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We Must Rapidly Begin The Shift From A "thing-oriented" Society To A "person-oriented" Society.
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
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We Must Rapidly Begin

Martin Luther King, Jr.
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We Must Rapidly Begin The Shift From A "thing-oriented" Society To A "person-oriented" Society.

Understanding the Quote: "we must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a..."

This quote by Martin Luther King, Jr. reflects deeply on the theme of faith. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Faith, Inspiration, Breaking Silence, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how Martin Luther King, Jr. interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr. is celebrated for insightful thoughts on faith and inspiration. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Faith
Inspiration
Breaking Silence
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Jesus
Hate
The Words 'bad Timing' Came To Be Ghosts Haunting Our Every Move In Birmingham. Yet People Who Used This Argument Were Ignorant Of The Background Of Our Planning...they Did Not Realize That It Was Ridiculous To Speak Of Timing When The Clock Of History Showed That The Negro Had Already Suffered One Hundred Years Of Delay.
Moving
Years
People
The Negro Cannot Win The Respect Of His Oppressor By Acquiescing; He Merely Increases The Oppressor's Arrogance And Contempt.
Inspirational
Winning
Arrogance
The Potential Beauty Of Human Life Is Constantly Made Ugly By Man's Ever Recurring Song Of Retaliation. The Oceans Of History Are Made Turbulent By The Ever Rising Tides Of Revenge. Man Has Never Risen Above The Injunction Of The Lex Talionis: "life For Life, Eye For Eye, Tooth For Tooth, Hand For Hand, Foot For Foot." In Spite Of The Fact That The Law Of Revenge Solves No Social Problems, Men Continue To Follow Its Disastrous Leading. History Is Cluttered With The Wreckage Of Nations And Individuals That Pursued This Self-defeating Path.
Song
Revenge
Ocean
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
Violence Often Brings About Momentary Results.
Inspirational
Violence
Results
A Man Dies When He Refuses To Stand Up For That Which Is Right.
Men
Refuse
Dies
I Don't Think You Can Be In Public Life Without Being Called Bad Names.
Thinking
Names
Public Life
In Our Society It Is Murder, Psychologically, To Deprive A Man Of A Job Or An Income. You Are In Substance Saying To That Man That He Has No Right To Exist. You Are In A Real Way Depriving Him Of Life, Liberty, And The Pursuit Of Happiness, Denying In His Case The Very Creed Of His Society.
Jobs
Real
Men
We Are Called Upon To Help The Discouraged Beggars In Life's Marketplace. But One Day We Must Come To See That An Edifice Which Produces Beggars Needs Restructuring.
One Day
Needs
Helping
Like Paul, I Must Constantly Respond To The Macedonian Call For Aid.
Inspirational
Aids
In The Final Analysis The Weakness Of Black Power Is Its Failure To See That The Black Man Needs The White Man And The White Man Needs The Black Man.
Men
White Man
Black
Today, Our Very Survival Depends On Our Ability To Stay Awake, To Adjust To New Ideas, To Remain Vigilant And To Face The Challenge Of Change.
Change
Ideas
Challenges
So When Jesus Says "love Your Enemies," He Is Setting Forth A Profound And Ultimately Inescapable Admonition.
Inspirational
Jesus
Love You
Returning Violence For Violence Multiplies Violence, Adding Deeper Darkness To A Night Already Devoid Of Stars.
Kings
Stars
Hate
Every Man Must Decide Whether He Will Walk In The Light Of Creative Altruism Or In The Darkness Of Destructive Selfishness.
Integrity
Selfish
Creativity
I Feel That Non-violence Is Really The Only Way That We Can Follow Because Violence Is Just So Self-defeating. A Riot Ends Up Creating Many More Problems For The Negro Community Than It Solved. We Can Through Violence Burn Down A Building, But You Can't Establish Justice. You Can Murder A Murderer, But You Can't Murder Murder Through Violence. You Can Murder A Hater, But You Can't Murder Hate. And What We're Trying To Get Rid Of Is Hate, Injustice, And All Of These Other Things That Continue The Long Night Of Man's Inhumanity To Man.
