Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. spoke about taking action in “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. He states that “justice to long delayed is justice denied”. The men to whom this letter concerns where advising Dr. King to wait before taking action, because of the election of the new city administration. But Dr. King felt that he had waited long enough and did not see any other time in the future being any better than the present. Quite the opposite in fact, it seemed that he saw that if the African Americans of the south waited now then that just meant that more of them and their children would be abused and mistreated. Therefore by waiting justice would be denied for generations to come. He saw that God gave him the courage and ability to be the leader the nation needed to fight against unjust laws and racial inequality.
By deciding not to wait and being an activist Dr. King saved many African Americans from blatant discrimination. Similarly Thomas Jefferson gave our nation independence by acting when he knew he was right and writing the Declaration of Independence. Where would our nation be if activists like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or Thomas Jefferson had waited? However, surely there are times in which we should wait instead of acting immediately, and where exactly is that balance?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
I agree, in some instances waiting would be appropriate, but when I think of situations that applies to justice, I second what was quoted by MLK "justice too long delayed is justice denied." When it comes to justice, one can only take on so much before they break... Sojourner Truth talked about all she went through as a slave including watching her 13 born children be sold off into slavery, and she reached her breaking point claiming "Ain't I a Woman". So when it comes to justice I don't think there can be a balance with time and waiting.
Post a Comment