Gandhi: “The means and the ends are one.”
Thich Nhat Hanh: “If we work for peace out of anger, then we will never succeed. Peace is not [just] an end. It can never come about through non-peaceful means.”
It is no longer the choice between violence and nonviolence, its nonviolence and nonexistance
Each day the war goes on the hatred increases in the hearts of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct. The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat. The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism.
If you want someone to be ignored, then build a life-size bronze statue of them and stick it in the middle of town.
While many Americans have been eagerly awaiting the memorial which formally sets in stone King's success in expanding civil rights, let's not be to quick to celebrate. The opening of Washington D.C.'s new MLK memorial has been postponed due to the hopefully exaggerated arrival of Hurricane Irene. This gives us more time to think about the nature of this memorial.
Some of the major contributors to the national memorial include Disney, AT&T, and Verizon. If King were active today he would likely have urged people to support the strike against Verizon to protect worker's rights. Verizon made $20 billion in profit in recent years, avoids paying corporate taxes, and is proving itself anti-union and anti-worker's benefits.
Hopefully the memorial will serve to reopen and expand public interest in civil rights and the peaceful strategies of civil disobedience.
Some of the major contributors to the national memorial include Disney, AT&T, and Verizon. If King were active today he would likely have urged people to support the strike against Verizon to protect worker's rights. Verizon made $20 billion in profit in recent years, avoids paying corporate taxes, and is proving itself anti-union and anti-worker's benefits.
Hopefully the memorial will serve to reopen and expand public interest in civil rights and the peaceful strategies of civil disobedience.
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