Thoughts on Violence

Rah and I recently watched "Do the Right Thing" which is a good/fun movie by Spike Lee. While I don't have much to say about the movie, other than it is pretty entertaining, in the end of the movie was a speech (below) by Martin Luther King which I think is very powerful. When I went online to read it again, I found that it was part of his 1964 Nobel prize speech. I think it is worth taking the time to read it and let it thinking about how it relates to life today.

Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: it seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers.

Martin Luther King 1964