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From: Stephen A Bezruchka <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2002 11:06:30 -0700 (PDT)
To: "International Health" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: Silence is betrayal: Martin Luther King, Jr.
King is little remembered for speaking out in 1967 about the looming
incresing involvement in the Vietnam War. His words ring true today. If
500,000 people can march in London England to protest the decline of fox
hunting this weekend, what could Americans do to prevent needless loss of
lives. STephen
SILENCE IS BETRAYAL
by Dr. Martin Luther King, J r.
"A time comes when silence is betrayal. Even when pressed by
the demands of inner truth, men [sic] 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. Moreover, when
the issues at hand seem as perplexing as they often do in the
case of dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being
mesmerized by uncertainty. But we must move on."
"Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the
night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation
of agony, but we must speak. We must speak with all the
humility that is appropriate to our limited vision, but we
must speak. For we are deeply in need of a new way beyond the
darkness that seems so close around us."
"We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for
the victims of our nation, for those it calls "enemy", for no
document from human hands can make these humans any less our
brothers. I think of them, too, because it is clear to me that
there will be no meaningful solution until some attempt is
made to know them and hear their broken cries."
"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the
world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical
revolution of values. 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, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable
of being conquered."
"A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order
and say of war, "This way of settling differences is not
just." A nation that continues year and year to spend more
money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is
approaching spiritual death."
"America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world,
can well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is
nothing except a tragic death wish to prevent us from
reordering our priorities over the pursuit of war."
"This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly
concern beyond one's tribe, clan, race, class, and nation is
in reality a call for an all-embracing and unconditional love
for all mankind. We can no longer afford to worship the God
of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation. The oceans of
history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate.
History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and
individuals that pursed this self-defeating path of hate."
"We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or
violent co annihilation. We must move past indecision to
action. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the
long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those
who posses power without compassion, might without morality,
and strength without sight."
"Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves in the long
and bitter, but beautiful struggle for a new world. If we will
but make the right choice, we will be able to speed up the
day, all over America and all over the world, when justice
will roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty
stream."
"May our country, on the brink of war, take to heart the final
refrain of "America, the Beautiful": "America! America! God
mend thine ev'ry flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy
liberty in law."
The words of Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. delivered at Riverside Church, New York City,
April 4th, 1967 --- Dan Fecko--- [log in to unmask]
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Next WASAN meeting is Wednesday, September 25, 2002. Location: Safeco Jackson Street Center, E Main between 23 & 24, Suite 200, Seattle
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