Nonviolence Or Non-Violence?

In this life, many hope for peace, but not many try to achieve it. According to Martin Luther King Jr’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, there are many ways to achieve this, but the best possible course of action would be through nonviolent direct action, which includes but is not limited to: peaceful protest, sit-ins and civil disobedience. In King’s letter, he proclaims his reasoning behind nonviolent direct action, including: the concept that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (par. 4), extremism can be used positively (par. 22), and the fact that “oppressed people will not stay oppressed forever” (par. 24). King uses literary devices including ethos, logos, and pathos to prove and reaffirm that which he is trying to convey.

Although a society based on hate can survive, it is highly unlikely. In 1984, by George Orwell, the party kept the people under full control by brainwashing them. This is not realistic because in today’s world someone, whether it be another government or the people living in this society, would end it. People of today have been taught that they have rights and if those rights are taken away, something isn’t right. There are many examples on why a society could not thrive purely on hatred, some of which are present in 1984, The Lives of Others, and the real world.

Humans can destroy walls that are built, but the remains are still deep in our memories, just like prejudice. Although the civil rights movements did “re-liberate” the blacks, the remains of prejudice still stand firmly in people’s mind, and many are still facing the problems of discrimination. Nelson Mandela once said, “ No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to a human heart than its opposite” (Mandela). Prejudice is taught, but love can also be taught in a way to combat prejudice. It is much simpler to love and care for someone than it is to

While when discussing the history of the world’s power forces, violence makes for stimulating discussion, other tactics were put to good use, one of these alternatives being non-violence. With the guidance of three worldwide heroes - Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela - with contagious optimism and high spirits, it became apparent just how much of a difference could be made carried out through non-violent terms. Mankind was introduced to another way to resolve major problems just as effectively, if not more, than violence could.

unjust” (Banks 1). “Principle four – accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve the goal – this characterizes that nonviolent resistance is a willingness to accept suffering without retaliation, to accept blows from the opponent without striking back; accept the violence, if necessary; but to never inflict violence on another” (Banks 2). “Principle five – avoid internal violence of the spirit, as well as, external physical violence – a nonviolent resister not only refuses to fight or shoot his opponent, but he also refuses to hate him; at the center of nonviolence stands the principle of love for one another” (Banks 2). “Principle six – the universe is on the side of justice – this basic fact pertaining to nonviolent resistance is that it is based on the conviction that the universe is on the side of justice which is positive peace, consequently, the believer in nonviolence has a deep faith in the future and therefore, can accept suffering without retaliation. There is a creative force in this universe, that by whatever name we decide to call it, it works to bring the disconnected aspects of reality into a harmonious whole; a universal wholeness for each of us to share with one another and that nonviolence is both the means and the end” (Banks 3). Dr. King also had a couple of

Hatred, abuse, social injustice, and general dislike of an individual or group will never be controlled or extinguished through any means of education or political mandate. These terrible practices are part of the human frailty of life, and can be found among every ethnicity and culture. While it should never be condoned, it cannot be eradicated.

Hate can be a such a powerful word. “Hate has endurance capability in what it may inspire the human sprite to suffer and to sustain” (Thurman). Children do not know what hate is. It is through their innocence that they must personally learn it from someone. People thrive from hate; it is

doesn't want others to do the same. Hatred is a strong feeling, it can be hard to control, but

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the issue of non-violence in his letter from Birmingham Jail. He states that any law, which is unjust and inhuman, is not a moral law. Dr. King's argument for non-violent protest against the authorities is just and moral; because any action taken for the greater good of human beings may be called disobedience by the authorities, but as Erich Fromm states in his essay "Disobedience as a Psychological and Moral Problem" -- any act of disobedience against any inhuman law of the state is morally correct and is for the betterment of the human kind. King advocates nonviolence as the

In his letter to the clergy he justified the use of ‘nonviolent direct action’ as tactical means to bringing parties together to negotiate. He vehemently condemned all forms of violent action but insisted that it was strategic and constructive to employ the nonviolent tension as a powerful alternate to negotiation. Similarly, Dr. King Jr. stressed to his audience in his momentous speech in Washington DC, that the desire to attain set goal must not be tainted by any acts of retaliation and cautioned the crowd to avoid the temptation of being ‘guilty of wrong doing”. He emphasized the importance of adhering to strict discipline and conducting their struggle in the highest form of respect for human dignity.

Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

Why do people that hate each other so much work better together than people who love each other? People who love each other never get the job done it seems, but people that hate each other get the job done fast and efficiently, have you ever wondered why? You may say maybe they get it done so fast just to get it over with so they don’t have to work side by side anymore, but maybe it might be because they take their work seriously and rather work together side by side rather than do it alone and fail. In George Orwell’s Novel 1984 the society they live in is based on hate yet it survives because they hate their ruler so much they end up confusing it with love and they become loyal under Big Brother's watchful eyes, fighting to please him and continue with his bidding. If any one person in the society is to express their hate for him they are sent to a place like a prison or more like a reform center to learn to disguise their hatred again by basically confusing the people into thinking they love him they manipulate their minds and they create a loyal subject once again, this is why I believe a society based on hate can survive because can easily be confused for love and hate can make a loyal person besides their negative feelings for the society.

Another leader who was against for violence is Martin Luther Kind Jr. He is one of the influential leaders in American's History. He stated that, "I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth" ("Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]"). He also believes that "we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension" ("Letter from a

It is understood that, yes, we as humans, will never coexist without violence. It is with ennui that I inform you that there will never be such a thing as a true utopia, due to violence painted everywhere on the masterpiece of life. Sike!

King commented on nonviolence by saying, “Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral.” This quote shows how Martin Luther King was against nonviolence as he says it is immoral.This philosophy gives advice on how to live nonviolently, similar to how Thoreau would give his readers advice on how to become one with nature. Martin Luther King’s final idea was practicing nonviolent protest in order to achieve a goal or reform. King, with many other people, in the 1950s and 1960s practiced nonviolent protest in order to achieve his goal of ending segregations, and believes equal rights for blacks across the United States. Martin Luther King’s practice of nonviolence is directly borrowed from Thoreau 's work of Civil Disobedience and Nonviolent Resistance, King even commented on the use of nonviolence by saying, “The teachings of Thoreau came alive in our civil rights movement.” In conclusion, Martin Luther King can be considered a transcendental thinker due to the philosophies he created, the Triple Evil philosophy and Six Principles of Nonviolence philosophy, as well as his practice of nonviolence.