So long as I do not firmly and irrevocably possess the right to vote I do not possess myself. I cannot make up my mind - it is made up for me. I cannot live as a democratic citizen, observing the laws I have helped to enact - I can only submit to the edict of others.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

More Quotes by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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More Quotes From Martin Luther King, Jr.

There is nothing more dangerous than to build a society with a large segment of people in that society who feel that they have no stake in it; who feel that that have nothing to lose. People who have stake in their society, protect that society, but when they don't have it, they unconsciously want to destroy it.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
nothing-to-losewantpeople

A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
upliftingchangespiritual
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that... by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
motivationalinspirationallife

Commit yourself to the noble struggle for human rights. You will make a greater person of yourself, a greater nation of your country and a finer world to live in.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
strugglerightscountry

Life's piano can only produce melodies of brotherhood (and sisterhood) when it is recognized that the black keys are as basic, necessary and beautiful as the white keys.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
sisterhoodbeautifullife

When our days become dreary with low hovering clouds of despair, and when our nights become darker than a thousand midnights, let us remember that there is a creative force in this universe, working to pull down the gigantic mountains of evil, a power that is able to make a way out of no way and transform dark yesterdays into bright tomorrows. Let us realize the arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
powerdarknight
We must learn that to expect God to do everything while we do not... by Martin Luther King, Jr.

We must learn that to expect God to do everything while we do nothing is not faith but superstition.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
superstitions

History is the long and tragic story of the fact that privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
giving-upinspirationallong

History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
bad-relationshipsadwisdom
Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Power properly understood is nothing but the ability to achieve

Martin Luther King, Jr.
oppositesjusticelove-is

History is a great teacher. Now everyone knows that the labor movement did not diminish the strength of the nation but enlarged it. By raising the living standards of millions, labor miraculously created a market for industry and lifted the whole nation to undreamed of levels of production. Those who attack labor forget these simple truths, but history remembers them.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
labour-movementsimpleteacher

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
diversitygreatnesslife

There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
nothing-newresourcespoverty

Men often hate each other because they fear each other; they fear each other because they don't know each other; they don't know each other because they can not communicate; they can not communicate because they are separated.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
hatefearinspiring

Everybody can be great...because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by love.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
marriageinspirationallove
O America, how you've taken necessities from the masses to give l... by Martin Luther King, Jr.

O America, how you've taken necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
luxurytakenclass

A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our present policies... True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar. A true revolution of values will soon look on uneasily upon the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth with righteous indignation.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
coinscompassionjustice
We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love. by Martin Luther King, Jr.

We must meet the forces of hate with the power of love.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
power-of-loveforcehate

The church must be reminded that it is not the master or the servant of the state, but rather the conscience of the state. It must be the guide and the critic of the state, and never its tool. If the church does not recapture its prophetic zeal, it will become an irrelevant social club without moral or spiritual authority.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
churchspiritualdoe

I question and soul-search constantly into myself to be as certain as I can that I am fulfilling the true meaning of my work, that I am maintaining my sense of purpose, that I am holding fast to my ideals, that I am guiding my people in the right direction.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
maintainingsoulpeople