Friday, January 18, 2013

Thinking About Plainfield and MLK: Conscience and Courage

Poor People’s Campaign of 1968-the Mule Train from Marks, Mississippi.


Over the past few days, I have been thinking about some words spoken by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They were in a speech he gave less than two months before his assassination. He was speaking about leadership in the context of the Vietnam War, but I think his words are appropriate ones for our elected officials (mayor and city council) to reflect upon as we head into 2010.

I hope that anyone reading these words will challenge our mayor and all of our council representatives to move forward into the "invincible future" (borrowing the words of Oswald Chambers) by truly putting Plainfield (as opposed to self-interest and political expediency) first.

Dr. King:


On some positions cowardice asks the question, is it safe? Expediency asks the question, is it politic? Vanity asks the question, is it popular? But conscience asks the question, is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but he must take it because conscience tells him it is right.


Click below for the link to the whole speech:

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It looks like no one in the administration or on the city council is reading King's words. Expediency and politics trump conscience once again here in Plainfield. Positive change sounds more and more like the same old same old.