Martin Luther King

Justine Fernandez

Professor Young

English 1101

March 2, 2015

Just Like The Past

            Wouldn’t you want to know the truth about your own country? Wouldn’t you want your own government telling you the truth when it comes to a war? When it came down to the Vietnam War the only person that spoke the truth was Martin Luther King. In his speech Beyond Vietnam :A Time to Break Silence he spoke about the reality of what was happening during the Vietnam war that everyone else was oblivious to. Martin Luther King was so passionate about relaying his message to everyone that wanted to listen. “I come to this platform tonight to make a passionate plea to my beloved country”(King). He spoke to America about his position on the Vietnam War and his speech still applies to our world today.

            To begin, Martin Luther King talks about the fund that was supposed to go to the Poverty Program. This program was going to help the not just the residents of the ghetto but those that needed aid in everyday living. The ghetto is home to the less unfortunate, the ones that possess lower income and individuals that struggle financially. The Poverty Program was going to help those that lived in the area to help them get their lives started and get out of the slump that they are in. But when the Vietnam War took place all the money that was supposed to go into the fund ended up into the war. The war took both men and money from our country. “Vietnam continued to draw men and skills and money like some demonic destructive suction tube”(King). Not only did the war draw men from families into the war but the war also took the money that was going to go into the Poverty Fund.

            In relation, Martin Luther King’s speech is still relevant to today. Although the Vietnam War is not taking place we still have soldiers in Afghanistan fighting. With the United States still having men in the foreign country it takes away money from our country. With the soldiers stationed in Afghanistan the United States has to provide them with food, transportation and safety. This money is taken out from the Untied States budget, not to mention the amount of debt that the United States is still in. The money that is being sent to the war could be used for things that are so much more beneficial here in the United States. The money could go towards fixing our roads or better yet getting the unemployment rate down by providing new jobs for those who have none or even educating those who do not have the money or tools to get themselves on their feet.

 Not to mention that Martin Luther King talked about the money that was taken out of the fund and put into the war. The same concept applies today because we have soldiers that are unnecessarily in Afghanistan and the United States is putting money into a war that is not needed when that money can be put towards something more beneficial like helping United States citizens in need. Not to forget the budget that Obama just passed that helped millions of people get the health care that they need. Obama passed the Obama Care plan for those who cannot afford healthcare. Obama made the bill so public that some citizens did not support the bill for the reason that it takes away from those that do not need it. Meaning those that do not need the  Obama healthcare did not support the bill due to the fact that it is taken out of the taxes and money that they put towards the government but instead they are paying for those that honestly need it due to the fact of the financial situation or those that live off the government.  In summary basically they people that didn’t need the healthcare paid for the individuals that needed the healthcare through their taxes instead of putting that money towards fund that the government need such as roadwork or the school systems. If the money were not sent to the war it would help those even more that cannot afford to see a doctor.

            On the other hand, when something big is happening in the world people’s attention gets directed towards the new event that is happening. As told by King when the Vietnam War took place it diverted everyone’s attention towards the war and not the real problem that was happening. The real problem that was happening was the segregation and the injustice of equality among individuals. At that time if you were an American citizen you followed everything that the government was saying religiously. What is on the news is what is in the back of individuals minds and what they cared about mostly. As soon as the war was brought to people’s attention the whole inequality situation got thrown to the side. “Now, it should be incandescently clear that no one who has any concern for the integrity and life of America today can ignore the present war”(King).  This quote shows that if you have any pride in the United States that as a citizen up to date with all the news that is happening therefore you cannot overlook the fact that the Vietnam war is taking place which results in citizens then forgetting and overlooking the problem of what the war is doing to Martin Luther King’s movement. During Kings movement many individuals forgot about his speech and about everything that he talked about because of new arising news that took place.  It then lead to individuals forgetting about everything that he preached about moving peoples attention to a different topic. His whole movement promoting peace was overlooked because of an upcoming event that is now the center of attention. No one could deny the fact that the war was a big deal but at the same time no one could ignore the situation that was left behind.  Everything that King worked towards to get people attention all of a sudden got dismissed when the war was the headline of the news.

