Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail free essay sample

Bryan Quezada English Composition 1 Section 12, Spring 2012 Martin Luther King Jr. , Letter from Birmingham Jail Most Effective Argument I feel Dr. Martin Luther King’s use of facts and history was an effective argument because it not only gave reason to why he would be in Birmingham but also gave also made a convincing argument of why his cause was justified throughout history by giving examples of times in history where actions like his were necessary and actions of wrongdoing was justified through law. In his letter to the clergymen, by referring to the bible a number of times, he appealed to the religious beliefs of the clergymen. He shows this when he refers to Apostle Paul, in where Apostle Paul would carry his gospel of god beyond his own village and throughout all over the Greco-Roman world, Martin Luther King would carry his gospel of freedom to beyond his own town and throughout all of the South and America. We will write a custom essay sample on Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Dr. Martin Luther King even goes so far as to refer to Jesus Christ, who he describes as an extremist for love and quotes from him, â€Å"Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you†. Jesus went to extreme lengths to spread his teachings of love, and like Jesus, Dr. King would go to extreme lengths for justice and equality. And he proves this by leading them into the streets to march peacefully, boycotting restaurants and bus stations. Dr. King also appeals to the sympathetic side of the clergymen when he tells them why his cause cannot ‘wait’ for their ‘constitutional God-given rights†. He goes on to write of why it would be easy for those who never experienced segregation to say wait, but for those who have experienced segregation, it is difficult to wait. Dr. King explains that those who experience segregation find it hard to wait after seeing witness their mothers, fathers lynched by mobs, their brothers and sisters drowned, and beaten and even killed by police officers. And how it feels like to try to explain to their children why they are not allowed to do certain things or go to certain places that help develop a sense of inferiority and insecurity in them as they grow up. Dr. King appeals to the moral sense of the clergymen about ‘just’ and ‘unjust’ laws and how he can advocate against breaking laws when he refers to how it was considered ‘legal’ for the Nazis of Germany in World War II to prosecute and execute Jews and was considered to be ‘right’. And it was considered ‘illegal’ and ‘extreme’ when the Freedom Fighters of Hungary rose up against the Soviet-imposed polices of their government. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs can be applied in Dr. King’s argument in many ways, that include Self-actualization, Esteem, Safety, and to a certain extent, Physiological. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs listed as Self-Actualization there are two things that can be applied; morality, and lack of prejudice. In Esteem, all five elements are missing; self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others and respect by others. In Safety, four elements are missing that include security of; body, employment, family, and health. And finally, in the Physiological category, food, water and sleep are missing. In the need of Self Actualization, morality is missing when Dr. King explains ‘just’ and ‘unjust’ laws to the clergymen. And lack of prejudice is missing a number of times when he explains the reason why it’s hard for his people to wait for justice. The Esteem need, the self-esteem and confidence of the people and their children are greatly affected when Dr. King explains that, â€Å"All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality†. He writes that it gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority, which then leaves the segregated unmotivated to work towards achievement. When Dr. King explains why his people cannot wait for justice, he explains how his people lack the respect of others, stating that they would beat and curse at his ‘brothers’ and ‘sisters’. The need for Safety is not met when the security of colored people becomes compromised as Dr. King explains that his people live in constant fear of not knowing what’s going to happen next, leaving them to worry for their physical being as well as for their families’ health. Where shops would not employ colored people, employment was not always guaranteed. And finally, as mentioned, to a certain extent, the Physiological need may not sometimes be met as he explains that his people would be denied services from motels, and forced to sleep in their cars. From this, we can infer that colored people must have been denied in many services that could have included food and even water.