Pledge of Nonviolence
| Pledge of Nonviolence I hereby pledge myself with faith and good will to the following principles of nonviolence and peace set forth herein this oath. With the acceptance of my God-given rights and my personal duty to protect these rights—not only for myself, but also for my family, my neighbors, and even my enemies— I acknowledge my obligation to observe this set of principles to which I will unfalteringly commit myself and from which I shall not stray so as to never allow my fellow man to be deprived of the rights granted to him by God; for we do not grant men these rights nor are they ours to take away. By these principles, never again will the whole existence of a people be imperiled by the inhumanity and blind hatred of a society. Never again will the rights of man be curtailed under racial segregation or institutionalized inequality. Never again will we allow political differences to divide us or turn us against each other. That all men are created equal in the image of God has long been established in the West. For centuries we have known it to be true that man is endowed by God with the most absolute and basic rights. Still, since the very establishment of these rights, our ability to safeguard them has been unproductive and feeble. Today, quarters of the Earth are endangered by tyranny, discrimination, barbarism, and subjugation by fellow man. With an understanding of basic rights and equal justice, we must remain loyal to God and deliver the rights which His benevolence has bestowed upon us to those who have been denied the blessings of liberty, justice, and equality. More importantly, we must protect them from being robbed in the future, so that forever the world may be safe, and her people free from malevolence. Together, we must be prepared to do our duty no matter the cost and we must do so inexorably. We must march forth steadfast and unconquerable and defeat the forces of evil not by sword, but through our love for mankind and his creator. Martin Luther King stood before the Lincoln Memorial over four decades ago and proclaimed during his most famous speech: "We must not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred." Therefore, let us carry forth Dr. King's mission to future generations so that our children and our grandchildren may defend it in the years to come. Let us persistently oppose evil just as much as the person who uses violence, but let our methods always be nonaggressive. We must always be passive in body but active in spirit and we must always be peaceful in our fight for justice. Let us aim our attack against the forces of evil, not against the individuals propelling those forces. Let us do our utmost to carry out His eternal will and pledge ourselves—in person and in body— to these nonviolent principles. I sign this pledge, Carl Ray Louk
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posted by Carl Ray Louk at 8:30 PM
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