When reading the Letter from Birmingham Jail a specific part of the passage seemed to puzzle me. Although slavery, Jim Crow, and other injustices had occurred to minorities matters that seemed just to them were unwise and untimely to members of the clergy. It is understandable that they may have been in a situation where they have been scared of the majorities actions however, wouldn't their moral obligation to their god bund them to doing what is right? Wouldn't men who consider the self to serve god do what's just so that equality could be achieved? What Dr.King did what was necessary for drastic change to occur. While it would of been more subtle to solve the injustices in court we have to consider several things; that takes more time, it doesn't amplify the message, it doesn't show the injustice. By taking direct action an audience is drawn, people are able to see the injustices, and more attention is brought to the matter and that is what was needed when times were like that.
Do you agree or disagree?
Timing matters, and honest, committed people can disagree about whether it's the right time to act. King's beef with the ministers arises from the (quite possibly correct) perception that they offer no suggestions about when the right time might be, which amounts to a counsel of quietism -- "we agree with you that this is unjust and unacceptable," they say, "but we're uncomfortable with what you're doing about it." In the absence of an alternative proposal, this sounds pretty hypocritical.
ReplyDeleteI think King was challenging the white (segregated) church to acknowledge that their silence was a very loud acceptance of injustice.
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