Today, January 21st, is the day we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the cornerstone of the civil rights movement in America. He was a champion of the non-violent movement in America. Today we honor his leadership and sacrifice for justice and peace, and his commitment to nonviolent action.
In homage to my last post, Dr. King was invited to speak in 1964 to citizens on both sides of the Berlin Wall. I believe that his words speak for themselves and have found quotes from his sermon while in Germany.
“It is indeed an honor to be in this city, which stands as a symbol of the divisions of men on the face of the earth,” he told East Berliners. “For here on either side of the wall are God’s children and no man-made barrier can obliterate that fact. Whether it be East or West, men and women search for meaning, hope for fulfillment, yearn for faith in something beyond themselves, and cry desperately for love and community to support them in this pilgrim journey.... [and (quoting Ephesians)] wherever reconciliation is taking place, wherever men are ‘breaking down the dividing walls of hostility’ which separate them from their brothers, there Christ continues to perform his ministry of reconciliation.”
Dr. King is an inspiration for those seeking to change the world through non-violent means. I have been actively pursuing his ideology in my free time - seeking to build bridges of communication, rather than walls. I was a part of the March for Life as a volunteer non-violent civilian protection force with the DC Peace Team this past Friday.
The March for Life is an anti-abortion movement that is highly controversial in America. As part of my commitment, we were deployed to ensure that everyone voicing their first amendment right of free speech - whether they be pro-life (anti-abortion) or pro-choice (pro-abortion ) - felt safe doing so. To build bridges, we sought first to ensure the safety of the participants and secondly sought to bring people on opposite sides of their ideological walls together and have conversations, rather than resort to haranguing or other violent communication.
It was particularly enlightening when I found many people willing to talk with me, especially from the pro-life side. One woman asked what side my patrol partner and I were on. Though we explained that we were impartial to the conflict, she still saw us as a threat. Yet, we talked with her for about ten minutes and let her express her truth. She was, as Dr. King aptly voiced, "search[ing] for meaning, hop[ing] for fulfillment, yearn[ing] for faith in something beyond [herself." And she wanted someone to hear her cry.
As I foray into the nonviolent tradition that Dr. King, Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and others have forged, I remind myself of the power of non-violence when dealing with people who don't agree with your own ideas. The DC Peace Team's motto is to "Light up Human Dignity" - and I reminded myself that everyone present there wanted to speak their truth and have someone hear it. The were all humans deserving dignity, respect and empathy.
Out of the hundreds of inspirational quotes that Dr. Martin Luther King gave in his speeches, I would like to end this short post with his words:
“Now there is a final reason I think that Jesus says, "Love your enemies." It is this: that love has within it a redemptive power. And there is a power there that eventually transforms individuals. Just keep being friendly to that person. Just keep loving them, and they can’t stand it too long. Oh, they react in many ways in the beginning. They react with guilt feelings, and sometimes they’ll hate you a little more at that transition period, but just keep loving them. And by the power of your love they will break down under the load. That’s love, you see. It is redemptive, and this is why Jesus says love. There’s something about love that builds up and is creative. There is something about hate that tears down and is destructive. So love your enemies.”
More on Nonviolence Theory and Dr. King.
If you want to check out non-violence training, go the the King Center.
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