It seemed odd to me that there were so few programs in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. this year, so I've been wading into some of his writings and speeches by way of A Testament of Hope: The Essential Writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. (A hefty tome in many ways.)
Here are some key passages that have resonated with me.
"We must pray for a change of attitude in all those who violate human dignity and who rob men, women and little children of human decency. We must pray for ourselves that we shall have the strength to move forward each day, knowing that our every act can emancipate us and can add compassion to the heart of our nation. We must pray for the power that comes from loving our neighbor as we love ourselves." [p. 92]
In many of his writings, King emphasizes that each person's actions, even his/her spirituality impacts the whole community.
"Only a refusal to hate or kill can put an end to the chain of violence in the world and lead us toward a community where men can live together without fear. Our goal is to create a beloved community and this will require a qualitative change in our souls as well as a quantitative change in our lives." [p. 58]
"In a real sense, the means represent the ideal in the making and the end in process. So in the long run destructive means cannot bring about constructive ends, because the end is preexistent in the means." [p. 102]
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