A Man of Honor Who Brought Two Communities Together - Essay Example

Military Values Martin Luther King Jr. was an African American born in 1929, in Atlanta. His father being a pastor, he grew up in a religious home and chose to follow in his footsteps. After being ordained, Martin Luther King Jr. became a Baptist church minister in Montgomery, where racism was prevalent. Starting from his childhood days, he had grown up knowing from his parents that segregation was wrong. He had emulated his parents dislike in the belief that a good life only belonged to the whites. In his adulthood, as a church minister and Montgomerys Improvement Association’s president, he felt it was his duty to do something to end the segregation. This paper will show the values that made him great and how they relate to being a leader in the US army. Some values exhibited by both Martin Luther King Jr. and an officer in the army include selfless service, loyalty, personal courage, honor, duty and integrity. Martin’s great leadership started in 1955 when Rosa Parks declined to surrender her seat for a white passenger on a bus, and she was arrested. In a great display of personal courage, Martin decided to organize people to boycott against transportation by the bus. He showed a leadership of not being afraid of standing up for his people and representing them in a fight against what is wrong. Not being afraid to die for what is right, he made it his duty to take action from that day against segregation, and he did it till his death. By forming numerous organizations, he was able to lead and guide his people through a fight for a worthy cause. Similar to Martin’s personal courage, a leader in the US army will not be afraid to stand up and fight for his people and his country. A military leader will make wise and urgent but risky decisions and lead his soldiers in carrying them out. It remains his duty to ensure that orders are executed, and he puts the interests of his country before his own. It is in the same way that Martin was not concerned about glory or fame, he only cared about the freedom of others and fair treatment for all. He set goals for his people and himself. He promised himself not to rest until each black child, woman and man are set free from segregation. Like a great leader, he was ready to do whatever it took to achieve his goal and liberate his people. A military leader has the same characteristics. He sets goals for himself and his soldiers, and he is ready to pay the price of accomplishing the fight to secure his country. That displays a great sense of responsibility towards one’s duty. Selfless service is another value shared between Martin Luther King and a leader in the US army. Martin always insisted on people loving their neighbors as they loved themselves, and reminded them to always ask themselves what they were doing for others. That, rather than asking what people are doing for you, strengthens the bond between members of a community and they are able to work towards a common goal together with much ease. It was not for his own sake that he held demonstrations and most of the time getting beaten up, insulted and thrown into jail. These were all painful experiences, but Martin considered them too little a price to pay for the freedom of humanity. He sacrificed himself for his people’s freedom. Selfless service is similarly exhibited by army officers who offer their services to the community in times of disaster by evacuating people, construction of bridges and delivering aid materials. Although their main duty of protecting the country’s borders is already risky enough, it is with a heart of humility that the military recognizes the immediate neighbor is the one within your own country. Therefore, they make more sacrifices by getting into dangerous disaster areas to rescue fellow countrymen. So passionate was Martin in offering selfless service that he is honored by the Martin Luther King Day of service, the only federal holiday that is a day of service nationwide. It also forms part of the president’s call to national service. Martin was a man of honor who brought two communities together. The United States was ideally split into a white, materialistically flourishing community, and a black community languishing in poverty and segregation. He always advocated for none violence, and his demonstrations were peaceful. When he gave his great speech about having a dream, he did a very honorable thing by acknowledging the presence of white mean in the audience and welcomed them to walk together with the black community towards liberty. In as much as he was leading an uprising against oppression from the whites, he reminded them that the destinies of both the black and white communities were tied up in each other, with their freedoms inextricably bound together. Such displays of honor are also present in US army leaders. They are always in the forefront to find peace among warring countries. A military leader does not only protect his country’s borders, but helps other countries end wars and remain at peace. It is the duty of an honorable military leader to advocate for diplomacy and see to it that bullying of weak nations by strong ones does not take place. Martin Luther King Jr. was a man of integrity and loyal to his people. He never once betrayed them throughout the boycotts, marches, up to his death. He was beaten for them. He was jailed for them. People were killed, including children. He took responsibility for his actions and faced the consequences in his stride towards liberty but never got discouraged. Instead, it gave him more strength to be the voice for his people. Likewise, those are the ultimate values of a leader in the US army. He is always loyal to his commander as well as his soldiers. He can never abandon his soldiers in the heat of war. In the same manner, he obeys orders from his commander. His soldiers may fall to enemy fire, but he must forge ahead until the mission of the battle is accomplished. With these values, Martin Luther King Jr. represented his people, kept his promise and fought for liberty for the whole nation. Such are the values that give him a hero’s name not only among the black community that he freed from segregation, but also the white community that appreciate true human values and the love that exists in a non violent society. An army leader is also credited with the same reputation after emerging victorious in fighting to protect his country. Works Cited Gilbert, Alan. Democratic Individuality: A Theory of Moral Progress. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990. Print. Marable, Manning (1991). Race, Reform, and Rebellion: The Second Reconstruction in Black America, 1945–1990. Mississippi: University Press of Mississippi, 1991. Print. 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