名人演讲 A Time to Break Silence.docx

名人演讲 A Time to Break Silence.docx

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名人演讲ATimetoBreakSilence

名人演讲：

ATimetoBreakSilence

MartinLutherKing:

BeyondVietnam--ATimetoBreakSilence

Icometothismagnificenthouseofworshiptonightbecausemyconscienceleavesmenootherchoice。

IjoinyouinthismeetingbecauseIamindeepestagreementwiththeaimsandworkoftheorganizationwhichhasbroughtustogether:

ClergyandLaymenConcernedaboutVietnam。

Therecentstatementsofyourexecutivecommitteearethesentimentsofmyownheart，andIfoundmyselfinfullaccordwhenIreaditsopeninglines:

“Atimecomeswhensilenceisbetrayal。

”AndthattimehascomeforusinrelationtoVietnam。

Thetruthofthesewordsisbeyonddoubt，butthemissiontowhichtheycallusisamostdifficultone。

Evenwhenpressedbythedemandsofinnertruth，mendonoteasilyassumethetaskofopposingtheirgovernment’spolicy，especiallyintimeofwar。

Nordoesthehumanspiritmovewithoutgreatdifficultyagainstalltheapathyofconformistthoughtwithinone’sownbosomandinthesurroundingworld。

Moreover，whentheissuesathandseemasperplexedastheyoftendointhecaseofthisdreadfulconflict，wearealwaysonthevergeofbeingmesmerizedbyuncertainty;butwemustmoveon。

Andsomeofuswhohavealreadybeguntobreakthesilenceofthenighthavefoundthatthecallingtospeakisoftenavocationofagony，butwemustspeak。

Wemustspeakwithallthehumilitythatisappropriatetoourlimitedvision，butwemustspeak。

Andwemustrejoiceaswell，forsurelythisisthefirsttimeinournation’shistorythatasignificantnumberofitsreligiousleadershavechosentomovebeyondtheprophesyingofsmoothpatriotismtothehighgroundsofafirmdissentbaseduponthemandatesofconscienceandthereadingofhistory。

Perhapsanewspiritisrisingamongus。

Ifitis，letustraceitsmovementsandpraythatourowninnerbeingmaybesensitivetoitsguidance，forwearedeeplyinneedofanewwaybeyondthedarknessthatseemssoclosearoundus。

Overthepasttwoyears，asIhavemovedtobreakthebetrayalofmyownsilencesandtospeakfromtheburningsofmyownheart，asIhavecalledforradicaldeparturesfromthedestructionofVietnam，manypersonshavequestionedmeaboutthewisdomofmypath。

Attheheartoftheirconcernsthisqueryhasoftenloomedlargeandloud:

“Whyareyouspeakingaboutthewar，Dr。

King?

”“Whyareyoujoiningthevoicesofdissent?

”“Peaceandcivilrightsdon’tmix，”theysay。

“Aren’tyouhurtingthecauseofyourpeople，”theyask?

AndwhenIhearthem，thoughIoftenunderstandthesourceoftheirconcern，Iamneverthelessgreatlysaddened，forsuchquestionsmeanthattheinquirershavenotreallyknownme，mycommitmentormycalling。

Indeed，theirquestionssuggestthattheydonotknowtheworldinwhichtheylive。

Inthelightofsuchtragicmisunderstanding，Ideemitofsignalimportancetotrytostateclearly，andItrustconcisely，whyIbelievethatthepathfromDexterAvenueBaptistChurch--thechurchinMontgomery，Alabama，whereIbeganmypastorate--leadsclearlytothissanctuarytonight。

Icometothisplatformtonighttomakeapassionatepleatomybelovednation。

ThisspeechisnotaddressedtoHanoiortotheNationalLiberationFront。

ItisnotaddressedtoChinaortoRussia。

NorisitanattempttooverlooktheambiguityofthetotalsituationandtheneedforacollectivesolutiontothetragedyofVietnam。

NeitherisitanattempttomakeNorthVietnamortheNationalLiberationFrontparagonsofvirtue，nortooverlooktheroletheymustplayinthesuccessfulresolutionoftheproblem。

WhiletheybothmayhavejustifiablereasonstobesuspiciousofthegoodfaithoftheUnitedStates，lifeandhistorygiveeloquenttestimonytothefactthatconflictsareneverresolvedwithouttrustfulgiveandtakeonbothsides。

Tonight，however，IwishnottospeakwithHanoiandtheNationalLiberationFront，butrathertomyfellowed[sic]Americans，*who，withme，bearthegreatestresponsibilityinendingaconflictthathasexactedaheavypriceonbothcontinents。

SinceIamapreacherbytrade，IsupposeitisnotsurprisingthatIhavesevenmajorreasonsforbringingVietnamintothefieldofmymoralvision。

*ThereisattheoutsetaveryobviousandalmostfacileconnectionbetweenthewarinVietnamandthestruggleI，andothers，havebeenwaginginAmerica。

Afewyearsagotherewasashiningmomentinthatstruggle。

Itseemedasiftherewasarealpromiseofhopeforthepoor--bothblackandwhite--throughthepovertyprogram。

Therewereexperiments，hopes，newbeginnings。

ThencamethebuildupinVietnam，andIwatchedthisprogrambrokenandeviscerated，asifitweresomeidlepoliticalplaythingofasocietygonemadonwar，andIknewthatAmericawouldneverinvestthenecessaryfundsorenergiesinrehabilitationofitspoorsolongasadventureslikeVietnamcontinuedtodrawmenandskillsandmoneylikesomedemonicdestructivesuctiontube。

