Ongoing inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr

Today is Martin Luther King Jr day in the US, marking his birthday on 15 Jan.. King, imperfections and all, continues to inspire action on justice, civil rights, civil disobedience and non-violence, not least in the Greens ,with non-violence being one of our core values...

We look for non-violent solutions to conflict situations, which take into account the interests of minorities and future generations in order to achieve lasting settlements.

And also:

Electoral politics is not the only way to achieve change in society, and we will use a variety of methods to help effect change, providing those methods do not conflict with our other core principles.

I would be considerably challenged in attempting to live up to some aspects of the pledge below (and it does have a distinctly religious feel to it in places that I'm not comfortable with) and so I'm sure does American society as a whole - its a pretty violent place.

PLEDGE OF NONVIOLENCE IN HONOR OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

IN HONOR OF DR. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.’S LIFE AND WORK,

I pledge to do everything that I can to make America and the world a place where equality and justice, freedom and peace will grow and flourish.

I PLEDGE TO MAKE NONVIOLENCE A WAY OF LIFE in my dealings with all people.

I WILL REJECT all forms of hatred, bigotry and prejudice, and I will embrace the values of unconditional, universal love, truthfulness, courage, compassion, and dedication that empowered Dr. King.

I WILL DEDICATE my life to creating the Beloved Community of Dr. King’s dream, where all people can live together as sisters and brothers.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=k04KzgYRKrE - this U2 song about King is one I've played a good deal for some time now.