March Towards Change
By: Mike • Essay • 546 Words • December 24, 2009 • 836 Views
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Martin Luther King revolutionized the way change was made in America by utilizing the principles he saw in Mohammed Gandhi, principles of non-violent yet powerful action, and principles of the intelligent working of the human mind.
With the inspiration of Gandhi and his idol Lincoln firmly implanted in his mind Luther was able to effectively change America in a way that was rarely seen at the time and is still uncommon today, a way of non-violence. Luther saw that violence did nothing but further the opposition’s resentment and ultimately harmed the cause, as well as provided reason for retaliation. He was able to get past the human instinct and use his mind as his weapon, seen at work through his words and leadership. This method has always been the most effective means to initiate change, because rather than giving your opponent a reason to hate it forces them to listen and works to change their beliefs, rather than to overpower them by force.
This method was successful for Gandhi in his fight for Indian independence from Britain and also worked for Luther. When he marched through the streets of the America exercising his constitutional rights and refraining from violence the people of this nation were able to see that these people were not evil as some made them out to be. When they saw Luther and his supporters being attacked with water hoses and tear gas and still remaining non-violent they realized that Luther was not the one at fault, but rather those who tried to oppress his effort for equality. It was this epiphany of the American people that made his method effective, for if he had been violent in his fight there would be no clearly defined right and wrong but two sides to which people would take up biased support. With this blurring of morality eliminated it was only a matter of time before Luther convinced the public. However this