Adrianna Ramming

U.S History P.1

Why am I opposed to the war in Vietnam? Speech by Martin

Luther King Jr.

Not only was Martin Luther King Jr. opposed to racism and sexism, but
he was opposed to war. During the 1960s President Lyndon Johnson began
the Vietnam War. Kings reaction to the war was not violence, but peaceful
protest through his speech. At 35 years old Martin Luther King Jr. won the
Nobel Peace Prize. He won it by being ...the first person in the Western
world to have shown us that a struggle can be waged without violence.
Gunnar Jahn. King had a history of being a good public speaker and studying
topics like sociology; he even earned his bachelors degree in sociology at
the age of nineteen. Having this kind of experience at a young age helped
him give his famous speeches when he finally got his chance to stand up
against inequality. In addition to his knowledge about society, he also earned
a Ph.D. in Systematic theology. Earning this degree aided him in becoming a
pastor and for protesting in a nonviolent way.
Now, let me make it clear in the beginning, that I see this war as an
unjust, evil, and futile war. I preach to you today on the war in Vietnam
because my conscience leaves me with no other choice. The time has come
for America to hear the truth about this tragic war. In international conflicts,
the truth is hard to come by because most nations are deceived about
themselves. Rationalizations and the incessant search for scapegoats are the
psychological cataracts that blind us to our sins. Martin Luther King Jr.,
from Why am I opposed to the war in Vietnam? In this section of Kings
speech he ties in religion and sociology. Why did he do this? He did it
because he believed these concepts would guide America to improving its
society. King saw the Vietnam War not just as a way to stall passing civil
rights laws, but as a crime against humanity. He, like many people, thought
that if you are a bystander you are just as bad as the criminal. In his speech
he states: Now, I've chosen to preach about the war in Vietnam because I
agree with Dante, that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who
in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. There comes a time when
silence becomes betrayal. Martin Luther King Jr., from Why am I opposed
to the war in Vietnam? King thought that everyone who accused someone of
being a traitor because they disagreed with the war was the real enemy of
America. Most of the hawks that accused a dove of being a traitor were high
ranking officials, the officials that cut back on the Poverty Program so they
could spend more money on getting rid of their enemies. King said So I was

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U.S History P.1

increasingly compelled to see the war as an enemy of the poor and he

was right, most government officials at the time were taking from the people
just to waste what they had taken on a crime against humanity.
The poor minorities were the hardest hit by the Vietnam War, because
their family was being sent overseas to fight for the rights that they have not
yet gained. We were taking the black young men who had been crippled by
society and sending them eight thousand miles away to guarantee liberties
in Southeast Asia which they had not found in Southwest Georgia and East
Harlem. Martin Luther King Jr., from Why am I opposed to the war in
Vietnam? By doing this the government was using the poor and the
minorities to their benefit by forcing them to take care of the governments
problems, while the government refused to take care of the problems the
poor and minorities had. King thought it was ironic that white and black boys
were dying in war with each other but back in the United States they couldnt
even sit together. King says So we have been repeatedly faced with a cruel
irony of watching Negro and white boys on TV screens as they kill and die
together for a nation that has been unable to seat them together in the same
school room.
Another reason King disagreed with the Vietnam War was that the
Vietnamese were also betrayed by the U.S government. They were betrayed
because when they finally won their independence against France and Japan,
the U.S didnt think the Vietnamese were ready to govern themselves. The
U.S helped France when they tried to take back Vietnam, but both countries
failed. The result was that now both sides in Vietnam didnt like the U.S. After
France accepted defeat and ended the Vietnam War for themselves, the U.S
continued to fight. Well, after the French were defeated, it looked as if
independence and land reform would come through the Geneva agreement.
But instead the United States came and started supporting a man
named Diem who turned out to be one of the most ruthless dictators in the
history of the world. - Martin Luther King Jr., from Why am I opposed to the
war in Vietnam? Now the United States had created a bigger problem. A new
leader came to power and his name was Diem. At first the United States
supported him because they thought they could finally end the war in
Vietnam, but he turned out to be worse than the Vietnamese having their
independence in the first place. King knew the people of the United States
did not know about most of what he was telling them in his speech. He said
The truth must be told. At the end of his speech King said that we must
change our ways and end the war, because if we dont change for the better
soon it might be too late. King states Tomorrow may be too late. The book

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U.S History P.1

may close. Kings final reason for opposing the Vietnam War is because I
love America.

Adrianna Ramming
U.S History P.1

Work cited
"Top 5 MLK Speeches Of All-Time." News One RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May
2014. <http://newsone.com/78461/top-5-martin-luther-king-speeches/>.
Martin Luther King Jr. - Questions and Answers. Nobelprize.org. Nobel
Media AB 2013. Web. 29 May 2014.
<http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/kingfaq.html>.
"Pacifica Radio/KPFA/UC Berkeley Library: Other Social Activist Movements &
Activities Social Activism Sound Recording Project: Martin Luther Kind, "Why I
Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam ," April 30, 1967, Riverside Church, New
York." Pacifica Radio/KPFA/UC Berkeley Library: Other Social Activist
Movements & Activities Social Activism Sound Recording Project: Martin
Luther Kind, "Why I Am Opposed to the War in Vietnam ," April 30, 1967,
Riverside Church, New York. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 May 2014.
<http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/MRC/pacificaviet/riversidetranscript.html>.