TRIPLE EVILS 

The Triple Evils of POVERTY, RACISM and MILITARISM are forms of violence that exist in a vicious cycle.  They are interrelated, all-inclusive, and stand as barriers to our living in the Beloved Community. When  we work to remedy one evil, we affect all evils. To work against the Triple Evils, you must develop a  nonviolent frame of mind as described in the “Six Principles of Nonviolence” and use the Kingian model  for social action outlined in the “Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change.” 

Some contemporary examples of the Triple Evils are listed next to each item: 

Poverty – unemployment, homelessness, hunger, malnutrition, illiteracy, infant mortality, slums… 

“There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we now have the resources to get  rid of it. The time has come for an all-out world war against poverty … The well off and the secure have  too often become indifferent and oblivious to the poverty and deprivation in their midst. Ultimately a  great nation is a compassionate nation. No individual or nation can be great if it does not have a concern  for ‘the least of these.” 

Racism – prejudice, apartheid, ethnic conflict, anti-Semitism, sexism, colonialism, homophobia, ageism,  discrimination against disabled groups, stereotypes… 

“Racism is a philosophy based on a contempt for life. It is the arrogant assertion that one race is the  center of value and object of devotion, before which other races must kneel in submission. It is the  absurd dogma that one race is responsible for all the progress of history and alone can assure the  progress of the future. Racism is total estrangement. It separates not only bodies, but minds and spirits.  Inevitably it descends to inflicting spiritual and physical homicide upon the out-group.” 

Militarism – war, imperialism, domestic violence, rape, terrorism, human trafficking, media violence,  drugs, child abuse, violent crime… 

“A true revolution of values will lay hands on the world order and say of war- ‘This way of settling  differences is not just.’ This way of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation’s homes with  orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of  sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped psychologically deranged,  cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend  more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.” 

Source: “Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?” by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Boston:  Beacon Press, 1967.

SIX PRINCIPLES OF NONVIOLENCE 

Fundamental tenets of Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence described in his first book, Stride Toward  Freedom. The six principles include: 

1. PRINCIPLE ONE: Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people.It is active nonviolent resistance  to evil.It is aggressive spiritually, mentally and emotionally. 

2. PRINCIPLE TWO: Nonviolence seeks to win friendship and understanding.The end result of  nonviolence is redemption and reconciliation. The purpose of nonviolence is the creation of the  Beloved Community. 

3. PRINCIPLE THREE: Nonviolence seeks to defeat injustice not people.Nonviolence recognizes that  evildoers are also victims and are not evil people. The nonviolent resister seeks to defeat evil not  people. 

4. PRINCIPLE FOUR: Nonviolence holds that suffering can educate and transform.Nonviolence accepts  suffering without retaliation. Unearned suffering is redemptive and has tremendous educational and  transforming possibilities. 

5. PRINCIPLE FIVE: Nonviolence chooses love instead of hate.Nonviolence resists violence of the spirit  as well as the body.Nonviolent love is spontaneous, unmotivated, unselfish and creative. 6. PRINCIPLE SIX: Nonviolence believes that the universe is on the side of justice. The nonviolent  resister has deep faith that justice will eventually win. Nonviolence believes that God is a God of  justice. 

SIX STEPS OF NONVIOLENT SOCIAL CHANGE 

The Six Steps for Nonviolent Social Change are based on Dr. King’s nonviolent campaigns and teachings  that emphasize love in action. Dr. King’s philosophy of nonviolence, as reviewed in the Six Principles of  Nonviolence, guide these steps for social and interpersonal change. 

1. INFORMATION GATHERING: To understand and articulate an issue, problem or injustice facing a  person, community, or institution you must do research. You must investigate and gather all vital  information from all sides of the argument or issue so as to increase your understanding of the  problem. You must become an expert on your opponent’s position. 

2. EDUCATION: It is essential to inform others, including your opposition, about your issue. This  minimizes misunderstandings and gains you support and sympathy. 

3. PERSONAL COMMITMENT: Daily check and affirm your faith in the philosophy and methods of  nonviolence. Eliminate hidden motives and prepare yourself to accept suffering, if necessary, in your  work for justice. 

4. DISCUSSION/NEGOTIATION: Using grace, humor and intelligence, confront the other party with a list  of injustices and a plan for addressing and resolving these injustices. Look for what is positive in every  action and statement the opposition makes. Do not seek to humiliate the opponent but to call forth  the good in the opponent. 

5. DIRECT ACTION: These are actions taken when the opponent is unwilling to enter into, or remain in,  discussion/negotiation. These actions impose a “creative tension” into the conflict, supplying moral  pressure on your opponent to work with you in resolving the injustice. 

6. RECONCILIATION: Nonviolence seeks friendship and understanding with the opponent. Nonviolence  does not seek to defeat the opponent. Nonviolence is directed against evil systems, forces,  oppressive policies, unjust acts, but not against persons. Through reasoned compromise, both sides resolve the injustice with a plan of action. Each act of reconciliation is one step close to the ‘Beloved  Community.’ 

Based on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in Why We Can’t Wait, Penguin Books,  1963. 

We often view the Six Steps as phases or cycles of a campaign rather than steps because each of them  embodies a cluster or series of activities related to each of the other five elements. 

THE BELOVED COMMUNITY 

“The Beloved Community” is a term that was first coined in the early days of the 20th Century by the  philosopher-theologian Josiah Royce, who founded the Fellowship of Reconciliation. However, it was Dr.  Martin Luther King, Jr., also a member of the Fellowship of Reconciliation, who popularized the term  and invested it with a deeper meaning which has captured the imagination of people of goodwill all over  the world. 

For Dr. King, The Beloved Community was not a lofty utopian goal to be confused with the rapturous  image of the Peaceable Kingdom, in which lions and lambs coexist in idyllic harmony. Rather, The  Beloved Community was for him a realistic, achievable goal that could be attained by a critical mass of  people committed to and trained in the philosophy and methods of nonviolence. 

Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth.  In the Beloved Community, poverty, hunger and homelessness will not be tolerated because  international standards of human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination,  bigotry and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood. In the  Beloved Community, international disputes will be resolved by peaceful conflict-resolution and  reconciliation of adversaries, instead of military power. Love and trust will triumph over fear and hatred.  Peace with justice will prevail over war and military conflict.

SOURCE: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, www.thekingcenter.org