As we enter another season of observances of the National Holiday commemorating the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther, Jr. let us reflect upon some of his unparalleled wisdom, his unwavering dedication and total commitment to upraising the standards of civil and human rights.
In his Christmas Eve speech which alluded many years ago, Dr. King alluded to our being a “bewildered human race with neither their peace within nor without.”
“Everywhere, paralyzing fears harrow people by day and haunt them by night. Our world is sick with war. Everywhere we turn we see its ominous possibilities and realities. And yet, my friends, the Christmas hope for peace and goodwill toward all men can no longer be dismissed as a kind of pious, utopian dream. If we don’t have goodwill toward men in this world, we will destroy ourselves by the misuse of our own instruments and our own power. Wisdom born of experience should tell us that war is obsolete,” stated Dr. King.
How much more appropriate are these words today when the enemy more clearly defined and military might and bases easier to detect and pinpoint. How very different the formless, faceless enemies of today who blend themselves into the population, blow us up with our own commercial or other means, and have ready access to what can poison us by air, land and water systems with our own chemicals of destruction!
How long ago did Dr. King urge national leaders to try “a new approach to fostering” Peace on Earth and Goodwill toward Men?”
“We have experimented with the meaning of non-violence in our struggle for racial justice, in the United States,” he stated, “but now the time has come for man to experiment with non-violence in All Areas Of Human Conflict,” and that means non-violence on an international scale! Now let me suggest first that if we are to have peace on earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional. Our loyalties must transcend race, tribe, class and nation-and this means we must develop a world perspective! No individual can live alone and as long as we try, the more we are going to have in this world.”
“Now more than ever the judgement of God is upon us and we must either learn to live together as brothers or we are all going to perish together as fools.”
“As Dr. King sacrificed his life offering new solutions to old problems, even so have thousands of Baha’is and other religious and non-religious organizations and individuals sacrificed their lives in the implementation of the divine plan through which such world peace must come!
“O, Contending people and kindreds of the earth! Set your faces towards unity and let the radiance of its light shine upon you. Gather ye together, and for the sake of God resolve to root out whatever is the source of contention amongst you!”
Among the frequent Baha’i references to America’s destiny in the promotion of world peace we read: “Race prejudice is pervasive in America, over-shadowing all other forms of prejudice! If Black and White Americans can overcome this part of their own heritage, the power of this accomplishment will serve to bring all other ethnic groups into the circle of unity as well for the unity of the races is essential to peace on the planet!
