Beyond Vietnam – Time to Break the Silence – Analysis!
Beyond Vietnam: a moment to break the silence was delivered by Martin Luther King Jr., on April 4, 1967, at a meeting of concerned clergy and laity at the Riverside Church in New York City, New York. The essence of the speech focused on the Vietnam War. The clergy’s belief took up the theme that silence is treason. It was concluded that they must speak against war over the objection that peace and civil law do not mix. King saw such comments as a tragic misunderstanding of the world. He stressed that he was not at the meeting to talk to China, Russia, the National Liberation Front and/or Hanoi. He was there to speak to his fellow Americans who have a responsibility to end the conflict that has taken a heavy toll on Vietnam and the United States.
Regarding the importance of getting involved in the Vietnam War, King listed seven main reasons to end the war based on a moral vision. He said Vietnam is connected to the fight he and others have been waging in the United States for the poor. However, the buildup to war has broken the program for the war-crazed society. As a result, war is the enemy of the poor, which has drained vital resources from programs for the poor. He too has called tragic the dilemma faced by the children of poor Americans who fight and die in extraordinarily high numbers in Southeast Asia, especially when they couldn’t even attend the same school in the United States, or live on the same block. what he referred to as manipulation of the poor.
He believed that change would come to America through nonviolent action. Therefore, he must speak out against the violence inflicted on the oppressed for the good of America and cannot remain silent. He stated that the motto of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference is “Save America’s Soul”, which cannot be saved if it is destroying the souls of people all over the world. Furthermore, as a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, he believes that this commission compels him to work harder than ever for “the brotherhood of man”, thus his vocation goes beyond national allegiances.
He declared that he shares with all men the call to be a son of the living God; that God cares about the suffering of helpless and marginalized children; that ministers are called to speak for the weak, the voiceless, the victims of our nation and its enemy; that Vietnam has been living under the madness of war for three continuous decades; and there will be no solution until we hear the broken voices of Americans and Vietnamese.
He mentioned that the Vietnamese must be looking at the Americans as strange liberators as they reflect on the madness of America’s war. Ever since Vietnam gained its independence in 1945 from the French and the Japanese, the United States has supported the French in their attempt to recapture their former colony by financing virtually the entire cost of the war for the French. She proclaimed that the United States is a victim of Western arrogance for rejecting the revolutionary government seeking self-determination in Vietnam. As a result, our planes drop bombs on Vietnamese villages, women and children; poisoning your water; killing their crops; destroying their trees; leaving them homeless; for food; and selling their sisters and mothers to our soldiers. In this sense, we must speak for them because they are also our brothers in our struggle.
He specified that Hanoi has considered the presence of US troops in support of the Diem regime in Vietnam as a breach of the Geneva Convention, and that our president did not affirm that there was a peace proposal made before by the parties. He notified the audience how Ho Chi Ming has watched the buildup of US forces while the US has talked peace; that Ming has been listening to international rumors of an invasion from the north; and that Ming has observed the pre-invasion strategies of the most powerful nation on earth, which include dropping bombs as an aggressor on the poor and powerless thousands of miles from its own shores.
King made it known that he is deeply concerned about the safety of our troops; that we are adding cynicism to the process of death; and that none of the things we’re fighting for are really involved. He further added that our troops should know that our government sent them to Vietnam for the sophisticated and rich, while we are creating hell for the poor; therefore, we must give a voice to the voiceless people of Vietnam. In this regard, he stated that there will be no meaningful solution until we have heard his gasping cries and found a meaningful solution to hear his plea.
King communicated that the madness of war must cease. Also, in the name of God, we must stop the destruction of Vietnamese homes and their culture. He mentioned that he is speaking to the leaders of the country about himself as an American and to the people of the world who are shocked by the path that the United States has taken. He then quoted the words of a great Buddhist leader who stated:
With each day that the war goes on, hatred grows in the hearts of the Vietnamese and in the hearts of those of humanitarian instinct…The Americans are forcing their friends to become their enemies…America is incurring a profound defeat psychological and political… America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom and democracy but the image of violence and militarism.
In that sense, he indicated that continuing the war would show the world that we have no honorable intentions in Vietnam, and our hope is to drag China into a war so that we can bomb its nuclear facilities. He said the world has demanded a greater sense of maturity from the United States.
He listed the following actions to atone for America’s sins: an end to all bombing in Vietnam; unilateral ceasefire; battlefield prevention in Southeast Asia; recognition of the National Liberation Front; a fixed date beginning with the withdrawal of all foreign forces from Vietnam in accordance with the 1954 Geneva Convention; granting asylum to Vietnamese suffering persecution; and the payment of reparations for the damage caused.
Regarding the continuation of the war protests, he called on churches and synagogues to continue to urge the United States to withdraw from Vietnam and encouraged ministers to seek conscientious objector status. He mentioned that the United States is on the wrong side of the world revolution, because now we consider property and material things more important than people; therefore, we are approaching spiritual death.
On the subject of the importance of people, he revealed that throughout the world men are rebelling against the old system of exploitation and oppression, and new systems of justice and equality are being born. As a result, we should want love to be the ultimate force and saving grace of life and not death and evil. Furthermore, he reinforced those powers mercilessly; power without morality; and strength without sight, he will drag America down the hall of shame; therefore, we must rededicate ourselves to a beautiful world, which is the calling of the children of God.
He ended his message with an eloquent poem by James Russell Lowell, addressing the themes of love, not war; good not bad; light not darkness; and how God watches over his people.