real Strengthened Me In Two Convictions: It Gave Me Metaphysical And Philosophical Grounding For The Idea Of A Personal God, And It Gave Me A Metaphysical Basis For The Dignity And Worth Of All Human Personality.
Wisdom
Real
Philosophical
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
Inspirational
Motivational
Dream
I" Cannot Reach Fulfillment Without "thou." The Self Cannot Be Self Without Other Selves. Self-concern Without Other-concern Is Like A Tributary That Has No Outward Flow To The Ocean.
Ocean
Self
Flow
It Really Boils Down To This: That All Life Is Interrelated. We Are All Caught In An Inescapable Network Of Mutuality, Tired Into A Single Garment Of Destiny. Whatever Affects One Destiny, Affects All Indirectly.
Tired
Destiny
Life Is
Nothing In The World Is More Dangerous Than Sincere Ignorance And Conscientious Stupidity.
Inspirational
Witty
Kings
May I Stress The Need For Courageous, Intelligent, And Dedicated Leadership... Leaders Of Sound Integrity. Leaders Not In Love With Publicity, But In Love With Justice. Leaders Not In Love With Money, But In Love With Humanity. Leaders Who Can Subject Their Particular Egos To The Greatness Of The Cause.
Integrity
Stress
Commitment
If You Have Not Discovered Something You Are Willing To Die For, Then You Are Not Fit To Live.
Fit
Willing
Dies
Yes, If You Want To Say That I Was A Drum Major, Say That I Was A Drum Major For Justice. Say That I Was A Drum Major For Peace. I Was A Drum Major For Righteousness. And All Of The Other Shallow Things Will Not Matter. I Won't Have Any Money To Leave Behind. I Won't Have The Fine And Luxurious Things Of Life To Leave Behind. But I Just Want To Leave A Committed Life Behind. And That's All I Want To Say.
Justice
Want
Matter
We Talk Eloquently About Our Commitment To The Principles Of Christianity, And Yet Our Lives Are Saturated With The Practices Of Paganism. We Proclaim Our Devotion To Democracy, But We Sadly Practice The Very Opposite Of The Democratic Creed.... This Strange Dichotomy, This Agonizing Gulf Between The Ought And The Is, Represents The Tragic Theme Of Man's Earthly Pilgrimage.
Commitment
Opposites
Practice
The Quality, Not The Longevity, Of One's Life Is What Is Important.
Life
Time
Important
Peace Is Not Merely The Absence Of War But The Presence Of Justice, Of Law, Of Order —in Short, Of Government.
War
Government
Order
To Put It In The Terms Of St. Thomas Aquinas: An Unjust Law Is A Human Law That Is Not Rooted In Eternal Law And Natural Law.
Law
Unjust
Natural
We Must Build Dikes Of Courage To Hold Back The Flood Of Fear.
Encouragement
Fear
Patriotic
President Lyndon Johnson's High Spirits Were Marked As He Circulated Among The Many Guests Whom He Had Invited To Witness An Event He Confidently Felt To Be Historic, The Signing Of The 1965 Voting Rights Act.... The Bill That Lay On The Polished Mahogany Desk Was Born In Violence In Selma, Alabama, Where A Stubborn Sheriff... Had Stumbled Against The Future.
Rights
Voting
President
Violence Is Not Only Impractical But Immoral.
Violence
Immoral
If I Were Constantly Worried About Death, I Couldn't Function. After A While, If Your Life Is More Or Less Constantly In Peril, You Come To A Point Where You Accept The Possibility Philosophically.
Life Is
Worried
Possibility
When We Look At Modern Man, We Have To Face The Fact...that Modern Man Suffers From A Kind Of Poverty Of The Spirit, Which Stands In Glaring Contrast To His Scientific And Technological Abundance; We've Learned To Fly The Air Like Birds, We've Learned To Swim The Seas Like Fish, And Yet We Haven't Learned To Walk The Earth As Brothers And Sisters.
Wisdom
Brother
Anger
There Is Nothing More Majestic Than The Determined Courage Of Individuals Willing To Suffer And Sacrifice For Their Freedom And Dignity.
Sacrifice
Suffering
Majestic
It Is Love That Will Save Our World And Our Civilization.
Our World
Civilization
World
There Is Little Hope For Us Until We Become Tough-minded Enough To Break Loose From The Shackles Of Prejudice, Half-truths, And Down-right Ignorance.
Ignorance
Prejudice
Half
A Riot Is The Language Of The Unheard. On Blacks In America; Address At Birmingham Al
America
Addresses
Als
