This marvelous collection of attributes is present from these very first words. Far from being disturbed by the presence of the church, the power structure of the average community is consoled by the churchs silentand often even vocalsanction of things as they are. Perhaps I must turn my faith to the inner spiritual church, the church within the church, as the true ekklesia and the hope of the world. He makes this point explicitly in the early part of the Letter. This argument supports his defense of civil disobedience, allows him to criticize the church for supporting the status quo rather than empowering crusaders for change, and supports the idea that law must reflect morality since it might otherwise be designed solely for the comfort of the majority. Subject Purpose King explains his reasons for civil disobedience and urges the religious leaders to act on what they preach about. Yes, I see the church as the body of Christ. Full text of "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr. 16 April 1963 My Dear Fellow Clergymen: While confined here in the Birmingham city jail, I came across your recent statement calling my present activities "unwise and untimely." Seldom do I pause to answer criticism of my work and ideas. A Letter in Pieces. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. Thus it is that I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally wrong. Never before have I written so long a letter. He establishes this by referring to the greatest indignity in black American history slavery and yet owning that period with optimism, as an indication that the black man will triumph over any adversity. The purpose of our direct action program is to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation. That would lead to anarchy. Over and over I have found myself asking: What kind of people worship here? . He stipulates through pathos that good men want a solid rock of human dignity, and then argues that direct action like that of the SCLC is the only way to reach such a transcendent state. If today's church does not recapture the sacrificial spirit of the early church, it will lose its authenticity, forfeit the loyalty of millions, and be dismissed as an irrelevant social club with no meaning for the twentieth century. And I am further convinced that if our white brothers dismiss as rabble rousers and outside agitators those of us who employ nonviolent direct action, and if they refuse to support our nonviolent efforts, millions of Negroes will, out of frustration and despair, seek solace and security in black nationalist ideologiesa development that would inevitably lead to a frightening racial nightmare. Whenever the early Christians entered a town, the people in power became disturbed and immediately sought to convict the Christians for being disturbers of the peace and outside agitators. But the Christians pressed on, in the conviction that they were a colony of heaven, called to obey God rather than man. We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are embodied in our echoing demands.. Martin Luther King 's "Letter from Birmingham Jail" is the most important written document of the civil rights era. The other force is one of bitterness and hatred, and it comes perilously close to advocating violence. In other cases, he uses unimpeachable figures like Jesus Christ or Abraham Lincoln to illustrate the basic way in which the clergymen are acting hypocritically. So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today because Socrates practiced civil disobedience. Though Dr. King has a more pointed suggestion to make about the world than Socrates did, he nevertheless recognized in the Socratic method a rhetorical approach that would pacify the knee-jerk defenses of his opponents so he could then defeat them. I began thinking about the fact that I stand in the middle of two opposing forces in the Negro community. Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? Birmingham's Commissioner of Public Safety Eugene "Bull" Connor, who King had repeatedly criticized in his letter for his harsh treatment, ordered fire hoses and police dogs to be turned on the. For years now I have heard the word Wait! It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. Cedars, S.R.. McKeever, Christine ed. But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong, or perhaps even more so, to use moral means to preserve immoral ends. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. The article also reveals the benefit of this letter and other rhetorical strategies. An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make binding on itself. Due to the extent of his higher learning, Dr. King had ready access to a number of allusions from a variety of religious and secular traditions, and he makes full use of that knowledge in the Letter. While each allusion serves a particular purpose in the context of the argument in which it is used, when taken together they underline two aspects of his argument. Even so, I am sure that, had I lived in Germany at the time, I would have aided and comforted my Jewish brothers. In deep disappointment I have wept over the laxity of the church. When he explains the many distinctions that support his cause such as the differences between just and unjust laws, violence and nonviolence, or just means and unjust ends he is implicitly suggesting that the clergymen are too dense to realize the nuances of the situation they have so openly criticized. There have been more unsolved bombings of Negro homes and churches in Birmingham than in any other city in the nation. Secondly, Dr. Kings use of multiple traditions for his allusions reinforces the unimpeachability of his argument. Having aided in this community need, we felt that our direct action program could be delayed no longer. However, the restraint also allows him to reinforce one of the letters central themes, the interconnectedness of man. The nations of Asia and Africa are moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence, but we still creep at horse and buggy pace toward gaining a cup of coffee at a lunch counter. I am not unmindful of the fact that each of you has taken some significant stands on this issue. Something within has reminded him of his birthright of freedom, and something without has reminded him that it can be gained. His argument here is that allowing a law to reign supreme without assessing its moral quality produces a situation like that of Nazi Germany. They have languished in filthy, roach infested jails, suffering the abuse and brutality of policemen who view them as dirty nigger-lovers. Unlike so many of their moderate brothers and sisters, they have recognized the urgency of the moment and sensed the need for powerful action antidotes to combat the disease of segregation. During the first half of the Letter, Dr. Kings arguments are marked more by their restraint than by their fire. One of the basic points in your statement is that the action that I and my associates have taken in Birmingham is untimely. The protests began with to pressure business leaders to cease discrimination for employment and end segregation in public facilities, restaurants, Why would King express his apology in this way? I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust. Summary: "Letter from Birmingham Jail". It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. The latter, he argues, allows for action that can change the world. I felt that the white ministers, priests and rabbis of the South would be among our strongest allies. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. However, this passionate but restrained argument ultimately sets the stage for a declaration of what scholar Jonathan Rieder calls a proclamation of black self-sufficiency (94). Some have been dismissed from their churches, have lost the support of their bishops and fellow ministers. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. This passage is a rather concise description of the call to arms that lies within the "Letter from Birmingham Jail.". He challenges his audience to disagree with the grounds on which he gladly calls himself an extremist and plans to remake the world for justice. Here is a detailed piece about the letter from Birmingham jail rhetorical analysis. However, he for the most part suggests that all men are responsible for all others, an idea that would not be as effective if the tone of the argument was too fiery and confrontational. Justice too long delayed is justice denied, We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed. Letter From Birmingham Jail essays are academic essays for citation. If today I lived in a Communist country where certain principles dear to the Christian faith are suppressed, I would openly advocate disobeying that countrys antireligious laws. His attack here on the clergy who seem to support law and order without considering the repressive segregation that comes with such order is not very subtle, comparing them to Nazis who persecuted Jews simply because their prejudices were protected by the law. They will be old, oppressed, battered Negro women, symbolized in a seventy two year old woman in Montgomery, Alabama, who rose up with a sense of dignity and with her people decided not to ride segregated buses, and who responded with ungrammatical profundity to one who inquired about her weariness: My feets is tired, but my soul is at rest. They will be the young high school and college students, the young ministers of the gospel and a host of their elders, courageously and nonviolently sitting in at lunch counters and willingly going to jail for conscience sake. Where were they when Governor Wallace gave a clarion call for defiance and hatred? It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. I'm not sure what you mean by "these people". The question is not whether we will be extremist, but what kind of extremists we will be. In at least 750 words, explain which of these modes of appeal you personally find to be the most effective in King's "Letter," and why. Just as the prophets of the eighth century B.C. You deplore the demonstrations taking place in Birmingham. By suggesting that people of ill will have understood this idea, he offers an implicit warning to his audience: if you do not support those of us seeking to do good, only bad will happen. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negros great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another mans freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a more convenient season. Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Why sit ins, marches and so forth? 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