Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously came out against the Vietnam War shortly before he was assassinated thirty-five years ago today. His words, eloquent then, are just as relevant today:
"We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight."
Substitute "Iraq" for "Vietnam," and he could be talking about 2003. Read King's call for peace, " Beyond Vietnam ," in its entirety at MLK Online .
Peter Rothberg
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. famously came out against the Vietnam War shortly before he was assassinated thirty-five years ago today. His words, eloquent then, are just as relevant today:
“We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent coannihilation. We must move past indecision to action. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world, a world that borders on our doors. If we do not act, we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight.”
Substitute “Iraq” for “Vietnam,” and he could be talking about 2003. Read King’s call for peace, “ Beyond Vietnam ,” in its entirety at MLK Online .
And read a fitting tribute from the Los Angeles Times, by David Garrow, King’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biographer, who insists that if King were still alive today at age 75, he’d be busy organizing mass demonstrations against war with Iraq.
Peter RothbergTwitterPeter Rothberg is the The Nation’s associate publisher.