Martin Luther King Jr. Quotes

War is not the answer, because only love can conquer hate.

But when you meet with the enemy and genuinely try to understand his or her perspective, you lose the enemy as a political tool. And that's the eternal obstacle.

When people express opinions that differ from yours, take it as a chance to grow. Seek to understand over being understood. Be curious, not defensive. The only way to disarm another human being is by listening.

Some people say the people I'm fighting are bums, but I don't see it like that.

Human beings are not our enemy. Our enemy is not the other person. Our enemy is the violence, ignorance, and injustice in us and in the other person. When we are armed with compassion and understanding, we fight not against other people, but against the tendency to invade, to dominate, and to exploit.

Hate does not produce love, and by hate one cannot remake the world.

I just find in our world that forgiveness is becoming more and more a difficult thing for us to do.

It's hard to hate up close. The more you get to know each other, the more common ground you can find and the more you can disagree without being disagreeable.

There are plenty of good reasons for fighting, I said, but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty Himself hates with you, too.

Ultimately, being open and respectful towards each other is much more powerful as a way to diffuse hatred and anger than, you know, layering on, you know, big walls and oppressive policies.

I can no longer condemn or hate a brother for whom I pray, no matter how much trouble he causes me.

I wouldn't say that I have overcome opposition so much as I have tried to understand it. The lash of judgment carries a wounding sting, and there's a deeply instinctual tendency to want to respond in kind. I am not proud that my thoughts were blackened with vile opinions about the nature of those who were attacking me.

Do you think you can cure the hatreds and the maladjustments of the world by hanging them? You simply show your ignorance and your hate when you say it. You may here and there cure hatred with love and understanding, but you can only add fuel to the flames by cruelty and hate.

We do not need guns and bombs to bring peace, we need love and compassion.

Love your enemy. It will not only puzzle him, But finally illumine him.

Three quarters of the miseries and misunderstandings in the world would finish if people were to put on the shoes of their adversaries and understood their points of view

I have given up the idea that there is an opposition-free church out there. But I have gained something else - an appreciation for the gift of opposition. When it comes, I learn something about my motives. When it comes, I get to test my courage.

Until we have created a romance of peace that would equal that of war, violence will not disappear from people's lives.

We live in a world of guns, bombs and terror. To conquer hate seems a nigh-impossible task.

Compromise and tolerance are magic words. It took me 40 years to become philosophical.

You must show the world that you abhor fighting.

One of the greatest indicators of our own spiritual maturity is revealed in how we respond to the weaknesses, the inexperience, and the potentially offensive actions of others.

We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children.

Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you refuse to hate him.

It doesn't do any good to argue. Be kind.