The United States is today marking the 40th anniversary of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King. The 39-year-old was shot dead as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine motel in Memphis on April 4th, 1968.
Today, I wish to remember Dr. Martin King in a number of ways, firstly, by looking at his words on the war in Vietnam which, if applied to the situation in Iraq today, are as topical now as they were when he first addressed the American people on this issue in 1967.
“Beyond Vietnam”
Address delivered to the Clergy and Laymen Concerned about Vietnam, at Riverside Church, 4 April, 1967, New York City
Text from AmericanRhetoric.com
“A time comes when silence is betrayal.” And that time has come for us… . Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government’s policy, especially in time of war. …and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today—my own government. …What do they think as we test out our latest weapons on them, just as the Germans tested out new medicine and new tortures in the concentration camps of Europe? …Now there is little left to build on, save bitterness. …we are met by a deep but understandable mistrust. To speak for them is to explain this lack of confidence in Western words, and especially their distrust of American intentions now. …The world now demands a maturity of America that we may not be able to achieve. …“This way of settling differences is not just.” …A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death. …Somehow this madness must cease. We must stop now. …I speak as one who loves America, to the leaders of our own nation: The great initiative in this war is ours; the initiative to stop it must be ours.
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Martin Luther King Jr.: “Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam”
Sermon at the Ebenezer Baptist Church on April 30, 1967
I preach to you today on the war in Vietnam because my conscience leaves me with no other choice. The time has come for America to hear the truth about this tragic war. In international conflicts, the truth is hard to come by because most nations are deceived about themselves. 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. …Now, I’ve chosen to preach about the war in Vietnam because I agree with Dante, that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. There comes a time when silence becomes betrayal.
…Let me say finally that I oppose the war in Vietnam because I love America. I speak out against this war, not in anger, but with anxiety and sorrow in my heart, and, above all, with a passionate desire to see our beloved country stand as the moral example of the world. I speak out against this war because I am disappointed with America. And there can be no great disappointment where there is not great love.
…It is time for all people of conscience to call upon America to come back home. Come home, America. …I call on Washington today. I call on every man and woman of good will all over America today. I call on the young men of America who must make a choice today to take a stand on this issue. Tomorrow may be too late. The book may close. And don’t let anybody make you think that God chose America as his divine, messianic force to be a sort of policeman of the whole world. God has a way of standing before the nations with judgment, and it seems that I can hear God saying to America, “You’re too arrogant! And if you don’t change your ways, I will rise up and break the backbone of your power, and I’ll place it in the hands of a nation that doesn’t even know my name. Be still and know that I’m God.”
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