World Hinges On Moral Foundations. God Has Made It So! God Has Made The Universe To Be Based On A Moral Law. So Long As Man Disobeys It He Is Revolting Against God. That’s What We Need In The World Today - People Who Will Stand For Right And Goodness.
Inspiring
Men
Our World
A Church That Has Lost Its Voice For Justice Is A Church That Has Lost Its Relevance In The World.
Voice
Justice
Church
We Have Moved Into An Era Where We Are Called Upon To Raise Certain Basic Questions About The Whole Society. We Are Still Called Upon To Give Aid To The Beggar Who Finds Himself In Misery And Agony On Life's Highway. But One Day, We Must Ask The Question Of Whether An Edifice Which Produces Beggars Must Not Be Restructured And Refurbished.
Agony
Giving
Society
Was Not Jesus An Extremist For Love: "love Your Enemies, Bless Them That Curse You, Do Good To Them That Hate You, And Pray For Them Which Despitefully Use You, And Persecute You." Was Not Amos An Extremist For Justice: "let Justice Roll Down Like Waters And Righteousness Like An Ever-flowing Stream." Was Not Paul An Extremist For The Christian Gospel: "i Bear In My Body The Marks Of The Lord Jesus."
Inspirational
Jesus
Body
The Poor In Our Countries Have Been Shut Out Of Our Minds And Driven From The Mainstream Of Our Societies, Because We Have Allowed Them To Become Invisible.
Country
Mind
Our Society
A Good Many Observers Have Remarked That If Equality Could Come At Once, The Negro Would Not Be Ready For It. I Submit That The White American Is Even More Unprepared.
White
Good Man
Ready
In This World Is A God Whose Matchless Strength Is A Fit Contrast To The Sordid Weakness Of Man.
Christian
Men
Weakness
The Arc Of The Moral Universe Is Long But It Bends Toward Justice.
Long
Justice
Arcs
True Compassion Is More Than Throwing A Coin To A Beggar. It Demands Of Our Humanity That If We Live In A Society That Produces Beggars, We Are Morally Commanded To Restructure That Society.
Compassion
Humanity
Coins
I Never Intend To Adjust Myself To The Madness Of Militarism.
Politics
Madness
Militarism
It's Just As Evil To Kill Vietnamese As It Is To Kill Americans.
Wisdom
Fun
Evil
God Has Given Each Normal Person A Capacity To Achieve Some End. True, Some Are Endowed With More Talent Than Others, But God Has Left None Of Us Talentless.
Normal
Talent
Achieve
A Social Movement That Only Moves People Is Merely A Revolt. A Movement That Changes Both People And Institutions Is A Revolution.
Moving
People
Movement
A Time Comes When Silence Is Betrayal. Even When Pressed By The Demands Of Inner Truth, Men Do Not Easily Assume The Task Of Opposing Their Government's Policy, Especially In Time Of War. Nor Does The Human Spirit Move Without Great Difficulty Against All The Apathy Of Conformist Thought, Within One's Own Bosom And In The Surrounding World.
Betrayal
War
Moving
But Alas! Science Cannot Now Rescue Us, For Even The Scientist Is Lost In The Terrible Midnight Of Our Age. Indeed, Science Gave Us The Very Instruments That Threaten To Bring Universal Suicide.
Suicide
Age
Midnight
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... Darkness Cannot Drive Out Darkness: Only Light Can Do That. Hate Cannot Drive Out Hate: Only Love Can Do That.
Peace
Kings
Fear
We've Got Some Difficult Days Ahead. But It Doesn't Matter With Me Now. Because I've Been To The Mountaintop. And I Don't Mind. Like Anybody, I Would Like To Live A Long Life. Longevity Has Its Place. But I'm Not Concerned About That Now. I Just Want To Do God's Will. And He's Allowed Me To Go Up To The Mountaintop. And I've Looked Over. And I've Seen The Promised Land.
Land
Justice
Diversity
Love Even For Enemies Is The Key To The Solution Of The Problems Of Our World.
Keys
Our World
Enemy
Without Love, There Is No Reason To Know Anyone, For Love Will In The End Connect Us To Our Neighbors, Our Children And Our Hearts.
Children
Heart
Reason
It Is Quite Easy For Me To Think Of A God Of Love Mainly Because I Grew Up In A Family Where Love Was Central And Where Lovely Relationships Were Ever Present.
Love
Thinking
Easy
Please Be Peaceful. We Believe In Law And Order. We Are Not Advocating Violence, I Want You To Love Your Enemies... For What We Are Doing Is Right, What We Are Doing Is Just -- And God Is With Us.
Believe
Order
Law
