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Martin Luther King, Jr. Quotes - Page 12

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If America does not use her vast resources of wealth to end poverty and make it possible for all of God's children to have the basic necessities of life, she too will go to hell.

If America does not use her vast resources of wealth to end poverty and make it possible for all of God's children to have the basic necessities of life, she too will go to hell.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Children, America, Doe
Martin Luther King (Jr.), Michael K. Honey (2011). “All Labor Has Dignity”, p.143, Beacon Press

It is a tragic mix-up when the United States spends 500,000 for every enemy soldier killed, and only 53 annually on the victims of poverty.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
War, Soldier, Enemy

The profit motive, when it is the sole basis of an economic system, encourages a cutthroat competition and selfish ambition that inspires men to be more concerned about making a living than making a life.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Selfish, Ambition, Men
Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable... Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Change, Work, Struggle
Martin Luther King (Jr.), Alex Ayres (1993). “The Wisdom of Martin Luther King, Jr”, Plume

The arc of the moral universe is long but it bends toward justice.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Long, Justice, Arcs
"Keep Moving From This Mountain". Sermon at Temple Israel of Hollywood, February 25, 1965.

Education without social action is a one-sided value because it has no true power potential. Social action without education is a weak expression of pure energy. Deeds uninformed by educated thought can take false directions. When we go into action and confront our adversaries, we must be as armed with knowledge as they. Our policies should have the strength of deep analysis beneath them to be able to challenge the clever sophistries of our opponents.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Clever, True Power, Expression

There are some things concerning which we must always be maladjusted if we are to be people of good will. We must never adjust ourselves to racial segregation. We must never adjust ourselves to religious bigotry. We must never adjust ourselves to economic conditions that take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Religious, Luxury, People

Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a descending spiral, ultimately ending in destruction for all and everybody. Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And you do that by love.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hate, Cutting, Men
"Loving Your Enemies". Speech delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, November 17, 1957.

The true neighbor will risk his position, his prestige, and even his life for the welfare of others.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Risk, Prestige, Welfare
Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

We are now faced with the fact, my friends, 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. Procrastination is still the thief of time. Life often leaves us standing bare, naked, and dejected with a lost opportunity. . . . Over the bleached bones and jumbled residues of numerous civilizations are written the pathetic words, 'Too late.' ... Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Beautiful, Struggle, Procrastination
Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence, Delivered 4 April 1967, Riverside Church, New York City

Another reason why we must love our enemies is that hate scars the soul and distorts the personality.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hate, Personality, Soul
Martin Luther King (Jr.) (2012). “A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings”, p.49, Beacon Press

No man (sic) has learned to live until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity. Length without breadth is like a self-contained tributary having no outward flow to the ocean. Stagnant, still and stale, it lacks both life and freshness. In order to live creatively and meaningfully, our self-concern must be wedded to other concerns.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ocean, Men, Self

If I wish to compose or write or pray or preach well, I must be angry. Then all the blood in my veins is stirred, and my understanding is sharpened.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Writing, Blood, Understanding
"Biography/ Personal Quotes". www.imdb.com.

I want to suggest some of the things that should begin your life's blueprint. Number one...should be a deep belief in your own dignity. Your worth and your own somebodiness... Always feel that you count. Always feel that you have worth, and always feel that your life has ultimate significance.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Numbers, Want, Belief

Within the best of us, there is some evil, and within the worst of us, there is some good. When we come to see this, we take a different attitude toward individuals.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Attitude, Evil, Different
"Loving Your Enemies". Speech delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, November 17, 1957.

We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent co-annihilation. This may well be mankind's last chance to choose between chaos and community.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Peace, Community, Choices

Christianity affirms that at the heart of reality is a Heart, a loving Father who works through history for the salvation of His children. Man cannot save himself, for man is not the measure of all things and humanity is not God. Bound by the chains of his own sin and finiteness, man needs a Savior.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
God, Christian, Religious
Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

Hate is too heavy a burden to bear.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Hate, Bears, Burden
Source: www.salon.com

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.
Our World, Creative, Majority
Martin Luther King (Jr.) (2012). “A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings”, p.18, Beacon Press

Violence brings only temporary victories; violence, by creating many more social problems than it solves, never brings permanent peace.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Creating, Victory, Violence
Martin Luther King Jr. (1963). “Strength to Love”

I am what I am because of who we all are.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
I Am What I Am
Interview for The Daily Beast, April 5, 2010.

The bombs in Vietnam explode at home; they destroy the hopes and possibilities for a decent America.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Peace, War, Home
Thomas F. Jackson, Martin Luther King (Jr.) (2007). “From Civil Rights to Human Rights: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Struggle for Economic Justice”, p.319, University of Pennsylvania Press

All progress is precarious, and the solution of one problem brings us face to face with another problem.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Decision, Progress, Faces
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (2012). “A Gift of Love: Sermons from Strength to Love and Other Preachings”, p.105, Beacon Press

What you get with violence can be maintained only with violence

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Violence

He who is greatest among you shall be a servant. That's the new definition of greatness. ... By giving that definition of greatness, it means that everybody can be great, because everybody can serve.

Martin Luther King, Jr.
Mean, Greatness, Giving
"Day of service honors Martin Luther King Jr". www.cnn.com. January 18, 2011.

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