Kings principles of nonviolence were as follows:
Principle 1: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.
One common misconception about nonviolence is that it is a weak, passive philosophy. But Kingian Nonviolence is about taking a stand against injustice, to make a commitment to looking injustice in the face and confronting it with the power of Agape, or unconditional love for humankind. To confront anything in the face takes courage, and to do so without resorting to violence also takes practice, discipline, compassion and a deep desire for justice. Nonviolence is a powerful, active force that only the strongest of individuals in history have used. Today it takes courage for an LGBTQ individual to stand outside a courthouse and get married. It takes courage for an immigrant to admit their status. It took courage for the woman to march around the world asking for their rights to be honored.
Principle 2: The Beloved Community is the framework for the future.
This was Dr. King’s vision for a reconciled society that has found true, positive peace and justice for all people. This is a world where people of all races, genders, cultures and generations are living in unity with each other — including those who we currently consider to be our “enemies.” In nonviolence, our goal is not to defeat our enemy, but to win them over. Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We will not find true positive peace by killing our enemies. We will not find true positive peace by incarcerating all of our enemies. We will not find true positive peace by deporting our enemies, intimidating our enemies, ignoring our enemies. We will only find the Beloved Community when we win them over. We can not do this by making fun of people groups, building a wall to keep people out, or sending a passive aggressive tweet.
Principle 3: Attack forces of evil not persons doing evil.
Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice, not individuals. Dr. King said that the Civil Rights movement and the issue of segregation were not issues between white people and black people, but issues between justice and injustice.
Principle 4: Accept suffering without retaliation for the sake of the cause to achieve a goal.
Voluntary suffering can be redemptive. It can give you strength, and inspire others to join. In order to achieve a larger goal, a person must often struggle to get to it. Nonviolence is never easy. Organizers in the Civil Rights movement understood that nonviolence may mean that they may have to take a beating. But they went through it because they had a larger goal in mind: freedom.
Principle 5: Avoid internal violence of the spirit as well as external physical violence.
Violence is not only a physical act. Mental and psychological scars from verbal and emotional violence can hurt more and affect you for a lot longer than physical acts of violence. Dr. King reminded us that nonviolence is not only a refusal to harm your opponent, it’s also a refusal to hate your opponent. If we are driven by anger, hate and a desire for vengeance, those emotions will be reflected in the change that we create. Nonviolence is a commitment to respond to conflicts through understanding, love and true justice.
Principle 6: The Universe is on the side of justice.
As much injustice as there is in the world, Dr. King, and in fact anyone who has ever worked for justice and liberation had faith in this principle. We are not there yet, and it will not be an easy road, but those working for change must always hold onto this faith. Many people use the term “karma” to talk about this principle. Karma, at its core, means “cause and effect:” the idea that every action has an equal reaction. With all the investment we make in violence, it is our karma that we live in such a violent society.
We need to invest in peace and invest in justice. If we can invest more time, more resources, and more action into peace and justice, we will ultimately begin to see those returns. The fundamental principles of nonviolence allow for peace and prosperity and change. These SHOULD STILL BE RELEVANT. We didn't always live in a violent society, we have a long way to go and a leader whom may not always appreciate these rules. But these principles are not for politicians. They're for humans. They're for us.