So，Iwasincreasinglycompelledtoseethewarasanenemyofthepoorandtoattackitassuch。

Perhapsthemoretragicrecognitionofrealitytookplacewhenitbecamecleartomethatthewarwasdoingfarmorethandevastatingthehopesofthepoorathome。

Itwassendingtheirsonsandtheirbrothersandtheirhusbandstofightandtodieinextraordinarilyhighproportionsrelativetotherestofthepopulation。

WeweretakingtheblackyoungmenwhohadbeencrippledbyoursocietyandsendingthemeightthousandmilesawaytoguaranteelibertiesinSoutheastAsiawhichtheyhadnotfoundinsouthwestGeorgiaandEastHarlem。

AndsowehavebeenrepeatedlyfacedwiththecruelironyofwatchingNegroandwhiteboysonTVscreensastheykillanddietogetherforanationthathasbeenunabletoseatthemtogetherinthesameschools。

Andsowewatchtheminbrutalsolidarityburningthehutsofapoorvillage，butwerealizethattheywouldhardlyliveonthesameblockinChicago。

Icouldnotbesilentinthefaceofsuchcruelmanipulationofthepoor。

Mythirdreasonmovestoanevendeeperlevelofawareness，foritgrowsoutofmyexperienceintheghettoesoftheNorthoverthelastthreeyears--especiallythelastthreesummers。

AsIhavewalkedamongthedesperate，rejected，andangryyoungmen，IhavetoldthemthatMolotovcocktailsandrifleswouldnotsolvetheirproblems。

Ihavetriedtoofferthemmydeepestcompassionwhilemaintainingmyconvictionthatsocialchangecomesmostmeaningfullythroughnonviolentaction。

Buttheyask--andrightlyso--whataboutVietnam?

Theyaskifourownnationwasn’tusingmassivedosesofviolencetosolveitsproblems，tobringaboutthechangesitwanted。

Theirquestionshithome，andIknewthatIcouldneveragainraisemyvoiceagainsttheviolenceoftheoppressedintheghettoswithouthavingfirstspokenclearlytothegreatestpurveyorofviolenceintheworldtoday--myowngovernment。

Forthesakeofthoseboys，forthesakeofthisgovernment，forthesakeofthehundredsofthousandstremblingunderourviolence，Icannotbesilent。

Forthosewhoaskthequestion，“Aren’tyouacivilrightsleader?

”andtherebymeantoexcludemefromthemovementforpeace，Ihavethisfurtheranswer。

In1957whenagroupofusformedtheSouthernChristianLeadershipConference，wechoseasourmotto:

“TosavethesoulofAmerica。

”Wewereconvincedthatwecouldnotlimitourvisiontocertainrightsforblackpeople，butinsteadaffirmedtheconvictionthatAmericawouldneverbefreeorsavedfromitselfuntilthedescendantsofitsslaveswereloosedcompletelyfromtheshacklestheystillwear。

InawaywewereagreeingwithLangstonHughes，thatblackbardofHarlem，whohadwrittenearlier:

O，yes，

Isayitplain，

AmericaneverwasAmericatome，

AndyetIswearthisoath--

Americawillbe!

Now，itshouldbeincandescentlyclearthatnoonewhohasanyconcernfortheintegrityandlifeofAmericatodaycanignorethepresentwar。

IfAmerica’ssoulbecomestotallypoisoned，partoftheautopsymustread:

Vietnam。

Itcanneverbesavedsolongasitdestroysthedeepesthopesofmentheworldover。

SoitisthatthoseofuswhoareyetdeterminedthatAmericawillbeareleddownthepathofprotestanddissent，workingforthehealthofourland。

AsiftheweightofsuchacommitmenttothelifeandhealthofAmericawerenotenough，anotherburdenofresponsibilitywasplaceduponmein1954**[sic];andIcannotforgetthattheNobelPrizeforPeacewasalsoacommission--acommissiontoworkharderthanIhadeverworkedbeforefor“thebrotherhoodofman。

”Thisisacallingthattakesmebeyondnationalallegiances，butevenifitwerenotpresentIwouldyethavetolivewiththemeaningofmycommitmenttotheministryofJesusChrist。

TometherelationshipofthisministrytotheXXXofpeaceissoobviousthatIsometimesmarvelatthosewhoaskmewhyI’mspeakingagainstthewar。

Coulditbethattheydonotknowthatthegoodnewswasmeantforallmen--forCommunistandcapitalist，fortheirchildrenandours，forblackandforwhite，forrevolutionaryandconservative?

HavetheyforgottenthatmyministryisinobediencetotheOnewholovedhisenemiessofullythathediedforthem?

WhatthencanIsaytotheVietcongortoCastroortoMaoasafaithfulministerofthisOne?

CanIthreatenthemwithdeathormustInotsharewiththemmylife?

Andfinally，asItrytoexplainforyouandformyselftheroadthatleadsfromMontgomerytothisplaceIwouldhaveofferedallthatwasmostvalidifIsimplysaidthatImustbetruetomyconvictionthatIsharewithallmenthecallingtobeasonofthelivingGod。

Beyondthecallingofraceornationorcreedisthisvocationofsonshipandbrotherhood，andbe