The Art of Optimism

Martin Luther King was one of the greatest American Civil Rights leaders who had the ability to inspire anyone using only his words. King states, "I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law" (King 939). This is only one of many enlightening quotes Martin Luther King wrote in the "Letter From Birmingham Jail," which was a response to a newspaper article titled "A Call for Unity" that eight clergymen had published on April 12, 1963. Little did they know what they were getting themselves into. Martin Luther King was detained in Birmingham, Alabama for participating in a march out with a permit. In King's response letter, he accurately explained his interpretation of what took place using tactics including logos, ethos and pathos.

Martin Luther King uses logos, in the form of arguments using evidence and his knowledge to persuade his audience. For instance King argues:

"I have tried to stand between these two forces (one being the Negro adjusters to segregation and the other being the Negroes who are full of bitterness and hatred), saying that we need emulate neither the "do nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist. For there are more excellent way of love and nonviolent protest... If this philosophy had not emerged, by now many streets of the South would, I am convinced, be following with blood" (King 941).

My interpretation of this quote is that Martin Luther King is essentially promoting the opposite of what these clergymen are assuming that his actions are implying. King is actually preventing causes of mass destruction, by promoting this non-violent group. Basically, the Negroes who were frustrated are able to vent and control their anger by joining the "Peace of Brotherhood." The "do nothingism's," which King referred to as the "adjusters to segregation" (King 941), are able to have a say and in result, feel important and accomplish competence in life. Otherwise, they will ultimately become angry once they begin their "yearning for their freedom" (King 942) phase, which King admits to be inevitable. King emphasizes that there are Negroes who are full of hatred and who he anticipated are going to act on those urges or "be flowing with blood." King is trying to rotate these feelings into constructive emotion, which he states he has done successfully many times throughout his letter. In other words, King is doing the people of the United States of America a favor by turning violence and pent up aggression into beneficial and constructive behavior.

Many times in this letter, King tends to use ethos, also referred to as ethics, to manipulate the reader. In the outcome, the reader accepts Martin's words of wisdom because they are being subconsciously influenced to believe that his words are imperative. For example, King uses short phrases implying that he is important such as: "If I sought to answer all the criticisms that cross my desk, my secretaries would have little time for anything other than such correspondence in the course of the day... I have the honor of serving as President of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference...Like Paul, I must constantly respond to the Macedonian call for aid" (King 934). King is establishing himself as a significant leader. Soon after in the letter, King specifies that someone has labeled him as an extremist. As opposed to responding pessimistically, King approaches his accusation optimistically and compares himself to famous and credible extremists: "Was not Jesus an extremist for love... was not Paul an extremist for the Christian Gospel...