Monday, January 21, 2013

Words I Wish I Wrote: The Timeless Wisdom Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.



"Darkness cannot drive out darkness; 
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; 
only love can do that."


"I have a dream that my four little children
will one day live in a nation where they will
not be judged by the color of their skin, but
by the content of their character."


"Faith is taking the first step even when 
you don't see the whole staircase."


"The ultimate measure of a man is not
where he stands in moments of comfort
and convenience, but where he stands
at times of challenge and controversy."


"Change does not roll in on the wheels of
inevitability, but comes through continuous
struggle. And so we must straighten our
backs and work for our freedom. A man
can't ride you unless your back is bent."


"I have decided to stick with love.
Hate is too great a burden to bear."


"An individual has not started living 
until he can rise above the narrow confines 
of his individualistic concerns to the 
broader concerns of all humanity."


"In the end, we will remember not the words of
our enemies, but the silence of our friends."


"Nothing in the world is more dangerous than
sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity."


"A nation or civilization that continues to 
produce soft-minded men purchases its
own spiritual death on the installment plan."


"Our lives begin to end the day we
become silent about things that matter."


"We must develop and maintain the capacity
to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to
forgive is devoid of the power to love. There 
is some good in the worst of us and some 
evil in the best of us. When we discover this, 
we are less prone to hate our enemies."


"All labor that uplifts humanity has 
dignity and importance and should be
undertaken with painstaking excellence."


"Right, temporarily defeated, 
is stronger than evil triumphant."


"Rarely do we find men who willingly
engage in hard, solid thinking. 
There is an almost universal quest 
for easy answers and half-baked 
solutions. Nothing pains some 
people more than having to think."


"To be a Christian without prayer is no more
possible than to be alive without breathing."


"We must learn to live together as
brothers or perish together as fools."


"Injustice anywhere is a threat
to justice everywhere."


"Life's most persistent and 
urgent question is, 'What are 
you doing for others?'"


"The hottest place in Hell is reserved
for those who remain neutral in 
times of great moral conflict."


"Whatever your life's work, do it well.
A man should do his job so well 
that the living, the dead, and the
unborn could do it no better."


"The time is always right
to do what's right."


"A right delayed
is a right denied."


"We must build the dikes of courage
to hold back the flood of fear."


"Love is the only force capable of
transforming an enemy into a friend."


"We may have all come on different ships,
but we're in the same boat now."


"Nonviolence means avoiding not only
external physical violence, but also internal
violence of spirit. You not only refuse to
shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him."


"Shallow understanding from people of 
good will is more frustrating than absolute
misunderstanding from people of ill will."


"If a man hasn't discovered something
that he will die for, he isn't fit to live."


"The art of acceptance is the art of 
making someone who has just done 
you a small favor wish that he might 
have done you a greater one."


"The means by which we live have
outdistanced the ends for which we
live. Our scientific power has outrun
our spiritual power. We have guided
missiles and misguided men."


"War is a poor chisel
to carve out tomorrow."


"Peace is not merely a distant
goal that we seek, but a means
by which we arrive at that goal."


"I just want to do God's will. And He's
allowed me to go to the mountain. And
I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised
Land! I may not get there with you, but I
want you to know tonight that we as a 
people will get to the Promised Land."

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