A Brief Comment by Doug Draper
“I am convinced that if we succumb to the temptation to use violence in our struggle for freedom, unborn generations will e the recipients of a long and desolate night of bitterness, nd our chief legacy to them will be a never-ending reign of chaos.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
On this January 19th, 2015 – set aside in the United States to remember the non-violent struggle for civil rights lead by the late Martin Luther King, I find myself wishing we had more leaders like him today.
Martin Luther King, following his 1963 speech ‘I Have A Dream’, in Washington. D.C.
Instead, more than four and a half decades after his assassination and all of his achievements in the are of human rights, we continue to face a world where difference of colour, creed and religion are met by hate-filled intolerance and violence.
Can we not yet find the wisdom and compasson as humans to move beyond this?
After all, as Martin Luther King once tried to warn us; “Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers. …
“If there is to be peace on earth,” King said, “we must finally believe in the ultimate morality of the universe, and b elieve that all morality hinges on moral foundations.”
As a footnote, if you have not seen the Academy Award nominated film Selma., please do. It should be mandatory for viewing and discussion in all of or schools.
(Niagara At Large invites you to join in the conversation by sharing your views on the content of this post below. For reasons of transparency and promoting civil dialogue, NAL only posts comments from individuals who share their first and last name with their views.)
Niagara At Large 
Such people are out there but they are often spitting into the wind.
I think people today are even more self centred & less altruistic than in the past because, in spite of mass communicationsa like I’m using right now, we are more isolated in our cozy little homes. We talk on line but never see the real human face behind the comments or the causes. We are more aware of world events but just respond via a keyboard. Sometimes the more we are in touch, the more isolated we become.
Mass communication can have an effect for the good, as is true of your informative site, but how many people who are able have ever gone out to a real protest? Very few. It was pleasing to see the massive European marches last week in favour of free speech but they were countered by protests against western values in places like Pakistan. Mass communications can have negative effects as evidenced by the sites posted by radicals of all types & just plain crazy folks.
There are a few individuals who can really break through like Malala. She was shot for wanting to learn & she has become an icon for many. Sad that it takes violence to mobilize the lackadaisical masses. As King said “Violence ends by defeating itself”.
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I love the Canada that once was, a Country respected and respectful as a caring, compassionate nation, a nation and people ready to stand up for the rights and dignity of others and to do so much as Martin Luther King did so valiantly had during his brief life.
This present government during the past decade has somehow managed to muzzle and forced this country down a road of utter contempt for the rights of its citizens and also the rights of those who respected and admired Canada as a wondrous nation.
The Canada forged by Lester B.Pearson, a Canada of “PEACE KEEPERS” who proudly wore the Blue Helmets and did so with the respect of those who they stood between until peace was achieved.
That was the Canada I was then proud of…….NOW……
How has this Harper person wrought so much damage, damage that will take decades if not centuries to eradicate and erase?????????
Thank God for the Martin Luther Kings and all those whose light shines on the need and the needy of the Country and of this world……..
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I loved Canada under Lester B. Pearson too. I look back and cherish many aspects of life in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Unfortunately, the world has changed, and Canada with it. Peacekeepers nowadays get killed like soldiers, so they should be equipped like soldiers. No sense in donating any more of our humanitarians to beheading barbarians who have no morality or respect for life on any level. Dr. King was a visionary and a man of great courage. Ideally, we could use many more just like him, but the lack of a moral foundation and the perpetuation of violence via the disruptive forces of terrorism translates into more deaf ears now than ever before.
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I was living in the United States when Dr Martin L. King was fighting for a more inclusive country. I believe that his message fell on deaf ears. …. gun ownership (in America) is now out of sight with mre than 300 million weapons for a population of 320 million. We see in Texas and Florida a wild west mentality of shoot first and ask questions later. No wonder black Americans feel under siege these days.
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It really matter not what is truth when someone has their head buried in sand or elsewhere and refuse to realize that “Time and Tide” is slipping past with more and more people left behind.. A watched Al jezeera last evening and when it was reported that by next year 1% of the richest will have more wealth than the remaining 99% of the world`s population….This is the truth in reality and it is pathetic to see good people like Obama and Pope Francis basically ridiculed for their condemnation of this unjust Reality.
Mark I want to take the time to once again commend you on your total commitment to eradicating this unjust reality.
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