When The Negro Finds The Courage To Be Free, He Faces Dogs And Guns And Clubs And Fire Hoses Totally Unafraid, And The White Men With Those Dogs, Guns, Clubs And Fire Hoses See That The Negro They Have Traditionally Called "boy" Has Become A Man.
Dog
Gun
Boys
Education Without Direction Is A One-sided Social Value. Direct Action Without Education Is A Meaningless Expression Of Pure Energy.
Direct Action
Social Values
Expression
Whatever My Doubts, However Heavy The Burden, I Feel That I Must Accept The Task Of Helping To Make This Nation And This World A Better Place To Live In - For All Men, Black And White Alike.
Black And White
Men
Doubt
Now Is The Time To Make Real The Promises Of Democracy. Now Is The Time To Rise From The Dark And Desolate Valley Of Segregation To The Sunlit Path Of Racial Justice. Now Is The Time To Lift Our Nation From The Quicksands Of Racial Injustice To The Solid Rock Of Brotherhood. Now Is The Time To Make Justice A Reality For All Of God’s Children.
Children
Real
Dark
Curtailment Of Free Speech Is Rationalized On Grounds That A More Compelling American Tradition Forbids Criticism Of The Government When The Nation Is At War... Nothing Can Be More Destructive Of Our Fundamental Democratic Traditions Than The Vicious Effort To Silence Dissenters.
War
Government
Effort
In Our Glorious Fight For Civil Rights, We Must Guard Against Being Fooled By False Slogans, Such As 'right-to-work.' It Provides No 'rights' And No 'works.' Its Purpose Is To Destroy Labor Unions And The Freedom Of Collective Bargaining…. We Demand This Fraud Be Stopped.
Fighting
Rights
Labor Laws
It May Be True That The Law Cannot Change The Heart But It Can Restrain The Heartless.
Heart
Law
May
He Should Sweep Streets So Well That All The Host Of Heaven And Earth Will Pause To Say, 'here Lives A Great Street-sweeper Who Did His Job Well'
Jobs
Greatness
Heaven
I Would Urge You To Give Priority To The Search For God. Allow His Spirit To Permeate Your Being. ... If You Do Not Have A Deep And Patient Faith In God, You Will Be Powerless To Face The Delays, Disappointments, And Vicissitudes That Inevitably Come.
Disappointment
Giving
Priorities
Life's Most Persistent And Urgent Question Is, 'what Are You Doing For Others?'
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
There Is A Power In Love That Our World Has Not Discovered Yet. Jesus Discovered It Centuries Ago. Mahatma Gandhi Of India Discovered It A Few Years Ago, But Most Men And Most Women Never Discover It. For They Believe In Hitting For Hitting; They Believe In An Eye For An Eye And A Tooth For A Tooth; They Believe In Hating For Hating; But Jesus Comes To Us And Says, 'this Isn't The Way.'
Jesus
Hate
Believe
There Are Often Multiple Sources For Some Famous Statements By King; As A Professional Speaker And Minister He Used Some Significant Phrases With Only Slight Variation Many Times In His Essays, Books, And His Speeches To Different Audiences.
Kings
Book
Different
For More Than Two Centuries Our Foreparents Labored Here Without Wages; They Made Cotton King; And They Built The Homes Of Their Masters In The Midst Of Brutal Injustice And Shameful Humiliation - And Yet Out Of A Bottomless Vitality Our People Continue To Thrive And Develop.
Inspirational
Kings
Home
It Is Appalling That The Most Segregated Hour Of Christian America Is Eleven O'clock On Sunday Morning.
Christian
Morning
Sunday
Use Me, God. Show Me How To Take Who I Am, Who I Want To Be, And What I Can Do, And Use It For A Purpose Greater Than Myself.
God
Christian
Religious
Let Us Be Practical And Ask The Question: How Do We Love Our Enemies?
Enemy
Love Your Enemies
Practicals
There Is No Truth To The Myth That Negroes Depreciate Property. The Fact Is That Most Negroes Are Kept Out Of Residential Neighborhoods So Long That When One Of Us Is Finally Sold A Home, It's Already Depreciated.
Home
Long
Facts
Like An Unchecked Cancer, Hate Corrodes The Personality And Eats Away Its Vital Unity. Hate Destroys A Man's Sense Of Values And His Objectivity. It Causes Him To Describe The Beautiful As Ugly And The Ugly As Beautiful, And To Confuse The True With The False And The False With The True.
Beautiful
Hate
Cancer
I Don't Think You Can Be In Public Life Without Being Called Bad Names.
