Martin Luther King Day 2008

In April 1967 The Rev Dr Martin Luther King gave a speech at a meeting of Clergy and Laity Concerned at Riverside Church in New York City:

The truth of these words is beyond doubt, but the mission to which they call us is a most difficult one. Even when pressed by the demands of inner truth, men do not easily assume the task of opposing their government's policy, especially in time of war. Nor does the human spirit move without great difficulty against all the apathy of conformist thought within one's own bosom and in the surrounding world. Moreover, when the issues at hand seem as perplexed as they often do in the case of this dreadful conflict, we are always on the verge of being mesmerized by uncertainty; but we must move on.

You can read the full text of the speech -- and listen to an audio of it -- on the American Rhetoric website.

Dr King was speaking of Vietnam and the necessity for us to resist our government's excursion into that nation, but his words still ring true when you think of Iraq.

We could do a lot worse on this national holiday dedicated to Dr King than to read his words, listen to his speech, and take them to heart.