In the letter he wrote from prison, Dr. Martin Luther King responds to the criticisms of church officials towards his protests in Birmingham. He is being accused of moving things along too quickly and of being an “extremist,”.
King defends against this first attack by saying that justice can never be enacted too quickly. Being a clergyman, and addressing his fellow clergymen, he uses the word of God to back up his statements. The Bible demands swift justice, so perhaps this is where Dr. King got formed the basis of the idea that he expressed by quoting that “justice too long delayed is justice denied.” (Letter From Birmingham Jail 158).
This second accusation, he first tries to explain away, saying that he is more of a moderate considering the violent extremists, and this itself would have been decent argument, but King goes further to say that he proudly accepts the label of “extremist.” Even today, there is a negative connotation attached to this word, but Dr. King had a point, that it’s not being an extremist that is bad, it’s what one is an extremist about. He provided legitimacy to this idea by providing examples of historical extremists who accomplished great things for the side of good.
What do Dr. King’s views on extremism mean for the Islamic world today? The idea being promoted by the media is that Islam is neutral and extremists are bad, but Dr. King’s philosophy would suggest vice-versa. A third option could be that it is merely the combination that is bad, but it can be surmised that being a clergymen in a nation that was very Christian at the time, that this was not Dr. King’s view.
It’s an interesting thought to look across time at the different groups that have arisen, and have fought for their rights, and to note that all of these movements were inspired by the movement that Reverend King headed. One must ask, then, should he still be alive today what would he think as he looked upon his legacy? Would Dr. King consider races to be equal in America today? There is an idea that some people use their race as a crutch. Perhaps King would join the ranks of Bill Cosby in trying to remove this crutch while promoting the prosperity of African Americans through hard work instead of welfare. He was a man who believed in true equality, not just to try and get ahead, and whatever he decided to do, this is what he would work towards.
1 comment:
You ask some good questions in your inquiry. It's hard to say if Dr. King would consider races to be equal in America today. As an African American, I think they are equal in America today. Everyone has the same opportunities to do whatever they want in life and it is all up to that person. There are no longer any laws directed at people of a particular race to stop them from achieving their dreams. In Douglass' "independence Day Speech", he says "I am not included within the pale of this glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us". This statement is false in "today's" America, so I believe that Dr. King would be satisfied with the progress that this country has made as far as racial equality is concerned. Now would he be happy with how African American's (as a whole) are taking advantage of this "equality"? That is an entire different story. I'm not sure that he would be.
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