Letter from Birmingham Jail - Term Paper Example

? of Letter from Birmingham Jail: Address to Martin Luther King by Socrates and Confucius Ethical and moral change in a society cannot be brought until action is taken by the opinion leaders. There are many examples in the history which have shown higher ethical change rate because of the movement led by leaders and their own part of taking the risks. Many leaders have become symbols of change and bravery because they have fought against injustice. Among these leaders, Martin Luther King Jr. is remembered for his selflessness to fight against injustice. The reason behind remembering Martin Luther King Jr. was his daunting action to fight injustice in the street by causing non-violent tension. There are many ethical teachings from different school of thoughts that address such an act of Martin Luther King Jr. Most elicit addresses relevant to the ideals of Martin Luther are Socrates and Confucius. The question remains that whether the attempt of Martin Luther King Jr. would be appreciated by Socrates and Confuses address within the context of their views or not. This comparison paper aims to discuss the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. within the context of Gorgias by Socrates and The Analects of Confucius. The Letter from Birmingham Jail is considered as an historical open letter written by King Martin Luther Jr. who presented himself as a justice lover. The letter written by Martin Luther King Jr. was a representative of the people who needed justice because injustice was running peace for blacks. The clergymen who arrested Martin Luther King Jr. did not consider injustice as a righteous act. But these clergymen were against the demonstration that the Martin Luther King Jr. did on the street (Luther). If the letter by Martin Luther King was to be addressed by Socrates with the context of his dialogue Gorgias then it will be a true piece by a wiser man. It is because Martin Luther King has presented his ideas in a very correct rhetoric manner which has the essence of a mix of philosophy for reasoning. The arguments that have been posed in the letter by Martin Luther King against the clergymen are full with philosophies and flattery. At one point, it was noted that Martin Luther King had noted in the letter that “Waiting” for the very right moment to demonstrate is a compromise with the situation. There is no time for fighting for justice. It is mainly because injustice can damage a society (Luther). As per the predicted address by Socrates for Martin Luther King, the attempt of writing a letter by following rhetoric is a neatly crafted rhetoric art. It is the art in the views of Martin as represented in the letter which are mortal because they have been drafted in a manner of rhetoric followed by philosophy (Plato). As long as the rhetoric is not made up and based upon truth, it continues to get a stacking position which enables the listeners to accept the claim. Taking the ideal of Socrates into the Letter from Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King, it becomes easy to understand that he tried to achieve his target to clarify his point by a combat with oratory. This is because Socrates made it clear in his dialogues that rhetoric in oratory is basically a combat of intellectual and one with wise knowledge is always the winner of the combat. Thus, Socrates addresses the attempted letter by Martin Luther to be a point of truthful expression towards justice (Plato). On the other hand, taking the Confucius teachings in the Analects, it is obvious that ethical and moral change is needed when injustice prevails among people. The Confucius address to Martin Luther King Jr. letter from Birmingham will be of support on the basis of similarity of purpose i.e. any person who is wiser and royal in his level among people but still continues to take up risks in life just make sure that there is n injustice in the society. The rhetoric that is evident in the letter makes the Confusions address to be relevant and positively addressing it. Thus, it will not be incorrect to state that the Confucius teaching suggests that a human needs to be wise and ready to spread the work of justice (Watson). The teaching of Confucius has also addressed the serving and actions of other noble men such as Mahatma Gandhi. The righteous persons are those who have managed to engage their followers in the right deed. In case of Martin Luther King, it was noted that the people were supportive of him for fighting for justice as there was no other way or options left for blacks. The thought that martin Luther King has forwarded and spread was that people living in America cannot be considered as foreigners because they live in America and serve it to make it a self-sufficient and powerful country (Luther). If injustice will come in their way than it is obvious that they will choose what they consider it is right. This is the main goal or the basic argument in the Confucius teachings and beliefs (Watson). Through the above address of the Socrates and Confucius with Martin Luther King, it can be said that rhetoric and righteous deeds are central to the moral and ethical change which needs to introduce in a society where injustice prevails more than the justice. The letter written by Martin Luther King is one historical written piece which demonstrates perfect rhetoric with philosophy. In case, logic is found in the letter by Martin Luther King then one would not be disappointed because the presented rhetoric in the letter place philosophical context in such a manner that makes it easier for one to understand the significance of justice. Also, the address by Confucius will be and is seemingly addressing the letter of Martin Luther King in a positive manner because he has made use of deed and considered the moral and ethical implication is the basic of peace within a society. Works Cited Luther, Martin. Letter from Birmingham Jail. San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1994. Plato. Gorgias. New York: Forgotten Books, 1960. Watson, Burton. The Analects of Confucius. New York: Columbia University Press, 2007. Read More