{"id":4324,"date":"2006-01-16T13:20:35","date_gmt":"2006-01-16T17:20:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/formerlyknownas\/2006\/01\/16\/martin-luther-king-jr-a-dream"},"modified":"2011-08-05T14:54:15","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T18:54:15","slug":"martin-luther-king-jr-a-dream-plus-courage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/ethicalesq\/2006\/01\/16\/martin-luther-king-jr-a-dream-plus-courage\/","title":{"rendered":"martin luther king, jr: a dream plus courage"},"content":{"rendered":"

M<\/em>artin Luther King, Jr., walked the walk. He knew that achieving <\/font>a dream took commitment and courage. Two <\/font>prior<\/font><\/a> <\/font>posts<\/font><\/a> from this <\/font>weblog are worth repeating:<\/font><\/p>\n

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy has many aspects. His hope for a color-blind <\/font>and truly integrated America truly inspires me. But, I want to point out the <\/font>courage it took to take the stances he took, when and where he took them. <\/font>Rev. King understood — unlike many who claim to be engaged in civil disobe<\/font>dience <\/font>today (see <\/font><\/font>our post<\/font><\/a>) — that <\/font>Civil Disobedience<\/font><\/a> entails “Risking punish<\/font><\/font><\/font>ment, such as <\/font><\/font><\/font>violent retaliatory acts or imprisonment” in an attempt to bring <\/font>about changes in the <\/font>law.” And, unlike today’s “<\/font>slacktivists<\/font><\/a>” who feel self<\/font>righteous making <\/font>meaningless<\/font><\/a> <\/font>gestures, Rev. King knew that meaningful <\/font><\/font><\/font>change takes a lifelong commitment of time <\/font><\/font><\/font>and energy and sacrifice.<\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"MLKJg\" <\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

To convert <\/font>slacktivism<\/font><\/a> back<\/font> to effective activism, it seems important for <\/font>the politically disappointed (I’m one of them!) to remember:<\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n