Ethics teaches us that we have a set of moral guidelines that enables us to from our conscience which then allows us to live a righteous life. One exemplary figure who was able to define what ethics is throughout his life, is Martin luther King. Martin Luther King Jr. was a minister, a civil rights activist, and a moral person. He fought for the rights of African Americans who were greatly prejudiced in America during the nineteen fifties and nineteen sixties. He fought to terminate segregation and to aid the African Americans who were subjected to bias within America. Martin Luther King Jr. had an ethical set of beliefs that clearly influenced his life and they were that violence is never the answer, to stay dedicated to your passions and …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr. displays ethical behavior through his belief that violence is wrong and never the answer. Violence is behavior intended to hurt or damage someone or something. There are many examples of Martin luther King supporting the idea of peace and nonviolence. He once said, "Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him"(King). He said this while preaching during one of his sermons in a church in Montgomery, Alabama. Dr. King further defines what violence means in this quote. He explains that peace not only means excluding oneself from physical attacks of violence, but violent internal thoughts as well. As well as preaching sermons of peace, Martin Luther King also created ideas for peaceful protests. An example as one of these protests was the Montgomery Bus Boycott. Dr. King organized this boycott in 1955 after Rosa Parks was arrested for not moving to the back of the bus for a white man. The protest plan consisted of African Americans no longer using the bus systems, and this resulted in a loss of profits for bus companies. This protest was simple but effective. Instead of fueling a protest with anger, Martin Luther King was able to innovate a peaceful protest that was very effective. Even when people were upset over the boycott and bombed four churches and his home, Dr. King still preached of nonviolence and peace. …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr. had the ethical belief of forgiveness and love. This belief is clearly shown through his peaceful speeches and protests. Forgiveness is the process of moving on, and the process of discarding the mental block that stops us from loving others. Dr. King said, “He, who is devoid of the power to forgive, is devoid of the power to love”(King). He said this in his sermon titled “Loving Your Enemies.” In this quote, Dr. King explains that if you lack the ability to forgive someone for hurting you, then you lack the ability to love. If you build up a grudge against someone it will be a burden on your life, and it will make your life much harder. Martin Luther King lived by the ethical belief of forgiveness. There are many examples, like when he was jailed for eleven days, or when his house was burned down by angry white Americans. Even after all of the hardships, he was still able to preach and speak of forgiveness and love, especially for your enemies. If anything, Martin Luther King grew stronger with every obstacle that was thrown at him because he was able to forgive and overcome them. The belief of gaining strength through love and forgiveness is the last of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s many ethical views.
In conclusion, Martin Luther King Jr. had an ethical set of beliefs that clearly influenced his life and they were that violence is never the answer, to stay dedicated to your passions and dreams, and to gain strength through love
Martin Luther King believes that nonviolence is power to fight for their freedom instead of using a weapon so they refuse the evil. “Basic to the philosophy of nonviolence is the refusal to cooperate with evil” (Doc F). Martin Luther King refuse to buy any products from companies because he believes that power is
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a man who has been known for his commitment to nonviolence and his efforts to bring about racial justice in the United States. In "Letter from Birmingham Jail", he addresses critics who say that the protests in Birmingham are untimely. Dr. King thought it was untimely because he wanted to end segregation, and strongly wanted equal rights for everyone, but he was told by the clergymen that the movement was “Untimely” and “Unwise”. King explained that there will never be a right time for change in this society that would bring equality and justice to us all. He proceeded to compare himself to Paul answering the “Macedonian call.”
It is impossible to combat injustice by appeasing those who are injust. Martin Luther King is a famous civil right activist who put his life on the line to stop the unjust treatment of African-Americans in the United States. King’s efforts combined with other civil rights activist’s allowed African Americans to gain many rights that they previously did not have. The civil rights movement made use of protests and boycotts to force change. Martin Luther King was arrested for prostesting and was placed in Birmingham jail from which he wrote a famous letter explaining his rationale for his actions.
However, the nonviolent protests and endeavors employed by African Americans in the 1960s caught the attention of individuals nationwide. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s refusal to react violently showed white Americans that African Americans were not subhuman creatures prone to violence, but humans capable of intelligence and reason. African Americans were not animals capable of only slave labor, but individuals deserving of the rights promised by the Constitution of the United States to all American citizens. In addition to the aforementioned pieces of evidence, Martin Luther King believed that violence would never lead to peace, only to more violence. He was firm and justified in his affirmation that “This is the ultimate weakness of violence: It multiplies evil and violence in the universe.
“…the ultimate weakness of violence… It doesn’t solve any problems” (Document J) King raised as a Christian believed that violence was the root of all the problems and if they fought with violence nothing would be achieved. He wanted his followers to protest peacefully to the white’s unruly actions for of his faith violence was never the answer. “…we cannot in all good conscience obey your unjust laws” (Document H) Stated by Martin Luther King in Stride toward Freedom, he wanted told the whites that the black community will revolt against the laws.
