Martin Luther King, Jr. on "Extremism"

A little emphasized passage from his "Letter from Birmingham Jail"

When I taught Philosophy of Law, King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was one of the works we read and discussed each term. I loved comparing and contrasting King’s situation with that of Socrates, who decided to accept the death penalty for the crime of “corrupting the youth” rather than allow his friends to help him escape Athens. I loved considering whether there was actually a moral duty to disobey an unjust law, rather than just a moral justification for doing so. And I loved exposing students to something that so many seem to ignore or forget: King’s perspective on extremism. Perhaps after reading this passage, you, too will want to spread the word?

"But though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist, as I continued to think about the matter I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do go to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.' Was not Amos an extremist for justice: 'Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.' Was not Paul an extremist for the Christian gospel: 'I bear my body in the marks of the Lord Jesus.' Was not Martin Luther an extremist: 'Here I stand; I cannot do otherwise, so help me God.' And John Bunyan: 'I will stay in jail to the end of my days before I make a butchery of my conscience.' And Abraham Lincoln: 'This nation cannot survive half slave and half free.' And Thomas Jefferson: 'We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal....' So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate or for love? Will we be extremists for preservation of injustice or for the extension of justice? In that dramatic scene on Calvary's hill three men were crucified. We must never forget that all three were crucified for the same crime--the crime of extremism. Two were extremists for immorality, and thus fell below their environment. The other, Jesus Christ, was an extremist for love, truth, and goodness, and thereby rose above his environment. Perhaps the South, the nation, and the world are in dire need of creative extremists."