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Martig Luthe^ KOtg Jn Special^ Edition^
Jan^ /3, 1999.
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Non-Violence Through Communication
Keilisi Gyan Freeman
B y K e il is i G yan F reem an
When Martin Luther King Jr.
stated, “I have a dream ...,” his
thoughts were for more than a
nighttime occurrence. His vi­
sion was for peace and
equality for all races, col­
ors and creeds. His Dream
was for all to be peaceful
with each other at all levels
of society and in all fami­
lies as well. The greatest
gift we can give each other
as a people would be to be­
gin now to see M artin
Luther King Jr.’s dream a
living breathing reality.
Imagine a world where
the words we used came to
life. They becam e our
brothers and sisters and our
parents. The words became
our neighbors, our police­
man and our teachers. We
saw them as our clerks in
our stores and the mayors
of our towns. They became
the people who read the news to
us and our elected officials.
W ouldn't you want to see words
that were peaceful and nurtured
you? That world is already a re­
ality. The letters don’t take on
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human shape, yet the feelings
we put behind those words come
to life within the person we
speak about in our hearts.
How so? If I begin to tell you
about a particular race of people
and communicate to you noth­
ing but hatred and thoughts of
one m an’s com m unication to
others about his dislike o f one
race of people. Some o f us yet
experience violence based on
the ideas o f one group against
another.
Let this be a Season, no, a
LIFETIM E o f N on-violence
through our expression.
Communication is one o f the
basic blocks o f any nation. A
peaceful form of communica­
tion begins with me, how I ex­
press to my self. That flows out
to my family. My family to my
neighbors. My neighbors to my
community. My community to
my town. As a result I have a
city that is an example o f non­
violence and soon others begin
to build the same way person by
person, one by one.
M artin Luther King states
also: “Nothing in all the world
is more dangerous than sincere
ignorance...” By reading this
article you can no longer be
called ignorant as regards non­
violent communication. If only
one person is moved to adopt
this form of expression within
themselves and practices it with
a passion, at least one other
person is bound to notice and
the link has been made. The way
the quote concludes can have a
two-fold effect. He concludes
by saying,” ., and conscientious
stupidity.” In our time calling
another “stupid” may bring a
violent reaction, or one of deep
awakening.
I believe the intent then was
as it is now. To awaken in all of
us the deepest core o f peace
toward ourselves and others. To
weed out the tendencies that
keep Martin Luther King Jr’s
Like a good neighbor,
State Farm is there.%
vivid dream o f equality and
power for all people, a dream
that flickers in our minds at
night, instead o f becoming a
reality that shines in the day
where the practice is seen by
everyone. How can I remove
those habits that hinder me
from reaching a stage o f non­
violence?
Let the words and phrases you
use be a reflection of your com­
mitment to think in a non-vio­
lent manner. W ords such as
“ d e a d -lin e ” , “ d e a d -c e n te r” .
Phrases with thoughts as, “kill­
ing time,” “killing two birds with
one stone” “kill your televi­
sion.” The feelings from words
and phrases may influence the
young who may not fully under­
stand the thought behind the
words in a negative way. How
do you explain to a young per­
son what is truly meant, if they
love birds and come to tears
due to the expression, “killing
two birds with one stone?”
Open 7
Events as mentioned above do
happen. Even as we get older we
begin to get callous around the
words that describe violence.
Conduct your own experiment
right now, say the word “dead­
line” and be aware of the feel­
ing behind it. Now say the word
“time line” and sense the light­
ness as an after affect.
That lightness w ill shine
brightly in you if that is your
passion. And if not, do not hinder
those who are developing the
freeness as their passion. “ I have
a dream that my four little chil­
dren will one day live in a nation
where they will not be judged by
the color of their skin but by the
content of their character. I have
a dream today.” Martin Luther
King Jr. shared with us in 1963.
Allow HIS vision to awaken your
com m itm ent to N onV iolent
communication today. Give your
power and awareness to the ba­
sic root o f our w orld
today... communication.
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