Hate distorts the personality of the hater. We usually think of what hate does for the individual hated or the individuals hated or the groups hated. But it is even more tragic, it is even more ruinous and injurious to the individual who hates. You just begin hating somebody, and you will begin to do irrational things. You can’t see straight when you hate. You can’t walk straight when you hate. You can’t stand upright. Your vision is distorted.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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One of the sure signs of maturity is the ability to rise to the point of self criticism.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The absence of freedom is the presence of death. Any nation or government that deprives an individual of freedom is in that moment committing an act of moral and spiritual murder. Any individual who is not concerned about his freedom commits an act of moral and spiritual suicide.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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Nonviolent resistance is not aimed against oppressors, but against oppression.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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There are persons who come to the point that they are so self-centered that they end up with a persecution complex and the end result is insanity. They end up thinking that the universe stands against them, that everybody is against them. They are turning around within themselves. They are little solar systems within themselves and they can’t see beyond that.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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What happens in Johannesburg affects Birmingham, however indirectly. We are descendants of the Africans. Our heritage is Africa. We should never seek to break the ties, nor should the Africans.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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We must meet hate with love. We must meet physical force with soul force.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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The success of communism in the world today is due to the failure of democracy to live up to the noble ideals and principles inherent in its system.
~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

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