名人演讲 A Time to Break Silence文档格式.docx
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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