A Worth Defending By Martin Luther King

Civil rights activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had protested for civil rights throughout the most segregated places within the united states of America (at the time). Typically, Dr. King and other civil rights activists were arrested through breaking some unjust law in a moral and humane manner. Dr. King’s arrest in Birmingham CIty, Alabama, was one such famous event, as within the confines of Jail he responded to the bigoted arguments against civil rights. Dr. King achieved this through employing the rhetorical strategies of logical reasoning, appeal to emotion, & anaphora.

Martin Luther King Jr. was a strong leader in the Civil Rights movement, the son and grandson of a minister, and one heck of a letter writer. As he sits in a cell of Birmingham Jail in 1963, he responds to criticism from eight white clergymen. Though this letter was intended for the judgemental and condescending men of high faith, his response touched the hearts and minds of the entire U.S. population, then, and for years to come. In his tear-jerking, mind-opening letter, King manages to completely discredit every claim made by the clergymen while keeping a polite and formal tone. Metaphors, allusions, and rhetorical questions are used in the most skillful way to support his argument and ultimately convince his audience of the credibility behind his emotional, yet factual, claims. King strategically persuades

When America, as we know it today, was created, it had just freed itself from an unwanted, suffocating European power. The people wanted nothing to do with foreign affairs and their presidents’ policies reflected that. As America moved forward and established themselves as a world power, they began to want more. At the turn of the twentieth century, this want for more hit its peak and because of other circumstances, more was just within reach. America had always prided themselves in staying out of foreign problems and focusing inward, but now a new age was dawning. Those who were pro imperialist argued that the US had built itself up and it was now their duty to help others and expansion could help America internally, but anti imperialists

Many people believed that Mexico invaded the United States and caused the U.S Mexico war; however, it was actually United States who raided Mexico first. The author, Rodolfo Acuna, purpose of writing “Occupied America: A History of Chicanos” was too informed of how the United States came to invade Mexico which led to the U.S Mexico War. Such as how the U.S President Polk, who played a huge role in the U.S Mexico war. Other events include the Anglo Settlements in Texas who brought their slaves, Texas War of Independence, and the terms of Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. All these events are what led up the U.S Mexico War.

In “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. is responding to accusations made by eight Alabama clergymen. He asserts that his actions, and the actions of his followers were just and reasonable. He notes that the clergymen claimed he was acting too hastily but King explains that their actions were not hasty. He backs up his actions with persuasive argument and reasoning. He points out ways that others actions have been unjust and immoral. To get his point across, he distinguishes the difference between just and unjust laws. Furthermore, he was accused of being an extremist. This disturbed him at first then he reflected on all the extremists throughout history and he saw this description of him not necessarily bad. He noted extremists

Martin Luther King Jr. in his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” addresses criticism from clergymen. King expresses his belief that his actions during the Human Right Movement were not “untimely,” and that he is not an “outsider.”(1) King’s purpose is to inform them of his reason for being there and why he believes that although there may never be a proper time to change society, he is tired of it happening to his people. He adopts an optimistic tone in hopes that he can convince the people of Birmingham to give everyone their Human Rights that they deserve. By appealing to the mass population, King can effectively communicate to his argument by emphasizing his validation for being in Birmingham, the need for justice, and his peaceful movement.

What exactly do we make happen, or accomplish while being inactive or lazy? Some would say you can accomplish much more when always doing something. Those who believe that are completely correct. It's as simple as the alphabet. If you constantly focus your own time and energy into doing something, multiple things will come from that situation, giving you opportunity to accomplish more. Ultimately all these opportunities come from working hard and refusing to be inactive. Former President and also a founding father of our country, Thomas Jefferson once said, "Determine never to be idle... It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing." Being a founding father, its easy to see that most of his time was given to developing America, and helping it

Although the US federal reserve has released the information that US citizens have amassed a net worth in the trillions, it is a priceless, intangible freedom that many Americans value most. It was 225 years ago that the First Amendment to the Constitution was adopted into the Bill of Rights: a monumental amendment that would grant Americans their freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to assemble, and the freedom of the press (Bill of Rights, First Amendment). Esteemed film critic Roger Ebert said that it is the responsibility of the citizen to speak out in order to keep our government in check. In an interview with Matthew Rothschild, editor of The Progressive, Ebert says,

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, many people worldwide were affected by imperialism. How imperialism was perceived differed from which side they were on.

When talking about an individual’s civil right to freedom, King explains that it is not voluntarily given but has to be demanded by those in which it affects as it is a constitutional and God given right. The laws that impede a man his basic right to freedom are unjust and they have a right as well as the responsibility to break those unjust laws. King describes unjust laws as unmoral and a “human law that is not rooted in eternal and natural law… Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” (King 6). The unjust laws he is describing are those that segregate African Americans and Whites, that which denies the African Americans their right to be in the same room, to share the same items, to live in a world that was founded on freedom.

According to the various sources, I believe that the response produced by Martin Luther King, Jr was the most effective in ensuring that the negative legacies left behind by the Atlantic Slave Trade were addressed and tackled. His clearly displayed perseverance resulted in changes that enacted a difference in the way coloured people are viewed and treated. Although faced with perpetual harassment and threats, this leader continued to strive for what he believed in, advancing his demonstrations and protests. With his persistence to influence non violent behaviours in various events, his actions lead to revolutionary change that altered the segregation in various schools. While organization such as the Nashville Students Sit In affected one city,

In Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “A Letter From a Birmingham Jail,” he provides answers to fundamental metaphysical questions regarding the nature of the human soul. Though his letter is addressed to a group of eight clergymen criticizing his direct action campaign in Birmingham, his ultimate aim is the uplifting of human personhood. Underlying King’s letter is a philosophical, hylemorphic anthropology which puts an anchor deep into a certain conception of personhood, and binds all people who are to read it. He looks deeply at the nature of human beings, as rational creatures who are made to love and be loved, and from thence, deliberates that there is a universal Gospel of Freedom and Justice. Martin Luther King, Jr. asserts that there are universal principles justifying what actions are morally right and wrong, just and unjust. The principles King lays out rest in our hylemorphic nature: our innate ability to reason objectively so as to lead our emotions, our ability to ascertain whether the human law squares with the moral and eternal law, and our vocation to be pursuers of divine wisdom.

“Is war ever justified?”, is a question with its solution first originating from Christian theology. Saint Augustine was the first individual to offer a theory on this, and introduced the “Just War Theory”, which was later revised by Saint Thomas Aquinas, creating just 3 criteria to be met in order for a war to be just: “War needed to be waged by legitimate authority, have a just cause, and have the right intentions”. Since then, the “Just War Theory” was been used by many to justify their wars, however, there many other factors that were not taken into consideration that could be used to justify a war. I feel that war is justified and will be looking into points that are for the justification of war.

For instance, there is a young man who aspires to be a painter, he is indeed very talented and absolutely incredible at what he does, the only problem is, he doesn't think so. Instead of being able to paint the most beautiful paintings, he always end up throwing everything aways because nothing is ever good enough for him, so at the end of the day, he will think of himself as a failure, because of the extremely high standards that he put on himself.