Most people are aware that Martin Luther King was opposed to the Vietnam War. However, most are not clear on the reasons for his opposition. This is a sermon that King gave at Ebenezer Baptist Church on April 30, 1967. His clear and complete disgust for the war is felt from the beginning of the speech to the end and it is obvious why those who ever had to privilege of hearing King speak was moved by his determination and eloquence. Kings starts by stating "Rationalizations and the incessant search for scapegoats are the psychological cataracts that blind us to our sins. But the day has passed for superficial patriotism. He who lives with untruth lives in spiritual slavery. Freedom is still the bonus we receive for knowing the truth." He goes on to speak about polls of opposition to Vietnam, the amount of money the war costs versus the amount of money the U.S. spends on it's poor, and he lists his seven reason for choosing to speak about the war while followers of his questioned this decision. He even attempts to make embellish his congregation with an accurate depiction of history of the Vietnamese. This all comes together to form a strong, moving, and significant sermon that King delivers in the utmost of poised and confident manners.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b80Bsw0UG-U - This is the recording of the sermon.
http://husseini.org/2007/01/martin-luther-king-jr-why-i-am.html - This is the text of the sermon
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It is easy to see, or understand rather, just how influential and popular Martin Luther King, Jr. really was when you read the short description of this recording on YouTube; it won a Grammy in 1970 for Best Spoken Word Recording, almost exactly two years after King was assassinated.
ReplyDeleteWhile obviously less well-known than his speeches concerning civil rights, much of what King says in this recording still rings true and can be applied to current conflicts today. King says that it's sad to see a country that was founded with a such a proud revolutionary spirit become the "arch anti-revolutionary" in world affairs, and thus America cannot be the moral beacon he once envisioned. I think what hits home the hardest, especially in terms of the crisis our country is currently facing, is:
"We are presently moving down a dead-end road that can lead to national disaster."