Thinking
Names
Public Life
A Religion True To Its Nature Must Also Be Concerned About Man's Social Conditions....a Ny Religion That Professes To Be Concerned With The Souls Of Men And Is Not Concerned With The Slums That Damn Them, The Economic Conditions That Strangle Them, And The Social Conditions That Cripple Them Is A Dry-as-dust Religion.
Men
Dust
Soul
You Are Resisting, But You've Come To See That Tactically As Well As Morally, It Is Better To Be Nonviolent.if One Would, Didn't Want To Deal With The Moral Questions, It Would Just Be Impractical For The Negro To Talk About Making His Struggle A Violent One.
Struggle
Want
Moral
Human Salvation Lies In The Hands Of The Creatively Maladjusted.
Sad
Business
Lying
All Progress Is Precarious, And The Solution Of One Problem Brings Us Face To Face With Another Problem.
Decision
Progress
Faces
While The Question Of Who Killed President Kennedy Is Important, The Question 'what Killed Him' Is More Important.
Important
President
President Kennedy
The Use Of Violence In Our Struggle Would Be Both Impractical And Immoral. To Meet Hate With Retaliatory Hate Would Do Nothing But Intensify The Existence Of Evil In The Universe. Hate Begets Hate; Violence Begets Violence; Toughness Begets A Greater Toughness. We Must Meet The Forces Of Hate With The Power Of Love; We Must Meet Physical Force With Soul Force. Our Aim Must Never Be To Defeat Or Humiliate The White Man, But To Win His Friendship And Understanding.
Hate
Struggle
Winning
Shallow Understanding From People Of Good Will Is More Frustrating Than Absolute Misunderstanding From People Of Ill Will.
Kings
Ill Will
People
It Is Always The Right Time To Do The Right Thing.
Right Time
Right Thing
I Hate It When People Quote Me On The Internet, Claiming I Said Things That I Never Actually Said.
Hate
People
Internet
When People Criticize Zionists, They Mean Jews. You Are Talking Anti-semitism.
Mean
Talking
People
You Only Need A Heart Full Of Grace
Heart
Greatness
Helping Others
What I'm Saying To You This Morning Is That Communism Forgets That Life Is Individual. Capitalism Forgets That Life Is Social, And The Kingdom Of Brotherhood Is Found Neither In The Thesis Of Communism Nor The Antithesis Of Capitalism But In A Higher Synthesis.
Morning
Justice
Brotherhood
We Have No Honorable Intentions In Vietnam. Our Minimal Expectation Is To Occupy It As An American Colony And Maintain Social Stability For Our Investments. This Tells Why American Helicopters Are Being Used Against Guerrillas In Colombia And Peru. Increasingly The Role Our Nation Has Taken Is The Role Of Those Who Refuse To Give Up The Privileges And Pleasures That Come From The Immense Profits Of Overseas Investment.
Giving Up
Taken
America
You Know, My Friends, There Comes A Time When People Get Tired Of Being Trampled Over By The Iron Feet Of Oppression.
Tired
Iron
Feet
[nonviolence] Seeks To Secure Moral Ends Through Moral Means.
Mean
Morality
Ends
Only In The Darkness Can You See The Stars.
Inspirational
Hope
Stars
If The Negro Is To Achieve The Goal Of Integration, He Must Organize Himself Into A Militant And Nonviolent Mass Movement.
Inspirational
Goal
Movement
Never Succumb To The Temptation Of Becoming Bitter. As You Press For Justice, Be Sure To Move With Dignity And Discipline, Using Only The Instruments Of Love.
Hate
Moving
Discipline
Man Must Never Be Treated As A Means To The End Of The State, But Always As An End Within Himself.
Mean
Men
Ends
Whenever You Are Engaged In Work That Serves Humanity And Is For The Building Of Humanity, It Has Dignity And It Has Worth.
Humanity
Dignity
Building
Ordinarily, A Person Leaving A Courtroom With A Conviction Behind Him Would Wear A Somber Face. But I Left With A Smile. I Knew That I Was A Convicted Criminal, But I Was Proud Of My Crime.
Leaving
Criminals
Proud
Hatred Paralyzes Life; Love Releases It. Hatred Confuses Life; Love Harmonizes It. Hatred Darkens Life; Love Illuminates It.
Love
Life
Marriage
We In The West Must Bear In Mind That The Poor Countries Are Poor Primarily Because We Have Exploited Them Through Political Or Economic Colonialism.
Country
Political
Mind