            Similarly, distraction is a problem within our society today as well. As King explained in Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence people’s attention were drawn from the already horrific event. In todays society one event is tragic enough until another arises.  As a matter of fact, unemployment was a big topic in the United States for a very long time, a topic that surrounded Americans in their every day lives. It was a huge topic until we started sending soldiers overseas.  As soon as that event happened it was like unemployment was a thing of the past. It was a thing of the past for the people tat have jobs and are financially stable but the people that got affected by unemployment was still a standing problem. Similarly to directing people’s attention, Ebola was a huge topic that most individuals talked and stressed about, but all of a sudden out of the blue barely anyone talks about it anymore. It was a thing of the past simply because people’s attention got drawn to more recent and controversial topics such as the Ferguson case.  The Ferguson case consisted of a young African American boy getting shot to death by a white police offer while the young boy was unarmed and murdered for no apparent reason. As King said American citizens care more about the new problem arising than the standing problem at foot. This simply means that individuals will be distracted by new arising problems rather than the root-stemming problem.

            In today’s day and age violence is a huge thing in society. Martin Luther King is a non-violent advocate. The “I Have a Dream Speech” is all about making peace among individuals without using violence. When King gave his speech Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence he was a huge promoter of teaching individuals not resort to violence but instead he preached in non violent movement and taught individuals to not use their fist but their words. When the Vietnam War took place it showed the individuals who listened to King about not being violent then went ahead and watched those that once lived in their town use rifles to solve their issues. Individuals listened to King preach about not resulting in violence as an answer, and then thanks to the war it shows those who followed Kings step pick up a rifle and use it to solve their problems, it is a contradiction and misleading because people are hearing one thing and seeing another. King promoted speech and as soon as the war came around it was like everything he said went out the window. It is like when you’re little and your mom tells you that you cannot have a candy bar because it is bad for you and ten minutes later you see her on the couch eating it. It tells the individuals that listened to King that he was wrong, that violence is the answer when in fact it wasn’t. “And so we watch them in brutal solidarity burning the huts of a poor village, but we realize that they would hardly live on the same block in Chicago”(King). This shows that those that listened to King turned on their TV’s and radios and see their neighbors using a rifle to solve a problem. It shows the people that were next to you listening to King destroy houses and neighborhoods because there is a conflict at hand and that violence is the answer when in fact it is not. The whole situation was hypocritical on the United States due to the fact that King said not to result to violence but they watched their neighbors use violence. This was a mix message for those that followed what King said.  The main point of this is to show the hypercriticism of the citizens of the United States.  King preached about non violence but then you see many citizens use violence as a result to their problems.

            Equally, in today’s society violence surrounds us. It surrounds us from the TV shows that we watch to the video games that we buy our little brothers. A huge impact of violence that has swept our nation is the Ferguson situation.  The Ferguson situation relates the King’s speech because violence was used to solve an issue and it is portrayed to the public that shooting someone will solve the whole problem and put a stop to it. The Ferguson case there were more and more cases that followed resulting in deaths and violence for situations.  Mentioned before about the Ferguson case it shows that resulting from Kings speech we still till this day we have violence that sweeps our nation. It relates because King promoted non-violence and here we are today in modern day and we still have violence as an answer. The fact that the whole concept that violence is not the answer still hasn’t gotten to through peoples heads and that it is still a prominent issue in todays society. Violence is used to stop an individual and set authority to individuals, which essentially killed an innocent human being for no apparent reason because violence in todays society is shown to be the answer to our problems and uncomfortable situations. Violence is seen as an answer in society and that it gets the point across when it does not. Kings speech is relevant today because when the soldiers were sent off to the war it taught young children that pulling out a rifle would solve everyone’s problem. In fact that having a gun and showing that one can be violent is a figure of dominance due to that you have the ability to hurt someone. Just because you have the ability to hurt someone whether it be because you have a firearm or because of another use of weapon does not make you a higher figure of dominance because you have the option to hurt another person. King strives for non-violence and today’s society is all about violence. His speech is still relevant because non-violence movement is something that we need in todays society to promote speech.

            In conclusion, Martin Luther King’s speech Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence is relevant to today in many ways. King stood and preached non violence but we turn around and United States is filled with violence and mistakes. There are many mistakes regarding money and it is a topic of interest that draws people attention. Money is always going to a common issue due to the fact to the fact that not everyone is going to be happy where the government is spending their money. It is the complete opposite of what King was trying to get across to America. His whole speech is about peace but in todays society there is no peace. With importance of topics and attention there is no peace in that because the media always has something to direct citizens attention to. The media such as the news will always be directing individuals to upcoming news which results in the past news to be lost within the new upcoming news resulting in more and more arising problems. New is broadcasted every single day and there are constant srories that keep popping up resulting in people getting interested in different topics hence leaving the important topic’s that are replaced with new and occurring topics. Plus violence always surrounds us no matter where you turn. King voiced that violence will never be the answer to our problems and it should not be used as a second resort to problem not to mention that it shouldn’t even be a person’s choice. Overall King’s speech is relevant today and the way that we live in the United States.