Hate
Night
Men
As Long As The Mind Is Enslaved, The Body Can Never Be Free.
Long
Mind
Body
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
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
I Cannot Forget That The Nobel Prize For Peace Was Also A Commission - A Commission To Work Harder Than I Had Ever Worked Before For "the Brotherhood Of Man".
Hard Work
Men
Brotherhood Of Man
I May Not Get There With You, But I Believe That We As A People Will Someday Reach The Promised Land.
Believe
Land
People
One Day We Will Learn That The Heart Can Never Be Totally Right If The Head Is Totally Wrong. Only Through The Bringing Together Of Head And Heart-intelligence And Goodness-shall Man Rise To A Fulfillment Of His True Nature.
Heart
Men
One Day
People Are Often Led To Causes And Often Become Committed To Great Ideas Through Persons Who Personify Those Ideas. They Have To Find The Embodiment Of The Idea In Flesh And Blood In Order To Commit Themselves To It.
Blood
Order
Ideas
War Is The Greatest Plague That Can Afflict Mankind... Any Scourge Is Preferable To It.
Military
War
Mankind
The Law Of "an Eye For An Eye" Will Eventually Leave Everyone Blind.
Eye
Law
Blind
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
Violence Is Immoral Because It Thrives On Hatred Rather Than Love. It Destroys Community And Makes Brotherhood Impossible. It Leaves Society In Monologue Rather Than Dialogue. Violence Ends By Defeating Itself. It Creates Bitterness In The Survivors And Brutality In The Destroyers.
Community
Hatred
Brotherhood
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
As Long As There Is Poverty In The World I Can Never Be Rich, Even If I Have A Billion Dollars. As Long As Diseases Are Rampant And Millions Of People In This World Cannot Expect To Live More Than Twenty-eight Or Thirty Years, I Can Never Be Totally Healthy Even If I Just Got A Good Checkup At Mayo Clinic. I Can Never Be What I Ought To Be Until You Are What You Ought To Be. This Is The Way Our World Is Made. No Individual Or Nation Can Stand Out Boasting Of Being Independent. We Are Interdependent.
Inspirational
Independent
Eight
The Ultimate Measure Of A Man Is Not Where He Stands In Moments Of Comfort And Convenience, But Where He Stands At Times Of Challenge And Controversy.
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
Our Scientific Power Has Outrun Our Spiritual Power. We Have Guided Missiles And Misguided Men. Our Hope For Creative Living Lies In Our Ability To Reestablish The Spiritual Needs Of Our Lives In Personal Character And Social Justice. Without This Spiritual And Moral Reawakening We Shall Destroy Ourselves In The Misuse Of Our Own Instruments.
Spiritual
Lying
Character
We Must Speak With All The Humility That Is Appropriate To Our Limited Vision, But We Must Speak.
Humility
Vision
Breaking Silence
If You Can't Fly Then Run, If You Can't Run Then Walk, If You Can't Walk Then Crawl, But Whatever You Do You Have To Keep Moving Forward.
Inspirational
Motivational
Inspiring
The Silence Of The Good People Is More Dangerous Than The Brutality Of The Bad People
People
Silence
Brutality
In A Sense We've Come To Our Nation's Capital To Cash A Check. When The Architects Of Our Republic Wrote The Magnificent Words Of The Constitution And The Declaration Of Independence, They Were Signing A Promissory Note To Which Every American Was To Fall Heir. This Note Was A Promise That All Men - Yes, Black Men As Well As White Men - Would Be Guaranteed The Unalienable Rights Of Life, Liberty And The Pursuit Of Happiness... America Has Given The Negro People A Bad Check, A Check Which Has Come Back Marked 'insufficient Funds.'
