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Martin Luther King - Quote Analysis

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"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere  was penned by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., a United States black civil rights leader and clergyman, on April 16, 1963 during an incarceration for nonviolent protesting. Regardless of how civilized this modern world manifests itself, as globalization makes the world easier to connect, it also ironically enhances racism on a global scale. In light of this, the timeless message of freedom and justice by Martin Luther, Jr. in the 1960's has not faded. This paper analyzes the meaning of the statement and its implications for those who would uphold various types of justice. This analysis shows an important distinction: Kind was not as interested in retributive justice as he was in procedural and distributive justice. He was interested in peace rather than punishment, and in pointing out that injustice in one place is a threat to justice in all places he was demonstrating to us that as human beings we are all in this situation together; looking out for ourselves means looking out for one another. The word "justice" is defined in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary as, "the process or result of using laws to fairly judge and punish crimes and criminals, while justice is, on a superficial level, understood by almost all as a basic concept of morality, it is important to clarify what exactly is meant by justice and how justice can be utilized in the world. When Dr. King wrote his letter from the Birmingham jail, black men such as he were restricted from such actions as lodging, voting, being present in hotels and receiving certain provisions, educational opportunities and community activity involvement in some cases. Dr. King protested this through a non-violent march and was met with fire hoses and police dogs. This reaction forced people to look more closely at what the defined as justice and how their definition might be implemented. Dr. King was correct when he asserted that a threat to justice in one place was a threat to people in all places. A few decades earlier, the Holocaust in Nazi Germany shocked the world with this truth. Dr. King surely was familiar with this truth as it had been expressed by Martin Niemoller, an outspoken critic of Adolf Hitler: "First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Socialist. Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me" (Niemoller). It is easy to reflect on Niemoller's message about the injustice of the Holocaust and apply the same principles to racism in America. Dr. King preached colorblindness, but this in and of itself is romantic in nature,

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