Courtney Gunter

Race and Justice

4/3 Reading

Expression of Gratitude

This reading was heart-felt, passionate, and inspiring. Rev. King’s words contain an

inspiring boldness and conviction. I am grateful to have read it for many reasons, but here are

two specifics:

First, he states, “the Nobel Peace Prize was also a commission, a commission to work

harder than I had ever worked before for the brotherhood of man.” I was struck by the

determination and humility of these words. I am grateful for his example because receiving the

Nobel Peace Prize is huge honor, but it did not evoke an attitude of complacency in him.

Rather, he was inspired to work harder and be more committed to his cause than ever before.

This attitude and his example are things to strive to replicate; the easiest path is usually not the

one we should take.

Second, I am grateful for his statement that “we must rapidly begin the shift from a

thing-oriented society to a person-oriented society” because it strongly echoes ideas that I have

been learning about in another class right now (Digital Society). We discuss how in a

technological age, people can easily become dehumanized, which can contribute to the giant

triplets of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism.”