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.
Interpretation
The greatest hindrance to racial equality is often the indifference of those who prioritize comfort over justice.
In this powerful statement, Martin Luther King, Jr. argues that the main obstacle to the progress of African Americans in their quest for freedom is not the overtly racist groups, but rather the complacency of the white moderates. These individuals value societal order and the avoidance of conflict more than they value the active pursuit of justice, leading to a false sense of peace that ignores the pressing necessity for real equality and justice in society.
In practice
During a speech on civil rights, one might quote this to highlight the importance of active engagement in social justice.
This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love.
Music is the best consolation for a despaired man
We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.
We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now.
Israel... is one of the great outpost of democracy in the world
One of the greatest casualties of the war in Vietnam is the Great Society... shot down on the battlefield of Vietnam.
A judge can't have any preferred outcome in any particular case. The judge's only obligation - and it's a solemn obligation - is to the rule of law.
It is common sense that in our immigration courts, where children fleeing devastating violence abroad often find themselves, kids need lawyers to advocate on their behalf. After all, lawyers go to school for years to understand the nuances of our legal system.
Discrimination in virtually every aspect of political, economic, and social life is now perfectly legal if you've been labeled a felon.
Swift justice demands more than just swiftness.
Justice is not to be taken by storm. She is to be wooed by slow advances.
Terrorism does not disappear with revenge tactics but through making justice and equality before law a reality.
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