“Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political & moral questions of our time: the need for man to overcome oppression & violence without resorting to oppression & violence. Man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression & retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
So, I’m giving myself an ENORMOUS “duh” this Martin Luther King Day…
As amazing as this may sound, somehow or another, I never quite got that King’s message was one of Radical Love.
See, despite knowing that Martin Luther King, Jr. was a minister, I somehow managed to miss that his was a spiritual mission. I admit that, if I thought about it at all, I attributed the religious component of his work to the language of the African American culture of the time.
I have read, watched, and listened to his speeches, and yet I managed to miss that “love your neighbor as yourself” was the guiding principle behind his commitment to non-violence.
“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars… Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”
Imagine if, in the face of others’ anger, confusion, disappointment, and hurt, we were able to move beyond our own fears and respond to their’s from a place centered in love… love for their humanity, love for our own, love for the possibilities between us…
If we take it one step further, if each and every one of us made a commitment to non violence in all our actions – if every individual and business adopted the motto of the medical profession, “first, do no harm,” what radical changes would we have to make?
Wouldn’t we stop polluting the earth in order to make a quick buck? Wouldn’t there be equal pay for equal work? Wouldn’t products be priced fairly? Wouldn’t we assure that every person had access to top medical care, good food, clean water, that every child had an opportunity for equal education? Wouldn’t we make sure that every person was treated fairly?
Isn’t this the aim of the Civil Rights movement – then AND now??
And it all starts in Love.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” ~ Martin Luther King Jr.
Beautifully put.