Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Martin Luther King, Jr. More Quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr. More Quotes From Martin Luther King, Jr. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. Martin Luther King, Jr. faithpositiveinspirational The first question which the priest and the Levite asked was: 'If I stop to help this man, what will happen to me?' But... the good Samaritan reversed the question: 'If I do not stop to help this man, what will happen to him?' Martin Luther King, Jr. leadershipinspiringpeace I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear. Martin Luther King, Jr. inspiringinspirationallove Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. Martin Luther King, Jr. kingswittyinspirational Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. Martin Luther King, Jr. winninglovepeace 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. Martin Luther King, Jr. betrayalneutralitysilence We are now faced with the fact that tomorrow is today. We are confronted with the fierce urgency of now. In this unfolding conundrum of life and history, there "is" such a thing as being too late. This is no time for apathy or complacency. This is a time for vigorous and postive action. Martin Luther King, Jr. complacencymotivationaltoday The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands in times of challenge and controversy. The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others. In dangerous valleys and hazardous pathways, he will lift some bruised and beaten brother to a higher and more noble life. Martin Luther King, Jr. brotherchallengesmen I still believe that standing up for the truth of God is the greatest thing in the world. This is the end (purpose) of life. The end of life is not to be happy. The end of life is not to achieve pleasure and avoid pain. The end of life is to do the will of God, come what may. Martin Luther King, Jr. painwisdomlife Peace is not simply the absence of conflict, but the existence of justice for all people. Martin Luther King, Jr. justice-for-allconflictpeople I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality... I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. Martin Luther King, Jr. faithlovepeace Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away its vital unity. Hate destroys a man's sense of values and his objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with the true. Martin Luther King, Jr. cancerhatebeautiful Capitalism does not permit an even flow of economic resources. With this system, a small privileged few are rich beyond conscience, and almost all others are doomed to be poor at some level. That's the way the system works. And since we know that the system will not change the rules, we are going to have to change the system. Martin Luther King, Jr. levelsdoeway Let's build bridges, not walls. Martin Luther King, Jr. assertivewallbridges The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you may murder the liar, but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth. Through violence you may murder the hater, but you do not murder hate. In fact, violence merely increases hate... Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that. Martin Luther King, Jr. kingsfearpeace This is the great new problem of mankind. We have inherited a large house, a great ‘world house’ in which we have to live together– black and white, Easterner and Westerner, Gentile and Jew, Catholic and Protestant, Muslim and Hindu– a family unduly separated in ideas, culture and interest, who, because we can never again live apart, must learn somehow to live with each other in peace. Martin Luther King, Jr. black-and-whitehouseideas This hour in history needs a dedicated circle of transformed nonconformists. Our planet teeters on the brink of annihilation; dangerous passions of pride, hatred, and selfishness are enthroned in our lives; and men do reverence before false gods of nationalism and materialism. The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority. Martin Luther King, Jr. passionpridemen Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. Martin Luther King, Jr. freedominspirationalpeace We must face the appalling fact that we have been betrayed by both the Democratic and Republican Parties. Martin Luther King, Jr. betrayedpartyfaces A man dies when he refuses to stand up for that which is right. Martin Luther King, Jr. refusediesmen