Truth Is Found Neither In Marxism Nor In Traditional Capitalism. Each Represents A Partial Truth. Historically Capitalism Failed To See The Truth In Collective Enterprise, And Marxism Failed To See The Truth In Individual Enterprise. Nineteenth Century Capitalism Failed To See That Life Is Social And Marxism Failed And Still Fails To See That Life Is Individual And Personal. The Kingdom Of God Is Neither The Thesis Of Individual Enterprise Nor The Antithesis Of Collective Enterprise, But A Synthesis Which Reconciles The Truths Of Both.
Wisdom
Synthesis
Kingdoms
Far From Being Disturbed By The Presence Of The Church, The Power Structure Of The Average Community Is Consoled By The Church's Often Vocal Sanction Of Things As They Are.
Inspirational
Average
Community
You Have To Keep Moving Forward
Moving
Moving Forward
Keep Moving Forward
In The Struggle For Human Rights And Justice, Negros Will Make A Mistake If They Become Bitter And Indulge In Hate Campaigns.
Hate
Mistake
Struggle
At Times, Life Is Hard, As Hard As Crucible Steel. It Has Its Bleak And Painful Moments. Like The Ever Flowing Water Of A River, Life Has Its Moments Of Drought And Its Moments Of Flood. Like The Ever-changin Cycle Of The Seasons, Life Has The Soothing Warmth Of The Summers And The Piercing Chill Of Its Winters. But Through It All, God Walks With Us. Never Forget That God Is Able To Lift You From The Fatigue Of Despair To The Buoyancy Of Hope, And Transform Dark And Desolate Valleys Into Sunlit Paths Of Inner Peace.
Summer
Religious
Dark
The Holy Passion Of Friendship Is Of So Sweet And Steady And Loyal And Enduring A Nature That It Will Last Through A Whole Lifetime, If Not Asked To Lend Money In The End, We Will Remember Not The Words Of Our Enemies, But The Silence Of Our Friends
Sweet
Passion
Silence
One Who Condones Evils Is Just As Guilty As The One Who Perpetrates It.
Forgiveness
Wisdom
Evil
I Want To Be The White Man's Brother, Not His Brother-in-law.
Relationship
Brother
Men
If A Person Sweeps Streets For A Living, He Should Sweep Them As Michelangelo Painted, As Beethoven Composed, As Shakespear Wrote.
Integrity
Should
Streets
I Feel That The Time Is Always Right To Do What Is Right. Where Progress For The Negro In America Is Concerned, There Is A Tragic Misconception Of Time Among Whites. They Seem To Cherish A Strange, Irrational Notion That Something In The Very Flow Of Time Will Cure All Ills.
America
Progress
Flow
We Must Be Concerned Not Merely About Who Murdered Them, But About The System, The Way Of Life, The Philosophy Which Produced The Murderers .
Philosophy
Way
Brilliant
If A Man Has Not Discovered Anything So Dying Is Not Worth Living
Men
Dying
Worth Living
Our Destiny Is Tied Up With The Destiny Of America.
Destiny
America
Tied Up
I Have Come To See More And More That One Of The Most Decisive Steps That The Negro Can Take Is That Little Walk To The Voting Booth. That Is An Important Step. We've Got To Gain The Ballot, And Through That Gain, Political Power.
Political
Voting
Important
The Curse Of Poverty Has No Justification In Our Age...the Time Has Come For Us To Civilize Ourselves By The Total, Direct And Immediate Abolition Of Poverty.
Age
Poverty
Curse
Power Is The Ability To Achieve Purpose.
Purpose
Achieve
Ability
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.
Peace
Hate
War
One Who Breaks An Unjust Law That Conscience Tells Him Is Unjust ... Is In Reality Expressing The Highest Respect For Law ... We Will Not Obey Your Evil Laws.
Reality
Law
Evil
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.
Peace
War
Men
Be The Peace You Wish To See In The World!
Inspirational
Motivational
Change
Every Now And Then I Think About My Own Death, And I Think About My Own Funeral. [...] Every Now And Then I Ask Myself, 'what Is It That I Would Want Said?' I'd Like Somebody To Mention That Day, That Martin Luther King, Jr., Tried To Give His Life Serving Others. I'd Like For Somebody To Say That Day, That Martin Luther King, Jr., Tried To Love Somebody.
Kings
Thinking
Giving
One Who Breaks An Unjust Law Must Do So Openly, Lovingly, And With A Willingness To Accept The Penalty.
Love
Law
Unjust
Money, Like Any Other Force Such As Electricity, Is Amoral And Can Be Used For Either Good Or Evil.
Money
Evil
Electricity
Understanding Quotes: Their Essence and Application