Fall
Men
Pursuit Of Happiness
God Made The World From Nothing, And If We Can Be Nothing, Then God Can Make Something Of Us.
World
Made
Ifs
If A Man Is Called To Be A Street Sweeper, He Should Sweep Streets Even As A Michaelangelo Painted, Or Beethoven Composed Music Or Shakespeare Wrote Poetry. He Should Sweep Streets So Well That All The Hosts Of Heaven And Earth Will Pause To Say, 'here Lived A Great Street Sweeper Who Did His Job Well.
Inspirational
Life
Motivational
And Violence Is Impractical, Because The Old Eye For An Eye Philosophy Ends Up Leaving Everybody Blind .. It Is Immoral Because It Is A Descending Spiral Ending In Destruction For Everybody. Means And Ends Are Inseparable. The Means Represent The Ideal In The Making; In The Long Run Of History Destructive Means Cannot Bring About Constructive Ends.
Running
Philosophy
War
Too Often An Institution Serves To Bless The Majority Opinion. Today When Too Many Move To The Rhythmic Beat Of The Status Quo, Whoever Would Be A Christian Must Be A Nonconformist.
Christian
Moving
Majority
Love Is The Most Durable Power In The World. This Creative Force Is The Most Potent Instrument Available In Mankind's Quest For Peace And Security.
Love Is
Creative
World
I Refuse To Accept The Cynical Notion That Nation After Nation Must Spiral Down A Militaristic Stairway Into The Hell Of Thermonuclear Destruction... 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.
Peace
War
Believe
Even If Our Motives Are Presently Misunderstood. We Will Reach The Goal Of Freedom In Birmingham And All Over The Nation, Because The Goal Of America Is Freedom.
Inspirational
America
Goal
Whatever Your Life's Work Is, Do It Well. A Man Should Do His Job So Well That The Living, The Dead, And The Unborn Could Do It No Better.
Life
Motivational
Positive
It Is A Strangely Irrational Notion That There Is Something In The Very Flow Of Time That Will Inevitably Cure All Ills. Actually Time Is Neutral. It Can Be Used Either Destructively Or Constructively. I Am Coming To Feel That The People Of Ill Will Have Used Time Much More Effectively Than The People Of Good Will. We Will Have To Repent In This Generation Not Merely For The Vitriolic Words And Actions Of The Bad People, But For The Appalling Silence Of The Good People.
Time
Ill Will
People
This Hour In History Needs A Dedicated Circle Of Transformed Nonconformists. Our Planet Teeters On The Brink Of Annihilation; Dangerous Passions Of Pride, Hatred, And Selfishness Are Enthroned In Our Lives; And Men Do Reverence Before False Gods Of Nationalism And Materialism. The Saving Of Our World From Pending Doom Will Come, Not Through The Complacent Adjustment Of The Conforming Majority, But Through The Creative Maladjustment Of A Nonconforming Minority.
Passion
Pride
Men
History Will Have To Record That The Greatest Tragedy Of This Period Of Social Transition Was Not The Strident Clamor Of The Bad People, But The Appalling Silence Of The Good People. Injustice Anywhere Is A Threat To Justice Everywhere. We Are Caught In An Inescapable Network Of Mutuality, Tied In A Single Garment Of Destiny. Whatever Affects One Directly, Affects All Indirectly. 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.
Courage
Integrity
Destiny
The Richer We Have Become Materially, The Poorer We Become Morally And Spiritually. We Have Learned To Fly In The Air Like Birds And Swim In The Sea Like Fish, But We Have Not Learned The Simple Art Of Living Together As Brothers.
Inspirational
Art
Brother
How Hard It Is For People To Live Without Someone To Look Down Upon-really To Look Down Upon. It Is Not Just That They Feel Cheated Out Of Someone To Hate. It Is That They Are Compelled To Look More Closely Into Themselves And What They Don't Like About Themselves.
