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 →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.
Similar quotes
Why is it immoral for you to desire, but moral for others to do so? Why is it immoral to produce a value and keep it, but moral to give it away? And if it is not moral for you to keep a value, why is it moral for others to accept it? If you are selfless and virtuous when you give it, are they not selfish and vicious when they take it?
Man in harmony with his Creator is sublime, and his action is creative; equally, once he separates himself from God and acts alone, he does not cease to be powerful, since this is the privilege of his nature, but his acts are negative and lead only to destruction.
So the darkness shall be the light, and the stillness the dancing.
Some journeys are direct, and some are circuitous; some are heroic, and some are fearful and muddled. But every journey, honestly undertaken, stands a chance of taking us toward the place where our deep gladness meets the world’s deep need
Thin ribbons of fear snake bluely through you like a system of rivers. We need a cloudburst or soothing landscape fast, to still this panic. Maybe a field of dracaena, or a vast stand of sugar pines—generous, gum-yielding trees—to fill our minds with vegetable wonder and keep dread at bay.
He lay on his chair with his hands clasped above his paunch not reading, or sleeping, but basking like a creature gorged with existence.