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Did speaking out against war cost Dr. Martin Luther King his life?


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Dr. Martin Luther King spoke out against America's involvement in Viet Nam after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway,December 10th.1964, for work and speech on Non-Violence. This angered the government of the United States,as well as vast majority of the population that felt that he being ungrateful after being awarded and unpatriotic in not supporting this country's involvement in southeast Asia. Most White Americans had favored Dr. King over the more Malcom X, who at that time,before his assasination,did not preach nonviolence. Malcom X, who after leaving the Nation of Islam, changed his name to El-Hadj Malik el-Shabazz, spoke of "by any means necessary". But while Dr. King was still considered the more passive and non-threatning of the two, America was not comfortable with Blacks speaking out on the international stage against American foreign policy. America has not expirienced changed as a nation the way it did in the late 60's and early 70's since then.. After the war and then Watergate,the nation was silenced. Why ?
Some believed that after a series of assasinations of JFK, Malcom X, MLK, AND Robert Kennedy Jr, most leaders,as well as most people had become afraid to speak out, that is until today.
The irony, in the eyes of Dr. King, was that he was awarded the peace prize for asking Negroes,(as we were referd to back then,) to be passive against Alabama Governor Bull Conner's vicious dogs and waterboarding, then denounced for praticing the same non-violent methodology against the North Vietnamese. Since that time, a pattern has developed. Andy Young, who was later Secretary of State under then President Jimmy Carter, was later forced to reisgn his post for his handling of a situation that involved Israel. Although he was Secretary of State at that time,and that was his role,politians at home sharply criticized for actions and he was force to resign. Today Condeleeza Rice assumes that role and is sharply critcized by both Blacks and Whites in America, as well people all over the world because she's apart of the George Bush regime, however because she is a woman,to most,she's always been considered non-threatning to the Whte male establishment and this leads us to today.Unfortunately, some Americans sadly still fill that," the sons and daughters of formers slaves should never speak on behalf of this great country.( See the Virginia Election results.)
If he were alive, what would Dr. King say about America's involvement in the middle east today , and would this country honor his presence the way we do in his memory ,or would that have changed also after his speech on War. It's obvious to some as to why John McCain voted against a National Holiday in his name, being a former POW of the Viet Nam war. Was immortalizing him in death the safest way out for this government ? In a nutshell, how would Dr. King feel about America today, and how would America feel about Dr. King ?
keithponder

16 responses // Did speaking out against war cost Dr. Martin Luther King his life?

  • Now there's a man that America can be proud of!!! This is a man who provokes people to think about their actions and promotes human kind to raise their morals!

    One of my all time favourite quotes from Dr. King is, "You can't judge a man by how he acts in times of comfort and convenience, but rather how he acts in times of conflict and controversy!"
    dkl165
  • Speaking out in general cost him his life, just like Kennedy and Ghandi, people who promote positive change are the targets of assasinations.

    However their spirit lives on, and can never be silenced.
    Silkwerm
  • Now, this won't be here to scare people here on Current from expressing themselves would it?

    I am against the war. It is an evil war. It is wrong!
    VoyagerFilms
  • silkwerm
    You're exactly right.People don't wan't to here that today.Jesus said," If you love me,then you'll keep my commandments", meaning that ,if we truly loved Dr. King, we would have the courage to live as he did.
    It's easy to immortalize a man in death.You can glorify image that you create, and he can't speak from the grave and say ,"that's not me". I live in Atlanta, close to where his memorial is.The government that killed him, now owns his memorial.Over recent years there's been debate amongst the public and even his family members, as to whether or not Dr. King would would have approved of his now commercialized legacy. The answer, here in Atlanta, is no. People are quick to remind us that he was non-violent, but we very seldom discuss that this man, after being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, was not to be bought and sold because of it. He took on the government. He criticized America for her hypocrisy, and arrogant attitude toward Third World countries on this planet. These are HIS words, not just mine.
    I truly believe that Dr. King would have been hated, just like all others are that choose to speak out against the imperilistic mindset of American governnment.Today they would have accused him of playing the race card if he'd continued to speak out against the poverty,illiteracy,drugs, and unemployment in Americas ghettos today. He had to be silenced..
    keithponder
  • Martin Luther King was tapped into the Universal Truths .......he did not choose it, it chose him........it has been going on forever.....you pick it up...it takes over your being...you must try to pass this beautiful gift to others.....you try...some understand...some do not...some Love you...some do not....you are abused by those consumed by fear....you usually come to a grevous end.....your word gets out and some elevate you to a place you never desired...Worship the message-----not the messenger.....If any of them were here today, and they are, and had Current they would hide out and try to get the message to you.......Martin Luther King stuck his neck out for you and you allowed others to chop it off....have a cry.......now do something to make him and all the others proud......spread Love...not hatred..........Johnnie Hargrave................
    Relevations
  • I had a Dog by the name of Andy...that is his picture in my icon.....he got in a fight at the age of one and lost an eye........I had to put him to sleep last May 21 after a long illness....hardest thing I ever done......he was an angel wrapped in fur....the darkest black and the whitest white.......not once did I ponder....Do I Love the black part better....or the white......please take and wake up........focus on the important things...ya can't choose your color or station in life.....you can choose....asshole or Kind person full of Love for all.........Golden Ruler.............Will.................
  • He told us that there will never be peace without justice. Peace will never come before justice. How can it ? How can you expect those who have been robbed of their land, their heritage and dignity to be at peace,just because you're happy. You're happy because you have everything, and you somehow expect for the poor to be as happy as you are.That's not love or peace and it's not democratic.That,myfriend, is "insanity", and unfortunately, that's how alot of us truly think today.
    It is better to be hated but respected, than to be loved and disrespected. Far more than love,Dr. Kings message, was a message of "Truth", because truth is balanced whether we accept or not.Today we really don't want peace as much as we do compliance.We try to insist that others go along with the program rather than equally distribute the equity.,and it's most cases, when a person points that out, they're accused of praticing or preaching hate. In truth, they're just saying,"try be being fair". Why do a small few have too much, and far too many have nothing ? To love , I must first care, and if I don't care, how can I say that I love ? We say that we love everybody, but everybody very seldom includes others that don't look ,sound, dress,walt,talk,dress,smell, or worst of all , think like us. They make us uncomfortable, so we prejudge them, out of fear,and attack anybody that tells us that it's wrong act like that.Justice requires faith, in that I've got to give up something ot myself so that you'll will be Ok,and in the process, not only will I be OK, but my life will actually get better, because now that I've begun to share, you've begun to trust.That my friend is the only way out. It's called making ammends for my pass transgressions. The problem that, if I am so full of myself with me, I don't believe that I've done anything wrong,, so I don't owe you anything, and your problems are not mine, even if the playing field is not equal.I know what's best for everybody because I have everything, even if I got it by taken everything from you. That's called injustice, and most of us do not want to take a look at injustice because, it requires us all to examine ourselves....
    keithponder
  • My aunt wrote a poem once that was a conversation between a Dominican Republican black slave girl and her mother. The slave girl was in love with the son of the white landowner.

