"But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream." Amos 5:24This was a favorite quote of Martin Luther King, Jr., as he took Christian ethics to the streets. It landed him in jail and finally sent him to his eternal rest. His presence caused a lot of tension among those who were perpetrating the injustices. On this day of remembrance of Martin Luther King, Jr., I offer a quote from his famous "Letter from the Birmingham jail."
You may well ask: "Why direct action? Why sit-ins, marches, and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?" You are quite right in calling for negotiation. Indeed, this is the very purpose of direct action. Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ingored.
My citing the creation of tension as a part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood.
Food for thought at this historic time in America.
In peace,
Linda+
The Rev. Linda McCloud
Vicar, Holy Cross Church Episcopal
Billings, Montana
406-208-7314
www.holycrosschurchbillings.org
photo: a rushing stream in Yellowstone
taken Memorial Day 2008
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