Remembering Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King, Jr., is one of my heroes.  I celebrate his legacy every year.  My family has four different races represented in it:  African-American, Caucasian, Native American, and Latino.  So King's message of the peaceful coming together of all Americans is an important one for me, which I live every day.


From King's Nobel Prize acceptance speech (Dec 10, 1964):

Sooner or later, all the peoples of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace, and thereby transform this pending cosmic elegy into a creative psalm of brotherhood.  If this is to be achieved, man must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation.  The foundation of such a method is love.

For those pro-gun folks who read this, and point out that King had protected his family by requesting a conceal carry permit or having them in his house, I offer you this quote from him:

"How could I serve as one of the leaders of a nonviolent movement and at the same time use weapons of violence for my personal protection? ... I was much more afraid in Montgomery when I had a gun in my house. When I decided that I couldn’t keep a gun, I came face-to-face with the question of death and I dealt with it. From that point on, I no longer needed a gun nor have I been afraid. Had we become distracted by the question of my safety we would have lost the moral offensive and sunk to the level of our oppressors."

I also will add this quote by him:

"By our readiness to allow arms to be purchased at will and fired at whim, we have created an atmosphere in which violence and hatred have become popular pastimes." 

Today's post over at Common Gunsense is an important one which pretty much says it all.  Thank you, japete, for your post:
http://www.commongunsense.com/2012/01/we-remember-dr-martin-luther-kings.html?spref=tw


I urge my readers to pay tribute to King and his legacy of peace and non-violence in some manner this week.  Do something uncharacteristically understandng to help your fellow man, volunteer for an organization that espouses non-violence, or attend an MLK celebration.  Peace be with you.


(updated 1/16/12 with additional quotes)
(image taken from HERE)