Hate
People
Looks
The Intellectual And Moral Satisfaction That I Failed To Gain From The Utilitarianism Of Bentham And Mill, The Revolutionary Methods Of Marx And Lenin, The Social Contract Theory Of Hobbes, The "back To Nature" Optimism Of Rousseau, And The Superman Philosophy Of Nietzsche, I Found In The Nonviolent Resistance Philosophy Of Gandhi. I Came To Feel That This Was The Only Morally And Practically Sound Method Open To Oppressed People In Their Struggle For Freedom.
Philosophy
Struggle
People
Our Destiny Is Tied Up With The Destiny Of America.
Destiny
America
Tied Up
The Potential Beauty Of Human Life Is Constantly Made Ugly By Man's Ever-recurring Song Of Retaliation.
Song
Men
Ugly
We Come Humbly To Say To The Men In The Forefront Of Our Government That The Civil Rights Issue Is Not An Ephemeral, Evanescent Domestic Issue That Can Be Kicked About By Reactionary Guardians Of The Status Quo; It Is Rather An Eternal Moral Issue Which May Well Determine The Destiny Of Our Nation In The Ideological Struggle With Communism. The Hour Is Late. The Clock Of Destiny Is Ticking Out. We Must Act Now, Before It Is Too Late.
Struggle
Destiny
Men
If Your Opponent Has A Conscience, Then Follow Gandhi And Nonviolence. But If Your Enemy Has No Conscience Like Hitler, Then Follow Bonhoeffer.
Enemy
Opponents
Bonhoeffer
The Great Issue Of Life Is To Harness The Drum Major Instinct.
Issues
Life Is
Instinct
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
The Negro Cannot Win The Respect Of The White People Of The South Or The Peoples Of The World If He Is Willing To Sell The Future Of His Children For His Personal And Immediate Comfort And Safety.
Inspirational
Children
Winning
We Must Combine The Toughness Of The Serpent With The Softness Of The Dove, A Tough Mind And A Tender Heart.
Heart
Mind
Tough
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
They Asked If Our Own Nation Wasn't Using Massive Doses Of Violence To Solve Its Problems, To Bring About The Changes It Wanted. Their Questions Hit Home, And I Knew That I Could Never Again Raise My Voice Against The Violence Of The Oppressed In The Ghettos Without Having First Spoken Clearly To The Greatest Purveyor Of Violence In The World Today-my Own Government. For The Sake Of Those Boys, For The Sake Of This Government, For The Sake Of Hundreds Of Thousands Trembling Under Our Violence, I Cannot Be Silent.
Ghetto
Home
Boys
From My Christian Formation've Gotten My Ideals And Technique Gandhi Action
Christian
Technique
Action
Violence Multiplies Violence.
Violence
Almost Always, The Creative Dedicated Minority Has Made The World Better.
Change
Inspiring
Creativity
I Have Almost Reached The Regrettable Conclusion That The Negro's Great Stumbling Block In The Stride Toward Freedom Is Not The White Citizens Councilor Or The Ku Klux Klanner But The White Moderate Who Is More Devoted To Order Than To Justice; Who Prefers A Negative Peace Which Is The Absence Of Tension To A Positive Peace Which Is The Presence Of Justice.
Peace
Block
Order
Actually, We Who Engage In Nonviolent Direct Action Are Not The Creators Of Tension. We Merely Bring To The Surface The Hidden Tension That Is Already Alive. We Bring It Out In The Open, Where It Can Be Seen And Dealt With. Like A Boil That Can Never Be Cured So Long As It Is Covered Up But Must Be Opened With An Its Ugliness To The Natural Medicines Of Air And Light, Injustice Must Be Exposed, With All The Tension Its Exposure Creates, To The Light Of Human Conscience And The Air Of National Opinion Before It Can Be Cured.
Covered Up
Direct Action
Medicine
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