    The mother says "My daughter you have no understanding of what danger you will be in for loving a man that is not of your same skin color."

    The daughter responds "But Momma, I may be black on the outside, but oh how the way he loves me, he is all black on the inside."

    Oh that we could all see that we are all the same on the inside, we all share the same feelings, hopes, dreams, and thoughts. We all die.
    jubal
  • Dr.King said that that, "the hottest places in hell are maintained for those of us that remain silent during a time of moral crisis".
    keithponder
  • Amongst other things out against MLK spoke, most certainly!
    96thdayofrage
  • I can only imagine the shit Dr. King would be getting (especially by fox news) if he was alive.
    CarlosIsDown
  • DR. King was definitely murdered because he opposed the war and other acts of govt.. Today, most of Americans would stand with Dr. King, especially myself!
    I believe he would be repulsed and disgusted with our current administration. Fox News would try their best to discredit him, accuse him of being anti-American, call him an instigator, etc...
    I just wish there were a man like him today that would stand up against those who oppress us and invade others.
    R.I.P. Dr. Martin Luther KIng,Jr.- if thats possible today!
    realitybytes
  • He was a very smart man. If Dr. King were not shot he would have completed the poor people's campaign. Which in my opinion would have united us all in a way in which we have never been united...but i think in general, he was a threat to a very few who owned the very most...and therefore he was eliminated. It's sad to think what we could be today is what we could have been and what we eventually be some day....
    freedomisfree
  • If Dr. King were alive today, the media (in America) would hate his presence, and mainstream America would be afraid to touch him, because of corporate and government reprisal. It's easy to say that we love him today, because didn't have to walk with him yesterday. It's easy to say that we love Jesus today, but besides the 3 Mary's, who was there at the crucifiction ? The disciples loved him, but when it mattered most they ran for their lives.There's nothing wrong with that.It's human nature.The law of nature is self preservation. The truth is very seldom popular, and hardly ever attractive, and more than anything else MLK was a man of truth.
    keithponder
  • Mr. Ponder, I can't speak for all the garbage that often happens on your side of the border, but I do know what happens on my side of the border. We seek to gather information about things that are different from us, and then we make informed opinions. My country rejected going to Vietnam, and also going to Iraq. Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King, although possibly feared, once we learned what they stood for, were eventually also respected.

    And back in the 60's, the population was 90% white. Take a look at this clip from 1965. Malcolm X is given full hearted respect for having different views from the panel of people interviewing him.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IUSthrNcgQQ
    dkl165
  • dk165
    that's a great video.I have it already in my archives.Yes he was having a respect for differences of opinion, but Malcom never presented opinion without case or fact. I'm a product of forced (by parents) integration, in Georgia. My siblings and myself were the first Black children in Macon, Georgia to intergrate the white school system in that city. I grew up around the world......(military Father). I had teachers try to fail me just because of my skin color[ and I was an honor student].I later saw what happened when my friends Fathers and brothers didn't come back from Nam...I'm not talking about things that I saw on TV, youtube or read in National Geographic. I gather facts from a sum total of living expiriences.I've always had to be better just to be average.And I'm not angry.I'm just not afraid,and unfortunately ,that bothers some people.It scares the shit out of my own wife. I don't know how else to be. I'm not that good at being phony just so some people can laugh. I was born for this. I laugh at things that are funny and sometimes that means at myself, but I'm not a " step and fitch it", or "he's OK" kind off guy.
    ( once we learned what they stood for)...I don't quite understand that ? They should have always been respected. The beauty in these two men is that, they didn't live for the acceptance of anybody.They just wanted to do the Will of God. The Creator was the only one they wanted to please. Any thought outside of that was beneath them,and should be beneath us all. Peace and Respect to you for addressing this clip.
    keithponder

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