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M ÉHM w
With the Nobel Peece Prize.
I
I refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of
life which surrounds him. I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so
tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright
daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality.
I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a
militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that
unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is
why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil trium phant.
I believe that even amid today’s m ortar bursts and whining bullets, there is
still hope for a brighter tomorrow. I believe that wounded justice, lying
prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this
dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men.
I have the audacity to believe that people everywhere can have three meals a
day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality
and freedom for their spirits. I believe that what self-centered men have torn
down, other-centered men can build up. I still believe that one day mankind will bow
before the altars of God and be crowned trium phant over war and bloodshed,
and nonviolent redemptive goodwill will proclaim the rule of the land. “ And the
lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own
vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid.” I still believe that we shall
overcome.
T R IM E T
PORTLAND, OREGON