News and Politics | May 14, 2008 | Comment on this video (17)

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

keithponder
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 ?
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17 comments // Did speaking out against war cost Dr. Martin Luther King his life? // Video

  • dkl165
    • 0
      dkl165  

    • 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

    • 4 years ago
  • freedomisfree
    • 0
      freedomisfree  

    • 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....

    • 4 years ago
  • realitybytes
    • 0
      realitybytes  

    • 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!

    • 4 years ago
  • CarlosIsDown
  • 96thdayofrage
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  

    • 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.

    • 4 years ago
  • Virtual_Will_Rogers
    • 0
      Virtual_Will_Rogers  

    • 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.................

    • 4 years ago
  • Relevations
    • 0
      Relevations  

    • 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................

    • 4 years ago
  • VoyagerFilms
    • 0
      VoyagerFilms  

    • 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!

    • 4 years ago
  • Silkwerm
    • 0
      Silkwerm  

    • 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.

    • 4 years ago
  • dkl165
    • 0
      dkl165  

    • 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!"

    • 4 years ago
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