My study of Gandhi convinced me that true pacifism is not nonresistance to evil, but nonviolent resistance to evil. Between the two positions, there is a world of difference. Gandhi resisted evil with as much vigor and power as the violent resister, but True pacifism is not unrealistic submission to evil power. It is rather a courageous confrontation of evil by the power of love. . . .
Interpretation
True pacifism involves actively resisting evil nonviolently, rather than submitting to it passively.
In this quote, Martin Luther King, Jr. emphasizes that true pacifism is not about avoiding confrontation with evil but rather involves a courageous and steadfast resistance against it through nonviolent means. He highlights the strength and power inherent in applying love to confront wrongdoings, distinguishing this approach from mere passivity.
In practice
This quote can be used during a speech advocating for peaceful protest methods.
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.
I think that racism is ugly and so unfair, and I believe that we all need one another.
We faced it and did not resist. The storm passed through us and around us. It's gone, but we remain.
Overcoming difficulties leads to courage, self-respect, and knowing yourself.
I've been doing extremely dangerous activities for a long time, but I've been lucky enough to have survived so far. However, sooner or later we all die... and, if that's the case, I want to die doing what I love to do the most. That's how I view death.
Playing Etta James in the movie 'Cadillac Records' really changed me. It was a darker character, and I realized that if anything is too comfortable, I want to run from it. It's no fun being safe.
God grants liberty only to those who love it, and are always ready to guard and defend it.
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