Socrates and Martin Luther King and Malcolm X - Essay Example

? NIMMO ……. ENGLISH ESSAY 13TH April A gadfly is someone who is vehemently opposed to some policy of the existing ity and is able to evoke mass support for the same. Socrates was a gadfly because he encouraged those around him to question existing beliefs on morality and ethics. “He would ask people to explain a concept, point out flaws that would impel them to modify their answer, and continue like this until the person came up with a solid explanation or admit that they didn’t really understand the concept. (Cline) Martin Luther King was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s sayings and was led to believe that non-violence could be used by blacks to obtain civil rights in America. The one statement by Gandhi which deeply affected him was “Through our pain we will make them see their injustice” Malcolm Xs famous statement was :“And when you see that you have problems, all you have to do is examine the historic method used all over the world by others who had problems similar to yours.”(Message to the Grassroots, 1963) What he was hinting at was the use of violence. He was inclined to believe that if America was justified in employing the blacks to defend herself abroad, then the Blacks in America likewise had the right to defend themselves against atrocities committed against themselves by the whites. These comments were made at a time when the Blacks in America were facing widespread discrimination and there were also instances of blacks being ruthlessly murdered by whites. In short, he professed the use of violence against people who themselves indulged in violence. ‘Creative tension’ is a rather unusual term because it makes use of words that are at odds with each other. Creativity generally blossoms when the person in question has a calm disposition, whilst ‘tension’ is generally associated with individuals who are agitated and vexed. So when you combine the two, it would pertain to individuals being tensed and creative at the same time. In the context of this literature, the leaders, namely, Socrates and Martin Luther King and MalcolmX are addressing the concerns of individuals who are in a displeasure able situation and seek a solution to end their misery. By their speeches the leaders are encouraging their followers to talk and find solutions to their problems. In effect they are being asked to become creative problem solvers. So, whilst they were very much in an agitated state of being, and unsure as to what to do next, the leaders by their speeches are adding to the tension and the people, in turn, are becoming creative in their actions. “Going against the grain of traditional education, Socrates insisted that personal investigation and reasoned argument, rather than ancestral custom, or appeal to the authority of Homer, Hesiod and other respected poets, was the only proper basis for answering these questions”. (Cooper, 1998) He continually stressed on analyzing any problem logically and abstaining from blindly following that which had been preached before. During his times, people who questioned beliefs were treated with imprudence especially when sentiments of a certain section of society were hurt, with chances of violent action being taken against the former them being quite high. Socrates questioned the use of violence and in this way he was forming creative tension in the minds of the people, for the people of his age were blindly following what had been preached before. He was forcing people to rethink on issues of morality which included pondering on what was right and wrong. Martin Luther King used to travel around the country making speeches and exhorted people to be part of the civil rights movement. He advocated the use of new means to achieve freedom. The Blacks of his times were a confused lot what with widespread discriminative practices against their community and no proper ways to give voice to their disgruntlement. It was during such times that King formed creative tension by giving some kind of direction to the civil rights movement. He put forth new and creative methods for Blacks to attain their rights. By arguing that “African Americans and poor whites were natural friends and if they worked together they could help change society”, King was propagating creative tension. Malcolm X incited his audience against the whites and even justified the use of violent methods. He used to repeatedly remind the blacks about their origins. His statements like ’Instead of us airing our differences in public, we have to realize that we’re all the same family. And when you have a family squabble, you don’t get on the sidewalk’ indicates that he was trying to unite all non-whites. He insisted on not including the whites in their meetings. He asked his followers to take cue from the methods adopted by erstwhile revolutionaries. Referring to the American revolution in 1776, the French revolution and the Russian revolution--all of which involved a lot of bloodshed--he suggested that even blacks should have a similar revolution. He was of the opinion that all revolutions were for the purpose of attainment of land. He also believed that revolutions sweeping across Asia and Africa were all essentially a Black Revolution. And that all Blacks should unite against their common enemy, namely, the whites. Amongst the three leaders, I think that Martin Luther King was effective during his times because his philosophy had the widest appeal and it greatly influenced the Civil Rights movement in America. Socrates was also effective because he managed to make the people of his times think along different lines, which was actually a very brave thing to do. Malcolm X, on the other hand, wasn’t very clear about what he was preaching and hence failed to garner the necessary support. His insistence on using non-violent methods was quite out-of-place when Mahatma Gandhi had just about liberated India using non-violent methods. If I had the opportunity to devote my life to a single pursuit, I would surely consider it but then the nature of the pursuit will also have some bearing on my final decision. Say if it is a call to be part of the nation’s army battling against terrorist elements then I would gleefully take it up even if it cost my life. I know that it might be hard to imagine for some to be part of a quest in which life is at stake. But then does the brave soldier of a country think twice before embarking on a mission to protect the country from terrorists! Consider another case where I’m asked to be part of a space mission. Here the chances of losing life is pretty high but then again I would go ahead and do it because after all I would be doing my nation proud. Also, if opportunity were to present itself, I would willingly follow paths trodden by greats like Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King. In short, I’ll be open to taking up anything that requires me to be brave to the utmost extent as long as it’s something that I enjoy doing and which would bring greater joy to the lives of the people around me. References Message to the Grassroots, Malcolm X, Nov 10, 1963. Cline Austin. About.com Guide. Socrates Biography: Biographical Profile of Socrates http://atheism.about.com/od/philosopherbiographies/p/Socrates.htm Cooper John. Socrates. 1998. http://www.muslimphilosophy.com/ip/rep/A108.htm Read More