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| The civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. (C) waves to supporters on the Mall in Washington on Aug. 28, 1963. |
If There Is No Truth, There Is No Injustice
Commentary by Paul Adams
Can there be an injustice if there is no truth?
Martin Luther King Jr. considered this question in his powerful letter from Birmingham Jail (1963). He was responding to fellow members of the clergy who opposed segregation but rejected civil disobedience, which involved breaking the law. His central point was that laws may be just or unjust. We have a duty to obey just laws and to oppose, even defy unjust laws. We need to recognize that both kinds exist and learn how to tell the difference.
