Martin Luther King Junior's letter from a Birmingham Jail was an expression of his support for protest against established laws and a justification for his actions. King, a leader of a civil-rights group that supported protest against traditional views, encouraged protesting against tradition and established laws that are unjust. In his letter from Birmingham Jail King says:
"It was illegal to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at that time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that country's anti-religious laws."
This extract shows that King backs-up protest because in some situations it is necessary, be it in Hitler's Germany, or any place in which injustices are going on. In the last sentence of the excerpt King openly admits that he would protest against established laws or traditions. He felt that the only way that these unjust laws and traditional beliefs would ever change would be by means of protest. He felt that without protest the laws and society would remain the same forever. The letter was written to his fellow clergymen to explain his prior actions and to attempt to justify them. In the letter he tried to explain to the clergy that his actions although illegal were justified and appropriate for the situation.
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Matt,
ReplyDeleteKing's reference to Hitler's Germany is a powerful connection; nevertheless, do you agree with King that illegal actions may be justified?
Do the clergymen have a point about following the rule of law?