Martin Luther King Jr. Violence Essay - 1205 Words

Violence â€Å"The practice of violence, like all action, changes the world, but the most probable change is to a more violent world† (Arendt pg 80). Violence is contagious, like a disease, which will destroy nations and our morals as human beings. Each individual has his or her own definition of violence and when it is acceptable or ethical to use it. Martin Luther King Jr., Walter Benjamin, and Hannah Arendt are among the many that wrote about the different facets of violence, in what cases it is ethical, the role we as individuals play in this violent society and the political aspects behind our violence. Martin Luther King Jr. was a brilliant man who preached non-violence to his followers during the fight of equality in deeply†¦show more content†¦She talks about power of the masses, stating that power is not attainable by the individual but only by masses. Arendt opens her book by directly saying we are the most violent century known to man, always trying to be bigger an d better than another country in this arms race. She talks about the ways in which our society views violence and says humans are naturally violent. Arendt is clearly against war in this book as being unjustifiable and says that war, and violence regarding to politics, is not a means to an end because if we look back in our history we have been fighting war after war with no end. The end will never come; so how then, can one justify the violence of war? In the book, she argues that many of the traits we see in ourselves regarding violence, we see in animals, except animals do not have the ability to reason. Arendt states that, â€Å"violence is neither beastly nor irrational- whether we understand these terms in ordinary language of the humanists or in accordance with scientific theories† (62). The author makes is very clear that when we fail to use our ability to reason and instead introduce violence, we are only repeating our past of being a violent being in which the mean s to our end keeps getting further and further away. Dr. King, Walter Benjamin, and Hannah Arendt all speak of violence in terms of gaining social and political change, Dr. King preaches non violence and loving your enemyShow MoreRelated Martin Luther King Jr. Essay637 Words   |  3 Pages Martin Luther King, Jr. was perhaps one of the most influential person of our time. As the father of modern civil rights movement, Dr.Martin Luther king, Jr., is recognized around the world as a symbol of freedom and peace. Born January 15, 1929, King was the son of an Atlanta pastor. King accomplished many achievements during his life. He graduated from Morehouse as a minister in 1948 and went on to Crozer Theological seminary in Chester, Pa., where he earned a divinity degree. 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