American Crisis from Martin Luther King Jr. Words - Essay Example

Crisis of American Politics The American political crisis was dominated by segregation and discrimination policies against the African-Americans. This crisis saw the rise of civil rights movements in the mid-20th century to end segregation and discrimination against the blacks. One of the predominant leaders of these civil right movements was Martin Luther King Jr., whose eloquence and charisma earned him large following worldwide. His efforts to end racial injustices in the United States saw him win the Nobel peace prize in 1964, as well as getting a selection by the Time magazine as the man of the year. Martin Luther King Jr. defined the crisis of American politics as an injustice that has been done to the blacks, who are the outsiders that had come to America according to the whites. During this time, the political philosophy of Black Nationalism also arose, whose proponent was Malcolm X. According to Malcolm, the Negroes did possess a great problem for America, hence they were not wanted (Malcolm). The Negroes’ problem on the other hand was the white man, who had oppressed them for years in their homeland. The Black Nationalism political philosophy according to Malcolm meant that the non-whites should control the politics and economy in their own community. In this paper, I am going to discuss the non-violent tactics that Martin Luther King Jr advocated to respond to the violence of political order and reasons for advocating for such tactics. I am also going to discuss the violent tactics advocated by Malcolm X in response the violence of political order and the reasons behind his tactic. Being a clergyman, Martin Luther king Jr advocated for the philosophy of non-violence in order to end racial segregation and discrimination in America. In his letter from Birmingham, he relies much on biblical allusion that stresses on love to all, including the enemies. In defense of his non-violent direct action which some fellow clergymen saw as that of an extremist, he asserts that Jesus was not an extremist for love. He goes ahead to quote Jesus’ words from the Bible “Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to those that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you” ("Letter from a Birmingham Jail). In this case, Luther was referring to the Agape love God, which is the universal love for all, both the righteous and the wicked. In his opinion, a violent approach is associated to hatred, hence against the Christian love of Agape. Further, Luther argues that extremism for love was the best form of extremism… “So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love?” ("Letter from a Birmingham Jail”). He further asserts that the blacks should be extremists for the preservation of justice, just like prophet Amos in the bible, Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson ("Letter from a Birmingham Jail”). Therefore, there was need for creative extremists in the southern states, who stood for love, truth and goodness just like Jesus Christ. Condemning Luther of his actions in Birmingham was like condemning a robbed man because his possession of money precipitated the act of robbery. This means that even if his acts could result to violence since these were the efforts made by the non-whites to their basic constitutional rights ("Letter from a Birmingham Jail”). The implication of this tactic for the experience of freedom is that it would bring America back to those great wells of democracy. These wells were dug by the Nation’s fore fathers in their formulation of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. These benefits will be due to the fact that the whites will realize that the blacks were standing up for what is best in the American dream and for most sacred values in the Judaeo Christian heritage. In a nut shell, the implication of Martin Luther King Junior’s tactic was integration of the American society. Malcolm X on the other hand advocated for violent actions, whereby the whites and those affiliated to them like the middle class Negroes were regarded as enemies to the oppressed colored people. “I think we’d fool ourselves if we had an audience this large and didn’t realize that there were some enemies present, and this afternoon we want to talk about the ballot or the bullet.” (Malcolm) From his speech, the implication is clear, that the blacks either choose their leaders or engage in violent acts to fight for their rights. The reason behind his tactic is that white leaders sent other Negroes into the blacks’ community to convince them to vote for him so that he can lead them astray. The philosophy of non-violence according to Malcolm was the philosophy of a fool, as the integration cup of coffee wasn’t enough for four hundred years of slavery. Malcolm wanted the Negro economic empowerment; he wanted the blacks to own businesses, control the jobs, and control the housing. In addition, Malcolm asserts the non-whites should also control their education if they want to revolve against the whites. Malcolm asserts that integration would only see the whites control the economy and education, thus continue oppressing the coloreds. He further argues the whenever the whites come up with the solution of the blacks’ problems, it’s simply another trap. He urges all members of the African-American community to unite regardless of their religious affiliations against the common enemy, the white man (Malcolm). The blacks are segregated against not because of their religion, but because they are black. According to Malcolm X, African-Americans should learn to forget their differences and initiate a violent revolution against a common enemy. This he argues is because there hasn’t been a peaceful revolution like the one Martin Luther Jr was initiating (Malcolm). All the revolutions in Asia and Africa were against Europeans and involved bloodshed. According to Malcolm the American revolution of 1776 was against the Europeans, and bloodshed was the only way out. The American, Russian, French, African and Asian revolutions were triggered by the quest for land (Malcolm). The blacks should therefore shed blood in order to gain their land, establish their own political system and get rid of uncle Toms. Malcolm X believes that a revolution is bloody, hostile and knows no compromise; it overturns and destroys anything that gets its way. The black revolution in particular is sweeping Asia, Africa and Latin America, and Malcolm believes that it is the only way for the Negroes. Bloody black revolution would therefore be the best way of addressing racial injustices because the white man doesn’t know how to use guerilla tactics. Since the American whites used White Nationalism to fight for independence, the blacks too should use Black Nationalism to fight oppression (Malcolm). He further argues that is violence is allowed abroad, it should also be legal in the United States. US soldiers in Korea were using violence to counter communists, and Malcolm urged blacks in the country to apply the same. Malcolm therefore advocated for an eye on an eye, and the only way Negroes can achieve revenge is through violence. To sum up, Malcolm X proposes a questionable tactic of responding to violence of political order. If such a tactic is applied in any country in the world today, the result would be nothing less than genocide. Further, it may result to human extinction considering the sophisticated equipment that has been invented for war. Even if the black power move is applied successfully, the result would be stratification and hatred in that particular country. The overall result of the Black Power Movement would be secession and rivalry within the borders. Martin Luther King Junior’s tactics on the other hand would impact positively on the nation. There would be a higher likelihood of national cohesion and unity if such an approach is applied to solve the political crisis. For a civilized society, issues can be amicably resolved using the non-violent approach of Martin Luther King Jr. as opposed to the Malcolm X’s violent approach. Works Cited "Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]" African Studies Center-University of Pennsylvania. 16 April 1963. Web. 12 May 2015 . Malcolm X. message to Grassroots. 3 November 1963. Web. 12 May 2015 Malcom X. The Ballot or the Bullet. 12 April 1964. Web. 11 May 2015 . Read More