I have decided to stick with love

Since I was about 14 and my mother gave me a book of speeches for Christmas (I know I was an odd child) I have loved the words of Martin Luther King Jnr. Written down his words are moving, demanding attention and action. It was a few years later that I heard a recording of that famous 'I have a dream' speech. I'd marvelled at the power of it on paper but to hear it - it blew me away - and still does every time I listen to it. The rhythm, the pace, the delivery is as close to perfect as any speech I have every heard but far more than that is the passion and the content. How anyone cannot be moved when they it is beyond me.
(Here's a link to a short version of it in case you want to hear it.)

Over the years I have read more and more of the words of MLK. Some of his lesser known speeches are every bit as powerful as the ones that the world knows so well.

Yesterday I stumbled upon my "Speeches of Martin Luther King Jnr" book again and start to browse it. It is a sort of yearly ritual - I re-find the book on one of my shelves and dip into it and then get hooked and read it through again. Every year some new words or phrases jump out at me. So far this year it is the words from a speech called "Where do we go from here?" delivered in August 1967 to the Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Atlanta. The words in brackets are the audience responses.

"And I say to you, I have also decided to stick with love, for I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. (Yes) And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn't popular to talk about it in some circles today. (No) And I'm not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love; I'm talking about a strong, demanding love. (Yes) For I have seen too much hate. (Yes) I've seen too much hate on the faces of sheriffs in the South. (Yeah) I've seen hate on the faces of too many Klansmen and too many White Citizens Councilors in the South to want to hate, myself, because every time I see it, I know that it does something to their faces and their personalities, and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear. (Yes, That’s right) I have decided to love. [applause] If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love."

(The full speech, including the vocal responses from those in attendance, is available at: http://www.stanford.edu/group/King/publications/speeches/Where_do_we_go_from_here.html) and © the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. are copyrighted by the King Estate.

The words that are so often pulled from this speech (and the ones for our sign this week) are "I have decided to stick with love, hate is too great a burden to bear."

Now I want to write a wonderful blog on those words but I can't measure up to the great Dr. Martin Luther King Jnr. If I try to commentate on them I feel I will just detract from their impact. Instead I want you to read that passage again and I've bolded the bits I want you to take notice of...

"And I say to you, I have also decided to stick with love, for I know that love is ultimately the only answer to mankind's problems. And I'm going to talk about it everywhere I go. I know it isn't popular to talk about it in some circles today. And I'm not talking about emotional bosh when I talk about love; I'm talking about a strong, demanding love. For I have seen too much hate. I've seen too much hate on the faces of sheriffs in the South. I've seen hate on the faces of too many Klansmen and too many White Citizens Councilors in the South to want to hate, myself, because every time I see it, I know that it does something to their faces and their personalities, and I say to myself that hate is too great a burden to bear. I have decided to love. If you are seeking the highest good, I think you can find it through love."