Quotes, or quotations, are powerful tools in communication, encapsulating ideas, emotions, and wisdom in concise expressions. They serve various purposes across different contexts, from academic writing to everyday conversation.

1. Defining Quotes

A quote is a repetition of someone else's statement or thoughts. It can be a direct replication of words spoken or written by another individual, often used to support arguments, provide evidence, or convey profound insights.


2. The Importance of Quotes

2.1. Enhancing Credibility

Incorporating quotes from authoritative sources can bolster the credibility of your work. By referencing experts or primary sources, you demonstrate thorough research and a solid foundation for your arguments.


2.2. Providing Evidence

Quotes serve as concrete evidence to support claims. In academic and professional writing, they validate points made, offering readers a basis to trust the information presented.


2.3. Conveying Emotions and Perspectives

Quotes can encapsulate emotions and perspectives succinctly. They allow writers to express complex feelings or viewpoints through the words of others, often more eloquently than paraphrasing.


3. Types of Quotes

3.1. Direct Quotes

Direct quotes involve copying the exact words from a source, enclosed in quotation marks. They are used when the original wording is significant or particularly well-expressed.


3.2. Indirect Quotes (Paraphrasing)

Indirect quotes restate the original message in your own words. While not enclosed in quotation marks, they still require proper attribution to the original source.


3.3. Block Quotes

Block quotes are lengthy direct quotations, formatted as a separate block of text. They are typically used for quotes exceeding a certain length, varying by citation style. For instance, in APA style, quotes longer than 40 words are formatted as block quotes.



4. Proper Usage of Quotes


4.1. Contextual Relevance

Ensure that the quote you choose is relevant to the topic and adds value to your content. Avoid inserting quotes solely for decorative purposes.


4.2. Integration into Your Writing

Seamlessly integrate quotes into your writing. Introduce them appropriately and follow up with analysis or commentary to connect them to your main points.


4.3. Attribution and Citation

Always attribute quotes to their original authors and provide proper citations according to the required style guide (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.).


5. Common Mistakes to Avoid


5.1. Overusing Quotes

Relying too heavily on quotes can overshadow your voice. Use them sparingly to support your arguments, not replace them.


5.2. Lack of Analysis

Presenting a quote without analysis or explanation can leave readers questioning its relevance. Always follow up with your interpretation or discussion.


5.3. Misquoting or Taking Out of Context

Ensure that quotes are accurate and not taken out of context, as this can mislead readers and undermine your credibility.



6. Quotes in Different Contexts


6.1. Academic Writing

In academic writing, quotes are used to support arguments, provide evidence, and engage with existing literature. Proper citation is crucial to avoid plagiarism.


6.2. Journalism

Journalists use quotes to provide firsthand accounts, add authenticity, and present multiple perspectives within a story.


6.3. Literature and Creative Writing

In literature, quotes can be used to convey character voices, themes, and stylistic elements. They enrich narratives and provide depth to storytelling.



7. Punctuation and Formatting


Understanding the correct punctuation and formatting of quotes is essential:


Quotation Marks: Always enclose direct quotes within quotation marks.


Punctuation Placement: In American English, periods and commas are placed inside quotation marks, while colons and semicolons are placed outside.


Block Quotes: For longer quotes, format them as block quotes without quotation marks, and indent the entire block.



8. Ethical Considerations


Ethical use of quotes involves accurate representation, proper attribution, and respect for intellectual property. Misuse can lead to plagiarism, which carries serious academic and professional consequences.

9. Tools for Managing Quotes


Utilize tools like citation generators and plagiarism checkers to manage quotes effectively. These tools help ensure proper formatting and originality in your writing.



Conclusion


Quotes are invaluable in enriching content, providing evidence, and conveying complex ideas succinctly. When used appropriately, they enhance the quality and credibility of your writing. Always ensure relevance, proper integration, and ethical usage to maximize their impact.


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