Of Nonviolence In Dr. Martin Luther King's Stride Twoard Freedom

In the argument essay “The Way of Meeting Oppression,” Martin Luther King discusses three characteristic ways when the oppressed deal with the oppression. He opens directly with the first argument point, and explains the reason why he is not agree with, as he states the acquiescence is not the way out, because the acquiescence lower the self-esteem of the oppressed while increase the oppressor’s arrogance and contempt. Moreover, he doesn't agree with the oppressed use physical violence to deal with the oppression as well, which it could only bring the momentary results. Specially, Martin Luther King points out the violence is not a permanent way to solve the problem, “Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love.” Even though, the acquiescence and violence is not appropriate way to deal with oppression, the nonviolent resistance is the best way for oppressed people to seek the freedom.

Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

All things considered one must devoted to their belief of nonviolence and be willing to suffer without retaliation (Source C), they can not fall victim to anger and fight back, for it would destroy the very principle of the cause. To become a truly successful campaign it should not be run on the basis of humiliating or besting the opponent, rather one should seek friendship and a better understanding of another (Source B). A nonviolent protester should not become bitter of the circumstances the opponent might bestow upon them but rather have open arms and eye for a better future ahead. The central idea of a nonviolent campaign is being able to make changes and spreading peace and love without the use of violence; by pursuing upon this path

In his letter to the clergy he justified the use of ‘nonviolent direct action’ as tactical means to bringing parties together to negotiate. He vehemently condemned all forms of violent action but insisted that it was strategic and constructive to employ the nonviolent tension as a powerful alternate to negotiation. Similarly, Dr. King Jr. stressed to his audience in his momentous speech in Washington DC, that the desire to attain set goal must not be tainted by any acts of retaliation and cautioned the crowd to avoid the temptation of being ‘guilty of wrong doing”. He emphasized the importance of adhering to strict discipline and conducting their struggle in the highest form of respect for human dignity.

Martin Luther King Jr. discusses the advantages and purposes for his theory of nonviolent direct action in his Letter From Birmingham City Jail. He shows four basic steps that must be taken to achieve nonviolent action. They include 1) collection of facts to determine whether injustices are alive; 2) negotiation; 3) self-purification; and 4) direct action. Each of these steps will be explained as part of King's argument later in this essay. The main purpose of a nonviolent campaign is to force any community to confront a problem rather than refuse to negotiate or face a specific issue. In the letter, King discusses his group's reasons for coming to Birmingham.

First, gather information to understand the issue and create research in order to understand all sides of the argument. Second, education is important in order to inform others, including your opponents about the issue. Third is personal commitment. King states you must believe in the philosophy of nonviolence and eliminate your hidden motives. People must prepare themselves for suffering in order to gain justice for their work. Fourth is discussion and negotiation. Use humor and intelligence to confront the opposing team. Do not seek the bad in the opponent but the good. Fifth, there must be direct action. Moral actions must be taken in order to pressure the opponent to work together in order to find the best solution. The sixth principle is reconciliation. Being non-violent will create a friendly relation and understanding with the opponent. By following these six steps for social change, King sought to improve the lives of african americans through his non-violent

He believed that men and women everywhere, regardless of colour or faith, are equal members of society. Through this belief, he used religion and philosophy to bring attention to the necessity of ending discrimination in not only a peaceful manner, but also without denying, abusing, or violating the civil rights of (anyone/the American people?). The main principles of King’s philosophy of non-violence had been tested frequently and intensely, yet he remained adamant on their application. In his ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail,’ Dr. King described the need for civil disobedience as inevitable, saying that eventually the “pent-up resentments and latent frustrations” (Birmingham Letter) of African Americans would come to the surface; however, instead of these (emotions?) resulting in outbursts of violence and (animosity), King urged for them to be expressed in the way of marches and sit-ins, to demonstrate with as much peacefulness as there was passion. Using these methods produced a type of tension which he explained as “…a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth” (Birmingham

“Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has consistently refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue." (King 9). King wanted to force people to face the issue without putting a negative, violent spin on the other’s opinions. “With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.” (King 20). This motivated people to work together in peace to accomplish their goal. Whatever they had to endure, they would endure it together.“There is a more excellent way, of love and nonviolent protest." (King 23). King once again restates that we should love our enemies and use nonviolence. “Sooner or later all the people of the world will have to discover a way to live together in peace” (King 3). Martin Luther King, Jr. wanted a world where everyone could live in peace. The only way to accomplish that was through peace. “Over the last few years I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek. So I have

