Essay/Term paper: Men will rise from the dark depth of prejudice to the majestic heights of brotherhood

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Social Issues

Men Will Rise From The Dark Depth Of Prejudice To The Majestic Heights Of
Brotherhood


Men will rise from the dark depths of prejudice... What is prejudice?
The Websters dictionary defines it as "a biased opinion based on emotion rather
than reason." This is most certainly the case. Through out history groups of
people of the same race, religion, color, etc. have had unspeakable acts
committed against them by others who think with their "...emotions[s] rather
than reason." Because one is a different color they think that that person is
odd, or inferior. Or they see some one of a different religion as a person who
is rejected by God. These are both examples of prejudice.

Many people have seen the effects of prejudice and sought to put an end
to it. one such person was Dr. Martian Luther King. By the time Dr. King became
involved in civil rights he was already an ordained minister. He had married and
he and his wife had four children. His civil rights activities began with the
protest of an incident that occurred on a public bus. Rosa parks had broken the
law by not getting out of her seat to allow a white person to sit in her seat or
row. An organization was formed to boycott the buses and Dr. Martian Luther king
was asked to be president of it. In his first, and in my opinion, most powerful
speeches Dr. Martian Luther King stated "First and foremost we are American
citizens...We are not here advocating violence...the only weapon that we
have...is that of protest...The great glory of American democracy is the right
to protest for right." Dr. King and the organization succeeded. The Supreme
Court ordered the city to have equal, integrated seating. This was only the
first in many battles lead by Dr. Martian Luther King.

Dr. Martian Luther King had a dream. A dream to unite all mankind as one.
A dream to see an end to prejudice. A dream to reach the promise land. Although
many of his goals as far as discrimination have been met, Dr. Martian Luther
King never got to see this. He was shot and killed on April 4, 1968. In 1983
congress passed a national holiday in his honor. It celebrated on the third
Monday in January. Dr. Martian Luther King Became the second person to have a
national Holiday, the first being George Washington, the countries first
President. One of his Ideals that has not yet been achieved nor properly
addressed is that of brotherhood.

The Majestic heights of brotherhood. Anyone who has ever experienced
prejudice can appreciate the significance of this idea. All men of all races,
colors, ethnicitys, religions united peacefully as a single world brotherhood.
The one reason we can not come to peace with those who are different than us is
that we, as humans, have a natural fear of the unknown. Some turn this fear into
curiosity and learn about others and come to have a respect for other cultures
and their respective peoples. On the contrary, some people take this fear and
turn it into something dark and evil, Prejudice. Prejudice is what denies us the
chance to truly be viewed, and view others, as brothers.