The words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

delivered at Riverside Church, New York City, April 4th, 1967:

"A time comes when silence is betrayal. Even when pressed by the
demands of inner truth, men [sic] do not easily assume the task of
opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human
spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist
thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover,
when the issues at hand seem as perplexing as they often do in the case of
dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by
uncertainty. But we must move on."

"Some of us who have already begun to break the silence of the
night have found that the calling to speak is often a vocation of agony, but we
must speak. We must speak with all the humility that is appropriate to our
limited vision, but we must speak. For we are deeply in need of a new way
beyond the darkness that seems so close around us."

"We are called to speak for the weak, for the voiceless, for the
victims of our nation, for those it calls "enemy," for no document from
human hands can make these humans any less our brothers. I think of them,
too, because it is clear to me that there will be no meaningful solution
until some attempt is made to know them and hear their broken cries."

"I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world
revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. We
must rapidly begin the shift from a thing-oriented society to a
person-oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and
property rights, are considered more important than people, the giant
triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism are incapable of
being conquered."

"A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and
say of war, "This way of settling differences is not just." A nation that
continues year and year to spend more money on military defense than on
programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death."

"America, the richest and most powerful nation in the world, can
well lead the way in this revolution of values. There is nothing except a
tragic death wish to prevent us from reordering our priorities over the pursuit
of war."

"This call for a worldwide fellowship that lifts neighborly concern
beyond one's tribe, race, class, and nation is in reality a call for an
all-embracing and unconditional love for all mankind. We can no longer
afford to worship the God of hate or bow before the altar of retaliation.
The oceans of history are made turbulent by the ever-rising tides of hate.
History is cluttered with the wreckage of nations and individuals that
pursed this self-defeating path of hate."

"We still have a choice today: nonviolent coexistence or violent
coannihilation. We must move past indecision to action. If we do not act,
we shall surely be dragged down the long, dark, and shameful corridors of
time reserved for those who posses power without compassion, might without
morality, and strength without sight."

"Now let us begin. Now let us rededicate ourselves in the long and
bitter, but beautiful struggle for a new world. If we will but make the
right choice, we will be able to speed up the day, all over America and
all over the world, when justice will roll down like waters, and righteousness
like a mighty stream."

"May our country, on the brink of war, take to heart the final refrain
of "America, the Beautiful": "America! America! God mend thine ev'ry flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law."

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"All your strength is in your union,
All your danger is in discord."
--Longfellow, Hiawatha