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Martin Luther King Analysis Essay

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“The Land of the Free and Home of the Brave.” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from Birmingham jail serves as a reminder of what the people of the United States of America continually strive for: freedom. Limited freedom a minority group does not embody the common people’s true goal. Dr. King insists that acting peacefully between the forces of passivity and hatred of the various Black Nationalist groups is vital to bring about necessary pressures of fighting ongoing injustices such as racism. The philosopher Aristotle stresses the importance of action. He defines moral virtue as a disposition to act in the right way. People learn virtue chiefly through practice and habit rather than instruction and reasoning. As an illustration, …show more content…
Dr. King was gravely disappointed in the “white moderate’s” character (Marino, 366). Their apathy promoted negative peace, creating a hindrance to the movement of social progress. Dr. King describes the white moderate’s corrupt mindset as one who “believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season” (Marino, 366). There is no wrong time to fight injustice. Agreeing with the goal of freedom yet disagreeing on methods of direct action stagnates justice. Waiting creates a false sense of complacency and an excuse to ignore the issue of prejudice. Additionally, silence cripples the strength of necessary demands. Dr. King demonstrates his frustration towards white religious leaders of the South because instead of preaching a message of acceptance and love, many “have been more cautious than courageous and have remained silent behind the anesthetizing security of stained glass windows” (Marino, 372). The church has the potentiality to bring an end to evils by disobeying unjust laws. Dr. King urges white religious leaders to agree with St. Thomas Aquinas’s definition of an unjust law: “a human law that

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