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Thoughts on The Letter
by Dick Bogle
The man was spiritual, logical,
philosophical and one of the bravest
men to walk the face of the earth.
In one of the most eloquent state­
ments written during our time,
“ Letter from Birmingham Jail," all
these facets of the man we all loved,
Dr. Martin Luther King, show forth
in sound literary brilliance.
He wrote the epistle, while jailed
during the Birmingham demonstra­
tions, in response to eight leading
white Birmingham churchmen who
had urged the city’s Blacks to with­
draw their support from the protest.
Point by point he destroyed the
arguments o f the eight men and at
the same time illustrated his own
philosophy and depth of spiritual­
ity.
They called him an extremist.
That he was a spiritual man was
evidenced by this reply.
“ But though I was initially disap­
pointed at being categorized as an
extremist, as 1 continued to think
about the matter I gradually gained
a measure o f satisfaction from the
label. Was not Jesus an extremist
for love: ’ Love your enemies, bless
them that curse you, do good to
them that hate you, and pray for
them that despitefully use you, and
persecute you.* Was not Amos an
extremist for justice: ‘Let justice roll
down like water and righteousness
like an ever-flowing stream.* Was
not Paul an extremist for the Christ­
ian gospel: *1 bear in my body the
marks o f the Lord Jesus.* So the
question is not whether we will be
extremists, but what kind of extrem­
ists we will be. Will we be extremists
for hate or for love?”
His spirituality was further dem­
onstrated by how he criticized the
church as an archdefender o f the
status quo.
“ But the judgment o f God is
violent direct action seeks to create
upon the church as never before. If
such a crisis and foster such a ten­
today’s church does not recapture
sion that a community which has
the sacrificial spirit o f the early
constantly refused to negotiate is
church, it will lose its authenticity,
forced to confront the issue.”
forfeit the loyalty of millions, and
" M y friends, I must say to you
be dismissed as an irrelevant social
that we have not made a single gain
club with no meaning for the twen­
in civil rights without determined
tieth century. Every day I meet
legal and nonviolent pressure. La­
young people whose disappoint­
mentably, it is an historical fact that
ments with the church have turned
privileged groups seldom give up
into outright disgust. Perhaps I
their privileges voluntarily. Indivi­
must turn my faith to the inner spiri­
duals may see the moral light and
tual church, the church within the
voluntarily give up their unjust pos­
church, as the true ekklesia and the
ture; but as Reinhold Niebuhr has
hope of the world.”
reminded us, groups tend to be
The man’s logic was profound.
more immoral than individuals.”
Again from the letter a response to a
Dr. King was often criticized by
criticism.
the white establishment because he
“ You may well ask: Why direct
“ broke” the law. His reply to this
action? Why sit-ins, marches and so
frequent criticism indicates one of
forth? Isn’t negotiation a better
the cornerstones o f his activist phil­
path? You are quite right in calling
osophy.
for negotiation. Indeed, this is the
“ You often express a great deal
very purpose o f direct action. Non­
o f anxiety over our willingness to
break laws. This is certainly a legiti­
mate concern. Since we so diligently
urge people to obey the Supreme
Court’s decision o f 1954 outlawing
segregation in the public schools, at
first glance it may seem rather para­
doxical for us to consciously break
laws. One may well ask: ‘ How can
you advocate breaking some laws
and obeying others?. The answer lies
in the fact that there are two types
of laws; just and unjust. I would be
the first to advocate obeying just
laws. I would agree with St. Augus­
tine that ’an unjust law is no law at
all*. Now what is the difference be­
tween the two? How does one deter­
mine whether a law is just or unjust?
A just law is a man-made code that
squares with the moral law or the
law of God. An unjust law is a code
that is out o f harmony with the
moral law. Any law that uplifts hu­
man personality is just. Any law
that degrades human personality is
unjust. A ll segregation statutes are
unjust because segregation distorts
the soul and damages the person­
ality. It gives the segregator a false
sense o f superiority and the segre­
gated a false sense of inferiorty. ”
I never had the opportunity to
meet Dr. Kina in oerson but there
was one occasion when I felt very
close to him. His lovely wife Coretta
came to Portland for a singing con­
cert in the mid-sixties. At the time I
was assigned as her bodyguard. For
nearly two days, the only time she
was out o f my sight was when she
was sleeping. Then the afternoon
she was to leave, her husband called
and she asked if I would like to
speak to him. Would I! He thanked
me for protecting what was near and
dear to him and I thanked him for
all he had done for all o f us. I ’ ll
never forget that moment and his­
tory will never forget D r. M artin
Luther King.
In recognition o f a man who gave his life
trying to further the dream o f equality,
Pepsi Cola Bottling Company o f Portland
salutes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
2505 N.E. Pacific
Portland, Oregon
238-7000
Portland Observer, January 21, 1982 Section II Page 19
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