In a stunned silence of packed auditorium Martin Luther King III was delievering his extempore speech full with reflective inherited character of reasoned committment. A committment to make this workd more peaceful, worthwhile to live with dignity, self respect and confidence.
He said that the values discovered by Henry David Thaoreau, Gandhi, Martin Luther King are not to be remembered only in the form of ceremonial services but we should go through the experiences of those thoughts.
In the last phase of his India`s 'Pilgrimage', today King III was in JNU to propagate that message of Love which in increasingly becoming subject to extreme violence and oppresssion.
In short he explained THE SIX STEPS OF NONVIOLENCE originally propounded by Martin Luther King Jr.
- STEP ONE: Information Gathering
- Information gathering is not simply a fact-finding process, but must relate to a specific context, people and place.
- Dr. King believed in listening and respecting the opinions of other people, whether they were poor people, uneducated or of a different color.
- STEP TWO: Education
- Nonviolence's use of all available communications and media to educate the public about the issue or injustice at hand.
- Education can mean helping people to realize their ability to effect change and to act on solving major social problems.
- Like holding a mirror up to the community, nonviolent approaches to education reveal the unique situation and reflect the need for a better and just image.
- STEP THREE: Personal Commitment
- Self-examination of all the ways that one may have helped to perpetuate a problem or unjust situation or where one has failed to use the nonviolent approach.
- Developing spiritual and intellectual habits fosters nonviolence by dealing with one's own emotions or lack of understanding the truth.
- STEP FOUR: Negotiation
- Nonviolent negotiation does not humiliate or defeat your opponent.
- To prepare for negotiation, Dr. King always stressed the importance of learning about your opponents: their religious traditions, personal traditions, personal or business histories, and educational background.
- Nonviolence always allows your opponents to save face and "winning your opponent over" allows for joint responsibility in correcting the problem.
- STEP FIVE: Direct Action
- This step has two meanings: the first, to take responsibility for doing something about the situation and not waiting for someone else to do it; and the second, to take direct action when all attempts at education, personal commitment, and negotiation have failed to resolve the problem, and more dramatic measures are necessary.
- This step has two meanings: the first, to take responsibility for doing something about the situation and not waiting for someone else to do it; and the second, to take direct action when all attempts at education, personal commitment, and negotiation have failed to resolve the problem, and more dramatic measures are necessary.
- STEP SIX: Reconciliation
- The goal of nonviolence is a reconciled world so that we can move forward together to tackle the larger issues we confront as a community.
- This step grows naturally out of Dr. King's belief that we focus not on persons but on conditions and if the issues remain clear throughout the process, reconciliation will facilitate the feeling of joint accomplishment and enhance acceptance of the change.
He recited the excerpts of the speec delievered by Martin Luther King Jr. in 1957
If it falls your lot to sweep streets in life, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures. Sweep streets like Beethoven composed music. Sweep streets like Shakespeare wrote poetry. Sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, 'Here lived a great street sweeper, who swept his job well.'"
Next lines which were not recited today were even more inspiring:
If you can't be a pine on the top of the hill
Be a shrub in the valley, but be
the best shrub on the side of the hill.
Be a bush if you can't be a tree.
If you can't be a highway, just be a trail.
If you can't be the sun be a star;
It isn't by size that you win or you fail.
Be the best of whatever you are.
And when you do that [applause],
...... when you do that, you're ready for the new age. (Yes)
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