Everybody has different values. So with that in mind, conflict will occur when individuals or nations have a lack of acceptance and understanding of these different values. Conflicts with differing interests occur when individuals or nations combat for their personal or nation goals as a whole, often ignoring the organizational goals and well-being, or other nation’s goals and well-being. Scarce resources can cause a lot of conflict. Especially between two countries.
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written in Birmingham Jail in 1963 as a response to the Clergymen to explain his actions and also to answer their questions on why he did not call off the demonstrations. King was a civil rights activist who organized a campaign against segregation in Birmingham, Alabama in 1963. In his letter, King uses anaphora and allusions frequently. He also appeals to ethos, logos, and pathos to make his letter a paradigm of effective rhetoric. King uses allusions frequently throughout his letter.
Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetorical strategy in a “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by citing philosophers, theologians, presidents, and the Constitution as evidence. King uses St Thomas Aquinas views to clarify and deduct the fairness of a law: “All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality” (570). To explain why discriminating laws demean the segregationists King states, “Segregation, to use the terminology of the Jewish philosopher Martin Buber, substitutes an ‘I-it’ relationship for an ‘I-thou’ relationship and ends up relegating persons to the status of things” (570). He references Paul Tillich to validate his contention that segregation is not only morally despicable but also sinful. Stating this country cannot survive being divided as further evidence on his fight for equality by mentioning Abraham Lincoln.
Also mentioning that Birmingham is one of the worst cities to be so ugly and brutal to the colored people all through its history. In my thesis statement I have prepared a few questions: 1-Why does King establish his setting (the Birmingham Jail) and define his intended audience in the first paragraph? How does this information impact the reader and his subsequent words? He wants the audience to feel what he is going through during his jail time in the Birmingham jail. He also wants to show that his actions are non-violent and can have good results.
April 12, 1963 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested for leading a prohibited protest. During his imprisonment he decided to write a letter from Birmingham jail to respond to a public statement of concern. In his letter he discreetly describes why he concluded into direct action and the purpose of his action. Martin Luther King decided to go to Birmingham in a call for help. In addition king went to Birmingham because the injustices were incredulous and segregated.
“But more basically, I am in Birmingham because injustice is here.” He is using the rhetorical device diction in this quote to express the extent of his need and presence in Birmingham. Where ever injustice is in any city within the U.S. Dr. King goes to that city. The comparisons that Dr. King uses in his letter are used to provide an example of his actions to his critics in order to clarify them in Birmingham. “… and just as the Apostle Paul left his little village of tarsus and carried the gospel of Jesus Christ to practically every hamlet and city of the Greco-Roman world, I too am compelled
He establishes this goal of his in both his “I Have a Dream” speech and his “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. These two works of his tell about the struggles he and other colored people faced in their everyday lives just to make it through the day. The way he goes about informing his audiences is through rhetorical and authoritative strategies. He is trying to get through to multiple groups of individuals within these two works but he is initially trying to convey the same ideas. The way in which Dr. King did so will leave an imprint on American history
Summary Response-Letter from the Birmingham Jail In this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. describes the current states of injustice and inequality that plague the Negro community during this time as he is writing from his jail cell. He writes to his fellow supporters and brothers and explains the reasons for being in Birmingham in the first place were because he felt it was necessary to protest injustice everywhere. Communities such as Birmingham were known to observe segregation laws that isolated black people from white people and in his opinion were classified as unjust laws. He claims to be a supporter of just laws and a non-violent protestor of unjust laws in which violate human morals and dignity. By citing references of protest such as Jesus Christ, St. Paul, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, he justifies his current actions for the Negro community and states that he is willing to face the consequences when it comes to protesting for equal rights amongst all Americans.
King defended his belief of human rights for the betterment of society. He wrote in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, “ Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea.
In response to Dr. Martin Luther King’s letter to his fellow clergymen, it appears that they were asking or even possibly pleading Dr. King to stop his activities describing them as, “unwise and untimely.” These activities included a non-violent campaign of civil rights demonstrations, sit-ins, non-violent marches, concerns regarding police brutality and civil equalities for people of color. Dr. King eloquently wrote a long letter, as he sat in jail, describing all his concerns to a clergy of his peers, in the hopes they could see how all these injustices demanded action immediately and not by waiting as they mentioned. Dr. King was obviously disappointed with a letter that he received and wanted his concerns to be heard. As he sat in jail and pondered all the injustices he had witnessed or had been a part of, it appears that he had time to create a letter which he felt would outline and describe how he felt about the situation. When Dr. King stated facts about describing the situation in Birmingham, he clearly wanted to provide a foundation to build upon.