And that is precisely what concerned Dr. King so much, that these young boys were being sent halfway around the world to fight a war that was unwinnable, that resources were being used there that should've been used here at home. All Rights Reserved. (1997). The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, for example, issued a statement against merging the civil rights and peace movements. It basically ruined their working relationship. Surely we must see that the men we supported pressed them to their violence. In his 1967 speech on the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, Jr. employs figurative language and syntactical elements to construct his argument against the hypocrisy and cruelty of American involvement in the war. That Vietnam was a mistake. If you remember the speech, tell us what it meant at that time, and does the principle of nonviolence apply in the age of al-Qaida? 0000011068 00000 n In the 1950s and 1960s, his words led the Civil Rights Movement and helped change society. Indeed, you play parts of President Obama's speech to the Nobel Committee there in Stockholm where he received the award. Challenges of the final years of Martin Luther King, Jr. At this point I should make it clear that while I have tried in these last few minutes to give a voice to the voiceless on Vietnam and to understand the arguments of those who are called enemy, I am as deeply concerned about our troops there as anything else. Is it among these voiceless ones? Attachment 2: Definitions Attachment 3: King Opposed Vietnam War; We Must Oppose US War in Iraq. And when you see the piece on "Lens" tonight that's the part of the speech that set off so many of those who are in King's inner circle, so many scholars who have written about King. King had read Marx while at Morehouse, but while he rejected "traditional capitalism", he also rejected communism because of its "materialistic interpretation of history" that denied religion, its "ethical relativism", and its "political totalitarianism. 159. Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305. PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley's new documentary, MLK: A Call to Conscience explores King's speech. That's at npr.org, click on TALK OF THE NATION. 16, 1967 in New York. Somehow this madness must cease. "Beyond Vietnam" - The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education The choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise we must choose in this crucial moment of human history. How are you, sir? [12] But when he turns the corner and then says, essentially, that Martin's philosophy wouldn't work in today's world, he goes on to say that Dr. King didn't know al-Qaida, as if to suggest that Martin didn't understand evil, that Martin didn't understand violence, that he himself had not been subjected to it. A few years ago there was a shining moment in that struggle. So when the president suggests - and whether directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally diminishes in that Nobel speech Martin's powerful, nonviolent philosophy, it tweaked some people, and you'll see that in the presentation Wednesday night. As we counsel young men concerning military service we must clarify for them our nations role in Vietnam and challenge them with the alternative of conscientious objection. How Did Martin Luther King Jr Use Of Figurative Language Mr. SMILEY: Indeed, he did. So it was a great turnout. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. 0000002004 00000 n "[10], King also criticized American opposition to North Vietnam's land reforms. Have they forgotten that my ministry is in obedience to the one who loved his enemies so fully that he died for them?

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