Words of Wisdom — January 19, 2015

MLK Jr: Find the Good in Your Enemies

“A second thing that an individual must do in seeking to love his enemy is to discover the element of good in his enemy, and everytime you begin to hate that person and think of hating that person, realize that there is some good there and look at those good points which will over-balance the bad points.”

bigthinkeditor

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) was an African-American Civil Rights leader who championed nonviolent activism and earned the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize. He is most famous for his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D.C., the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march, and his criticism of the War in Vietnam. King was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee on April 4, 1968. The third Monday of January is recognized as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day in the United States.

“A second thing that an individual must do in seeking to love his enemy is to discover the element of good in his enemy, and everytime you begin to hate that person and think of hating that person, realize that there is some good there and look at those good points which will over-balance the bad points.”

Source: “Loving Your Enemies” Delivered at Dexter Avenue Baptist Church, Montgomery, Alabama, on 17 November 1957. (via Wikiquote)

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