“The Quest for Peace and Justice” is a lecture delivered by Martin Luther King Jr. on December 11, 1964, at the University of Oslo as a part of his acceptance speech for the Nobel Peace Prize. King and his nonviolent initiatives were the most prominent force that established the law against racial discrimination, resulting in the Peace Prize award for the nonviolent campaign against racism. Even though more than fifty years have passed since King delivered the lecture, some aspects of modern society connect to the themes covered in the speech.
In the lecture, King emphasizes how the world is lost in external material meanings and abandons the internal side of feelings and morality. The statement is still applicable in the current society, as most of the population focuses on the material side of things and wealth instead of internal meanings, such as relations and connections. In the age of capitalism, external factors, such as income, define an individual’s social status, and nobody pays attention to an individual’s morals, spiritual strength, and development.
The current global situation with immigration policies, where refugees are forced to move from one location to another with no opportunities to settle and or return home, does not reflect the ideology expressed by King. King states that poverty is one of the main problems for the global community, both in developing and economically developed countries. King suggested that wealthy nations should help the people in developing countries. In the lecture, he emphasized how poverty in developing countries is less threatening, as people in those countries have no opportunity to build wealth due to years of “exploitation and underdevelopment” (King). Thus, wealthy nations should provide a compassionate attitude and show support to developing countries.
King’s opinion on immigration is mainly focused on making collective efforts to eliminate poverty on a global scale. His opinion supports my understanding of immigration, as I prefer to think that all people live on the same planet, and people need to understand that improving living conditions for everyone requires collective efforts. Moreover, peace, collective efforts, and perception of the global population as a whole would help maintain justice and equality and eliminate such problems as racism.
Work Cited
King, M. L. “The Quest for Peace and Justice.” The Nobel Prize, Web.