A Comparison Of Martin Luther King And Lyndon B. Johnson's Speech

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Vietnam held many positions and beliefs based on the morality of the situation. 2 major figures during this time gave speeches on their position and underlying credibility of what was happening and what was right. Martin Luther King and Lyndon B. Johnson gave speeches to persuade the country of their side of the Vietnam War. MLK’s speech allows for more persuasion due to his moral understanding, reputational civil rights credibility, and strong calls for action. MLK offers a compelling critique of America's involvement in the Vietnam War from a moral and ethical standpoint. MLK shows this by explaining his thinking of Vietnam: "And as I ponder the madness of Vietnam and search within myself for ways to understand and respond in compassion, my mind goes constantly to the people of that peninsula" (King 3). King obviously doesn’t support this war from an ethical belief, sharing his “compassion” for the people of Vietnam. “So far we have killed a million of them, mostly children. They wander into the towns and see thousands of children, homeless, without clothes, running into packs on the streets like animals”. King 4. By …show more content…

“The war in Vietnam is but a symptom of a far deeper malady within the American spirit-” (King 5). King shares with us that the relationship of our governmental injustices relates to the injustices within Vietnam. This allows his audience to question the connection and pattern seen in this War, persuading them to understand the wrongness. King also supports his credibility by stating, “For those who ask the question, ‘Aren’t you a Civil Rights leader?’ and thereby mean to exclude me from the movement for peace” (King 2). Therefore, his experiences in his push for peace give him the credibility and understanding to have a say about the Vietnam

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