Basic to the philosophy of nonviolence is the refusal to cooperate with evil. There is nothing quite so effective as a refusal to cooperate economically with the forces and institutions which perpetuate evil in our communities.” (Martin Luther King Jr’s “Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom” Document F) This supports the claim that Martin Luther King Jr didn’t preach violence, only retaliation. By attacking the economy but not attacking people or communities.
MLK knew that violence would get blacks nowhere in the success of freedom. “Thus, in purely practical as well as moral terms, the American Negro has no alternative to nonviolence” (Doc L). Nonviolence civil disobedience was the only possible way to influence legislation or government policy. During the Civil Rights Movement, nonviolence would be the right thing to
“As King wrote about nonviolence, he no doubt recalled the numerous instances in which civil rights activists had maintained their courage and discipline and responded to their oppressors with love” (Colaiaco). Martin Luther King believed that it is impossible to achieve a moral end by immoral means without causing damage to the soul and making oneself unworthy. One of the requirements of the volunteers of the non-violent demonstrations was to sign a “commitment card” which contained the Ten Commandments of the nonviolent movement. The first commandment required them to “meditate daily on the teachings and life of Jesus.” Others explained that they must “walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love” and “refrain from the violence of fist, tongue, or heart.”
Peaceful resistance to laws positively affect a free society. Throughout history, there have been multiple cases of both violent and peaceful protests. However, the peaceful protests are the ones that tend to stick with a society and are the ones that change the society for the better. In April 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter about just and unjust laws while he was in Birmingham jail for peacefully protesting. King came to Birmingham because "injustice is here".
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a prominent man, who aided the fight for civil rights. Due to the unjust treatment of African-American, the Civil Rights Movement was formed to create a new outcome for the future. During the battle, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. became imprisoned in Birmingham city jail due to his participation in a nonviolent demonstration against segregation. While imprisoned, he wrote a letter on August 1963, called the "Letter from Birmingham Jail;" he expressed his concerns as to why there has been no advancement for the civil rights movement. While dissecting and analyzing his letter, his moral theory from this letter describes him to be a virtue ethicist.
Martin Luther King, Jr. attempts to persuade clergymen to follow in his civil rights movement through exhibiting his knowledge over just and unjust laws, displaying peaceful behavior, and empathetic diction. King was very knowledgeable about laws and his right as a human. King stated laws in his letter to the clergymen, which displayed his credibility. He did not only state laws, he also stated just and unjust laws. King stated, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?”
Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. are both very important figures when it comes to discussing the topic of civil disobedience; both fought for what they believed to be right and against the injustice of the state. Antigone went against the edict of the king and buried her brother and Martin Luther King Jr. broke the law to try to end segregation and racism in America. Even though some similarities can be found between the two, ultimately they went about civil disobedience in very different ways. Antigone’s method was personal and selfish and she took an extremely defiant and rash stance while martin Luther King’s approach was more analytical and thought out. It is for these reasons that I believe King’s method was more successful and is the
On April 3, 1968 King delivered his final speech “I’ve been to the mountaintop,” in Memphis Tennessee to a massive crowd at the Bishop Charles Mason Temple Church of God. His speech was to bring awareness to the unsafe working condition and wages that the African American sanitation workers received. Prior to Reverend King’s speech on Feb. 12, 1968 roughly one thousand black Memphis sanitation workers went on strike and refused to work until their demands were met. Unfortunately, their request was denied and King, as well as Reverend James T. Lawson, traveled to Memphis to lead a nonviolent march but some of the participants started to become violent breaking windows of building and looting. This was a setback for the peaceful boycott due to rowdy few one person was shot and killed.
were African American males, fighting for Civil Rights during the 1950’s and 1960’s. while these two men did withstand much common ground, they often debated over violence. On one hand, Martin Luther King Jr. was born into a Christian home, where he was extremely religious, and followed in his father's footsteps as a pastor. Martin Luther King Jr. felt that violence did no good, it only caused more harm. Throughout his speeches and protests, he even elaborated on how insignificant violence and harm was in hurting others, besides physically.
philosophizes that if we, as human beings, forgo our instincts at the service of something higher, justice will prevail. In “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he asserts that there are certain permanent truths which will never evaporate. These truths will always stand firm as fundamental principles which justify what is morally right and wrong, just and unjust. King deliberates that “the yearning for freedom eventually manifests itself” (“Letter,” p. 771). Furthermore, Martin Luther King, Jr. declares that there are universal and borderless Gospels of Freedom and Justice, which resound in the natural constitution of every human person, and are uplifted, fulfilled, and dignified by the divine wisdom of