As both understood the evil of oppression, King and Gandhi conveys that violence could not be used as the measure to achieve equality in their movements. Nonviolence was utilized by both King and Gandhi to bring focus to their oppressors evil actions and show the society that justice can be earned without violence. King used nonviolence as a weapon to stop racism, segregation, and injustice toward African American in the United States. King did a non-violent campaign in Birmingham, as King stated, "four basic steps: (1) collection of the facts to determine whether injustices are alive; (2) negotiation; (3) self-purification; and (4) direct action" (p.234). King believes, the tension created by direct action is the answer to receiving results. Negotiation is an ultimately more humane approach but allows less results. King concluded that direct action would create chaos that would open the door for negotiation. Similarly, Gandhi revealed a method of direct

(2012) Moye commends that Dr. King utilized the ethic of peacefulness to social change. At its embodiment was a profound appreciation for the human poise in all individuals, including the oppressor and the culprit. Martin Luther King means that every human has the right to live and no one can take this right except God. On the other hand, racism has directly affected the civil rights of blacks and indirectly on their lives.

Due to his huge contributions to the Civil Rights Movement, Martin Luther King Jr. is important to the end of segregation in the United States. He used nonviolence as a way to fight for equality for African Americans. In a book he wrote called Strength to Love he said “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.” Darkness lacks light and more darkness cannot make it less dark, so light is the only thing that can make it less dark. Hate will continue if we do not fight it and the best way to fight it, is with love. If you fight hate with hate things will not be a better place, the world will be filled with hatred and life will be miserable. Fighting with love brings peace. Martin Luther King Jr.

When you use nonviolence to change people’s minds, you have to deal with every brutal thing they do to you and not do it back to

unjust” (Banks 1). “Principle four – accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve the goal – this characterizes that nonviolent resistance is a willingness to accept suffering without retaliation, to accept blows from the opponent without striking back; accept the violence, if necessary; but to never inflict violence on another” (Banks 2). “Principle five – avoid internal violence of the spirit, as well as, external physical violence – a nonviolent resister not only refuses to fight or shoot his opponent, but he also refuses to hate him; at the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love for one another” (Banks 2). “Principle six – the universe is on the side of justice – this basic fact pertaining to nonviolent resistance is that it is based on the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice which is positive peace, consequently, the believer in nonviolence has a deep faith in the future and therefore, can accept suffering without retaliation. There is a creative force in this universe, that by whatever name we decide to call it, it works to bring the disconnected aspects of reality into a harmonious whole; a universal wholeness for each of us to share with one another and that nonviolence is both the means and the end” (Banks 3). Dr. King also had a couple of

Martin Luther King Jr. lived in a world where racial tensions were high and not everyone was treated equally. He fought for a world where there would be no more segregation and no more disparity between the ways blacks are viewed compared to that of whites. In doing so, he preaches about nonviolence in order to keep the movement honorable. Although Machiavelli believed that the ends justify the means no matter how terrible those means were, the evidence will show that King 's ideas that the means used to reach an end should be pure are more reasonable.

King commented on nonviolence by saying, “Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral.” This quote shows how Martin Luther King was against nonviolence as he says it is immoral.This philosophy gives advice on how to live nonviolently, similar to how Thoreau would give his readers advice on how to become one with nature. Martin Luther King’s final idea was practicing nonviolent protest in order to achieve a goal or reform. King, with many other people, in the 1950s and 1960s practiced nonviolent protest in order to achieve his goal of ending segregations, and believes equal rights for blacks across the United States. Martin Luther King’s practice of nonviolence is directly borrowed from Thoreau 's work of Civil Disobedience and Nonviolent Resistance, King even commented on the use of nonviolence by saying, “The teachings of Thoreau came alive in our civil rights movement.” In conclusion, Martin Luther King can be considered a transcendental thinker due to the philosophies he created, the Triple Evil philosophy and Six Principles of Nonviolence philosophy, as well as his practice of nonviolence.