Excerpts from the "How Long, Not Long" (aka Our God Is Marching On!) speech delivered by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., on March 25, 1965:
I know you are asking today, "How long will it take?" Somebody's asking, "How long will prejudice blind the visions of men, darken their understanding, and drive bright-eyed wisdom from her sacred throne?"
Somebody's asking, "When will the radiant star of hope be plunged against the nocturnal bosom of this lonely night, plucked from weary souls with chains of fear and the manacles of death? How long will justice be crucified, and truth bear it?"
I come to say to you this afternoon, however difficult the moment, however frustrating the hour, it will not be long, because "truth crushed to earth will rise again." How long? Not long, (Yes, sir) because "no lie can live forever."
How long? Not long, because "you shall reap what you sow."
How long? Not long, because the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.
A few more quotes by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. can be found on Seth Godin's blog. I particularly like:
The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.
While Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did not have all sentient creatures in mind in his original sermons and speeches, I am sure his vision of justice would extend to all living and oppressed beings were he to be alive today.
