James, That is a really, really interesting quote. it really got me thinking about peace and the definition of it. It got me thinking so much I wanted to know the context of the sentence, so I went looking for it in Letter from the Birmingham Jail, this is my source link ( http://web.cn.edu/kwheeler/documents/letter_birmingham_jail.pdf). I am not able to find that sentence in the PDF.
Ah, hold the press, I searched a bit more and discovered that what you quote is not a direct quote but a paraphrased version of this sentence: I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizens Councillor or the Ku Klux Klanner but the white moderate who is more devoted to order than to justice; who prefers a negative *peace* which is the *absence of tension* to a positive peace which i*s the presence of justice*; who constantly says, "I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can't agree with your methods of direct action"; who paternalistically feels that he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by the myth of time; and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a "more convenient season." Here is what I learned from this. I was WRONG!!!!! I made a very arrogant statement that everyone knows what peace is, as if there is only one meaning of peace! MLK is talking about a very different type of peace then what I am talking about. The way I read what MLK is talking about, I get the impression he is talking about civil peace, aka everyone following the laws the civil athorities have put in place. As I think most folks get, today, many of these laws were not so good and thus denied folks justice. I was referring to a feeling of inner peace. For example: Today I learned my company is terminating my employment as of Oct 1. I'm at "inner" peace with that. James, thank you so much for pointing out that quote and modivating me to dig into it, I learned a lot tonight, which helps me continue to maintain that inner peace after such an "interesting" day. Pax vobiscum, Sam Carleton On Tue, Jun 18, 2019 at 2:57 PM James K. Lowden <jklow...@schemamania.org> wrote: > On Mon, 17 Jun 2019 20:46:41 -0400 > Sam Carleton <scarle...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > It is my view that peace is not something that can be defined with > > some words, rather it is a universal experience. > > "But peace is not merely the absence of this tension, but the > presence of justice." > -- MLK, Letter from the Birmingham Jail > > --jkl > _______________________________________________ > sqlite-users mailing list > sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org > http://mailinglists.sqlite.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sqlite-users > _______________________________________________ sqlite-users mailing list sqlite-users@mailinglists.sqlite.org http://mailinglists.sqlite.org/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sqlite-users