January 22 2013
Today is Martin Luther King day. I'd like to include a few quotes by Dr. King that I feel have stayed so powerful for many years and are so relevant in our current generation.
Today is Martin Luther King day. I'd like to include a few quotes by Dr. King that I feel have stayed so powerful for many years and are so relevant in our current generation.
"They say to us that we must be concerned not merely about who murdered them, but about the system, the way of life, the philosophy which produced the murderers. Their death says to us that we must work passionately and unrelentingly for the realization of the American dream."- Eulogy for the Martyred Children 1963.
"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed"- Letter From Brimingham Jail 1963.
“We must rapidly begin the shift from a "thing-oriented" society to a "person-oriented" society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered.”-Martin Luter King Jr. "Why am I opposed to the war in Vietnam" 1967.
"One day we must ask the question, “Why are there forty million poor people in America?” And when you begin to ask that question, you are raising questions about the economic system, about a broader distribution of wealth. When you ask that question, you begin to question the capitalistic economy. And I’m simply saying that more and more, we’ve got to begin to ask questions about the whole society. We are called upon to help the discouraged beggars in life’s market place. But one day we must come to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring. It means that questions must be raised. You see, my friends, when you deal with this, you begin to ask the question, “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?” These are questions that must be asked."- Martin Luther King Jr. "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" 1967.
“A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.”- Martin Luther King Jr. "Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?" 1967.
I honor this man and the countless people that have given their hearts, their souls, to making this world a better place for everyone. I honor Dr. King and the countless people that have been prisoners to help people gain equality, to help people become self aware of how connected we all are. Today I honor Martin Luther King Jr. and the countless people that are no longer with us but will stay in our books, our minds, and in our hearts to help us continue to move forward into a positive and better world.
Thank you.
