Beyond Vietnam -- A Time to Break Silence - American Rhetoric [18] He guarded his language in public to avoid being linked to communism by his enemies, but in private he sometimes spoke of his support for democratic socialism. 800-989-8255, email us talk@npr.org. So they go primarily women and children and the aged. 0000003199 00000 n Howard's calling us from South Bend. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their governments policy, especially in time of war. CONAN: Indeed. We must stop now. All Rights Reserved. The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. We in the West must support these revolutions. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. I've always thought that was, to me, his best speech, his most consequential speech, even better than I have a dream in the mountain top speech. They see the children selling their sisters to our soldiers, soliciting for their mothers. CONAN: And I think a lot of people will see your parallels regarding Iraq, where, indeed, the United States was the aggressor in that conflict. And that is precisely what concerned Dr. King so much, that these young boys were being sent halfway around the world to fight a war that was unwinnable, that resources were being used there that should've been used here at home. Martin Luther King Jr. on the Vietnam War "The greatest irony and tragedy of all is that our nation, which initiated so much of the revolutionary spirit of the modern world, is now cast in the. For it occurs to me that what we are submitting them to in Vietnam is not simply the brutalizing process that goes on in any war where armies face each other and seek to destroy. King, Beyond Vietnam, in A Call to Conscience, ed. or 404 526-8968. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" was a powerful and angry speech that raged against the war. [28], A portion of this speech is used in the track "Wisdom, Justice, and Love" by Linkin Park, from their 2010 album A Thousand Suns. Excuse me. He turned that into a great speech when he got out of the hospital. Grossfield, Stan. Or will there be another message, of longing, of hope, of solidarity with their yearnings, of commitment to their cause, whatever the cost? I want to thank you, as I know listeners do as well, for your service to this country. We must find new ways to speak for peace in Vietnam and justice throughout the developing world a world that borders on our doors. So, too, with Hanoi. Legendary civil rights leader Rev. It will become clear that our minimal expectation is to occupy it as an American colony and men will not refrain from thinking that our maximum hope is to goad China into a war so that we may bomb her nuclear installations. I guess the question now is whether or not Afghanistan is a war of necessity or a war of choice. A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. These too are our brothers. $25.00. 0000001700 00000 n When I speak of love I am not speaking of some sentimental and weak response. At the time, civil rights leaders publicly condemned him for it. And there was a 18-year-old black Marine that picked me up since I couldn't walk, got me away from bombs and saved my life. Perhaps only his sense of humor and of irony can save him when he hears the most powerful nation of the world speaking of aggression as it drops thousands of bombs on a poor weak nation more than eight thousand miles away from its shores. Undeterred, King, Spock, and Harry Belafonte led 10,000 demonstrators on an anti-war march to the United Nations on 15 April 1967. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "Beyond Vietnam" was a powerful and angry speech that raged against the war. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism are incapable of being conquered. 2. So when the president suggests - and whether directly or indirectly, intentionally or unintentionally diminishes in that Nobel speech Martin's powerful, nonviolent philosophy, it tweaked some people, and you'll see that in the presentation Wednesday night. PBS talk show. In Hanoi are the men who led the nation to independence against the Japanese and the French, the men who sought membership in the French commonwealth and were betrayed by the weakness of Paris and the willfulness of the colonial armies. 0000044282 00000 n Even before the French were defeated at Dien Bien Phu, they began to despair of the reckless action, but we did not. King Leads Chicago). The Story Of King's 'Beyond Vietnam' Speech : NPR What do they think of our condoning the violence which led to their own taking up of arms? We are adding cynicism to the process of death, for they must know after a short period there that none of the things we claim to be fighting for are really involved. Carson and Shepard, 2001. In Martin Luther King Jr.'s Vietnam speech, lines 413-416, he repeats the phrase "this is not just" (161). People And Peace Not Profits And War Rhetorical Devices ", After King delivered the speech, Smiley reports, "168 major newspapers the next day denounced him." The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit, and if we ignore this sobering reality we will find ourselves organizing clergy- and laymen-concerned committees for the next generation. I Have a Dream | Date, Quotations, & Facts | Britannica Du Bois to Coretta Scott King: The Untold History of the Movement to Ban the Bomb. Mr. SMILEY: Yeah, Walt, I thank you for sharing that story as well, for being courageous to tell it, number one. Let us not join those who shout war and through their misguided passions urge the United States to relinquish its participation in the United Nations. Dr. