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.
Every man [human being] is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes the intrinsic value and dignity every human possesses as part of their heritage.
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s quote highlights the idea that every individual inherently carries a legacy of dignity and worth, suggesting that these qualities are fundamental to the human experience. It encourages recognition of each person's intrinsic value, regardless of societal status or external circumstances, and calls for respect and acknowledgment of this shared human heritage.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about human rights, one might say, 'As Martin Luther King, Jr. eloquently put it, every man is an heir to a legacy of dignity and worth, reminding us to respect each other fundamentally.'
More from Martin Luther King, Jr.
All quotes βMusic 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.
Similar quotes
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You should always take a religion at its best and not at its worst, from its highest teachings and not from the lowest practices of some of its adherents.
Think often on God, by day, by night, in your business and even in your diversions. He is always near you and with you; leave him not alone.
If efforts to do social work are couched in selfish motives, then they will die a premature death. Why would my efforts get politicised? I have values I inherited from my father. He helped many. Anyone, even a postman knocking on our door would get a glass of water and some sweets.
A little cooling down of animal excitability and instinct, a little loss of animal toughness, a little irritable weakness and descent of the pain-threshold, will bring the worm at the core of all our usual springs of delight into full view, and turn us into melancholy metaphysicians.
The mind of a human being is formed only of comparisons made in order to examine analogies, and therefore cannot precede the existence of memory.