Sunday Inspiration: In Memory

In memoryThese words by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. are in memory of those, both black and white, who were killed this past week by hatred and gun violence.

The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral,
begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy.
Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it.
Through violence you may murder the liar,
but you cannot murder the lie, nor establish the truth.
Through violence you may murder the hater,
but you do not murder hate.
In fact, violence merely increases hate.
So it goes.
Returning violence for violence multiplies violence,
adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars.
Darkness cannot drive out darkness:
only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.

6 Comments

  1. Shelley Costa on July 10, 2016 at 9:11 am

    What a wonderful passage. I had never heard it. Thank you!

  2. Marsha Markham on July 10, 2016 at 9:44 am

    These words were so eloquent from a man I’ve always admired. Thanks for posting this…I plan to share it on my site, Emilie.
    The sad thing is that probably the people who should be inspired by these words of wisdom are so caught up in retaliation that they are too closed to get it.

  3. Nancy Lepri on July 10, 2016 at 2:32 pm

    Very well said!

  4. DONALENE PODUSKA on July 10, 2016 at 7:52 pm

    Thanks for reminding us of the meaningful words spoken by Dr. King. It saddens me that we are experiencing again what we experienced back in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Today’s young people don’t understand the non-violent way that Dr. King and others used to address the problems. Violence isn’t the answer as he said.

  5. Bonnie Lucido on July 12, 2016 at 9:00 pm

    Thank you! I love your writing. I was born in 1934 during the depression on a farm in Utah. My father was an orphan and had supported himself since he was 12. Both maternal and paternal families had been poor and lived in a survival culture for all the generations we have traced. We left the farm in 1941 and moved to Salt Lake City. My dad was a skilled labourer, who could rivit, weld, build and fit pipes, and build and maintain cables. During the next 3-4 years,during WWII, our family moved from a survival to a needs basis, economically. We bought a home, $425, took a yearly vacation, had some ready-made clothing, and bought all our food at the store. As our life improved, my folks built a bigger house on our lot. Then came the time when we were at an economic level where wants could be considered. Daddy bought his first truck, we got a telephone, and even a tv. My generation, among those whom I knew well had expectations of an economic level of wants for the families we made. As our opportunities grew, including education, the wants level moved into entitlement. By my grandchildren`s lives entitlement was rearing its ugly head all over! It is certainly part of their life and of the lives of my great grandchildren! You capture many facets of life well. I thought you might like to see this facet of mine. Survival, needs, wants.& entitlement.

    • Emilie Richards on July 13, 2016 at 7:59 am

      Thank you, Bonnie for sharing your family story. I hope we agree that entitlement isn’t always a bad thing, in fact I’m unhappy that certain politicians use it in such a negative way when I believe we are all entitled to certain things, guaranteed us by our constitution. I believe all Americans, of all colors and professions, are entitled to freedom from random violence so that they can live their lives and fulfill their needs just as your parents did. I’m also a fan of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” to which I believe we are all entitled. When lives are cut short, for whatever reason, we violate that very basic premise. I’m grateful to live in a nation that takes all this seriously, whether we live by our precepts at every moment or not. But those entitlements are there for us to read and remember at moments like this one, and I love MLK’s reminder.

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