The Impact of Martin Luther King’s Philosophy of non-violence Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Martin Luther forces Philosophy of non- strength EssayIntroductionMartin Luther queen regnant Jnr. is perhaps one of the greatest and most remembered raw leader to have walked the face of the States. He was and still is one of the most revered earth figure not only in America, but crosswise the world as well. He is credited greatly to the end of racial segregation in America. King was born on 15th January 1929 in Atlanta, gallium and was the son Reverend Martin Luther King. He played a very instrumental in bringing to an end racial segregation on all public transport especially after the infamous Montgomery Bus Boycott of 1955. King is credited for the speech I had a Dream that was delivered to close to a quarter a million people who had assembled at the Lincoln Memorial Park in Washington in 1963 during the March on Washington for jobs and freedom. The I have a dream speech is classified as on of the finest speeches in Americas history.Kings eventful and frui tful aircraft carrier in the civil rights was characterized by m any a(prenominal) instances of resistance to the effects of racial segregation, this would eventually lead to his life being cut short by an bravos bullet at Memphis on 4th April 1968. The world lost one of the most valuable renowned persons.Despite of his short carrier, King left(a) a mark that has continued to impact the world even today almost half a century after his death. Therefore much of his legacy has continued to impact and influence the direction of some world events even today. The philosophy of non- frenzy resistance is one of the legacies that King left behind.At this time and get on the ideology of non- resistance has been exposed to so much resistance and criticism especially from scholars who see it as a term that is often hijacked by genial opportunists and unethical politicians who threaten to end any form of civil liberties in America. (http//www.mcsm.org/disease.html). Non-violence as practic ed by Gandhi or King they argue has no patch in the contemporary world. Analogues are even drawn to even prove indeed that non-violence does not necessarily bring about desired careen, in fact sometimes it does harm than good. For example Fred Handschumacher illustrates this with the HIV virus that eventually causes great harm to the victim (http//www.mcsm.org/disease.html)To be able to understand clearly the non-violence resistance ideology, it is cardinal first to understand the history behind it and especially how it is related to Martin Luther King. Non- violence had always been considered by many across the world as on of the many options to bring about change in the social, political and economic environment. Martin Luther King on his part cut it as the only road to freedom. Martin Luther King saw 3 ways of responding to any form of injustice, first was to accept it, the second was to resort to brutality and use of force and the third was to practice non- violence resista nce. The power behind the third option depended so much on the power of the moral conscious. (http//www.ncs.pvt.k12.va.us/ryerbury/king-12/king-12.htm )It was while he was still a student at Crozer Theological Seminary in September 1948 that he came to learn about the life and teachings of Mahatma Gandhi the great Indian leader. In Gandhis ideology of Satyagraha that espoused the need for resistance without violence, Kings saw the answer to his quest o eliminate the economic and social injustices not only in America, but in the world as well.After this realise King laboriously studied this ideology that advocated the virtues of turning the other cheek and today has become the predominant way in which people overthrow absolute governments and make their lives better. (King, 1958) Soon afterwards Kings was to successfully implement the theoretical aspect of the ideology during the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. Racial segregation by the end of the boycott was done with, without any form of violent resistance or confrontation.The ideology as developed by Gandhi and practiced by King had six principal points that the resister had to adhere to, they included One can always resist evil without using or being violentNon- violence chooses to win the friendship and understanding of the opponent and not humiliate him (King, 1958)Oppose evil itself not the person(s) committing the evil actsSuffering is very redemptive and anyone committed to non-violence mustiness be ready to suffer without any form of retaliation.At all costs the non-violent resister should both avoid cause to be perceived the opponent and himself. To avoid hurting oneself spiritually. Love should always be the sole motivator not to revenge. The universe is on the side of justice ((King, 1958)) hence for the resister to persevere he/ she must have great faith for the futureKing was so much indoctrinated in these virtues and this is what made him so successful in utilizing this method of resistanc e to an design it has such a level of impact across the globe. republicThe major impact where the non-violent resistance bore much fruit is in America itself. It was finished the civil rights movements during Kings time that would eventually bring to an end racial segregation. Previously the blacks did not have the opportunity to elect directly or even participate in important issues regarding their nation. Blacks today have Kings form of non- violent resistance to thank for what they enjoy today. It is only by dint of such ideals that today Barrack Obama (an African- American) can pursue the dream to become the president of the worlds super power without any form of discrimination.Democracy in way is a non-violent way of changing the way things a run in any government. America being one of the major proponents of country has continued to influence the world over to adopt this nonviolent way of giving the masses the opportunity to express their choice of leadership and exercise their rights.In America also although overall success is sometimes hard to quantify, nonviolence was the only way or option to for the blacks to retain their jobs, lives or even homes and thus retain their dignity and still fight for what they believed in (http//www.ncs.pvt.k12.va.us/ryerbury/king-12/king-12.htm).The Caucasian majority at that time possessed all the resources and they were the majority. The blacks could have easily been wiped out if they resorted to any form of violence because it would have been a perfect excuse to fight them back. http//content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4794The situation that faced the blacks at that time can be equated to what is incident in the Israel/ Palestinian conflict today. The Israel Government has an obvious upper hand in this conflict because of its resources and strength. It has continued to engage in acts that clearly border on human abuse, the Palestinians use violence to retaliate, usually with deadly results. The Israel is use this as a very perfect excuse to continue suppressing the Palestinians.ConclusionNon-violent resistance as practiced by Martin Luther King contributed greatly towards the liberation of the minority groups the US. America could not have achieved its superpower status if it its leaders chose to ignore the wind of change that was flowing in its direction. Probably US would still be yoked in the chains of racial segregation if ignored the calls for change even though they were non-violent. Nevertheless, credibly today America would not be what it is if King resorted to violent means of achieving the desired change. The conflict in the Middle East would likely be the scenario America would be facing today but thanks to Martin Luther King Jnr.(http//content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4794)REFERENCESMartin Luther King Jnr, (1958) Stride Toward Freedom,.http//www.ncs.pvt.k12.va.us/ryerbury/king-12/king-12.htm Accessed on 24th February 2008 http//www.mcsm.org/disease.html Ac cessed on 24th February 2008 http//content.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=4794 Accessed on 24th February 2008