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. The Washington Post says he has done a discredit to himself, to his people, to his country. In his 1967 speech on the Vietnam War, Martin Luther King, Jr. employs figurative language and syntactical elements to construct his argument against the hypocrisy and cruelty of American involvement in the war. A few years ago there was a shining moment. I am convinced that if we are to get on the right side of the world revolution, we as a nation must undergo a radical revolution of values. And he said these three issues of racism and poverty and militarism are going to destroy this nation. Martin Luther King, Jr.,'s Searing Antiwar Speech, Fifty Years Later Before he was assassinated at age 39, the Rev. And as I ponder the madness of Vietnam and search within myself for ways to understand and respond to compassion my mind goes constantly to the people of that peninsula. CONAN: Tavis Smiley, author, journalist, political commentator, host of his talk show on PBS, joins us today from the Sheryl Flowers Studios in Los Angeles. What do the peasants think as we ally ourselves with the landlords and as we refuse to put any action into our many words concerning land reform? 0000006515 00000 n As we counsel young men concerning military service we must clarify for them our nations role in Vietnam and challenge them with the alternative of conscientious objection. And I believe everyone has a duty to be in both the civil-rights and peace movements. trailer << /Size 93 /Info 36 0 R /Root 40 0 R /Prev 148547 /ID[<8f2b4dd6f2f061944c7ff807c44fcc1f><651247ae294a1a197a948cb3bc3f8412>] >> startxref 0 %%EOF 40 0 obj << /Type /Catalog /Pages 38 0 R /Metadata 37 0 R /Threads 41 0 R /Names 43 0 R /OpenAction [ 44 0 R /XYZ null null null ] /PageMode /UseNone /PageLabels 35 0 R >> endobj 41 0 obj [ 42 0 R ] endobj 42 0 obj << /I << /Title (A)>> /F 45 0 R >> endobj 43 0 obj << /Dests 33 0 R >> endobj 91 0 obj << /S 76 /E 200 /L 216 /Filter /FlateDecode /Length 92 0 R >> stream Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is known for being one of the greatest orators of the twentieth century, and perhaps in all of American history. His speech appears below. It tells why American helicopters are being used against guerrillas in Colombia and why American napalm and green beret forces have already been active against rebels in Peru. Their questions hit home, and I knew that I could never again raise my voice against the violence of the oppressed in the ghettos without having first spoken clearly to the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today my own government. And so I think most Americans, Neal, know the "I Have A Dream" speech. [1][5], King was long opposed to American involvement in the Vietnam War, but at first avoided the topic in public speeches in order to avoid the interference with civil rights goals that criticism of President Johnson's policies might have created. But two, to the audio, there are only less than 10 minutes of this speech that got covered. Copyright 2010 NPR. So practically everybody in his inner circle was against him giving it - one, because they knew the kind of pushback he was going to get. And let's see if we can get another caller on the line. This is Howard, which you know me. He knows the bombing and shelling and mining we are doing are part of traditional pre-invasion strategy. Mr. SMILEY: And therein lies the rub. And they, as news crews tend to do, they stayed to get just enough B-roll, as we call it Mr. SMILEY: for the news that night. We are at the moment when our lives must be placed on the line if our nation is to survive its own folly. 0000004855 00000 n Will our message be that the forces of American life militate against their arrival as full men, and we send our deepest regrets? MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.: I speak as a child of God and brother to the suffering poor of Vietnam. n/a martin luther king jr. (born michael king january 15, 1929 april 1968) was an american baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in . So far we may have killed a million of them mostly children. We appreciate that. Martin Luther King's Speech Against the Vietnam War His speech appears below. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - Zinn Education Project Moreover I would encourage all ministers of draft age to give up their ministerial exemptions and seek status as conscientious objectors. On 4 April 1967 Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his seminal speech at Riverside Church condemning the Vietnam War. Martin Luther King, Jr., giving his speech Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence at Riverside Church in NYC, April 4, 1967. Answering press questions after addressing a Howard University audience on 2 March 1965, King asserted that the war in Vietnam was accomplishing nothing and called for a negotiated settlement (Schuette, King Preaches on Non-Violence). And secondly, so many civil rights leaders were opposed to him giving it because LBJ had been the best president to black people on civil rights. During the past ten years we have seen emerge a pattern of suppression which now has justified the presence of U.S. military advisors in Venezuela. I would like to see the fervor of the civil-rights movement imbued into the peace movement to instill it with greater strength. True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it is not haphazard and superficial. These are revolutionary times. They question our political goals and they deny the reality of a peace settlement from which they will be excluded. Had the president stopped by giving Martin King his just respect - as he did, to his credit - it would have been okay. Due to the Vietnam War is that plenty of individuals, both Americans and Vietnamese were killed. "[24] King condemned America's "alliance with the landed gentry of Latin America", and said that the U.S. should support "the shirtless and barefoot people" in the Third World rather than suppressing their attempts at revolution. King contemplated but ultimately decided against the proposal on the grounds that he felt uneasy with politics and considered himself better suited for his morally unambiguous role as an activist.[25]. Even though they quoted the American Declaration of Independence in their own document of freedom, we refused to recognize them. We encouraged them with our huge financial and military supplies to continue the war even after they had lost the will.