a couple of Words of Advice About Technology from Martin Luther King Jr. [Life]

Today is Martin Luther King Jr’s birthday. And I confess, I was caught up, selfishly wondering if I got the day without work. I gave the impression to forget the holiday’s message and what that fab man stood for. Here’s a reminder:

In his 1964 Nobel Lecture at Oslo, Norway, Martin Luther King Jr reminded us to not let our ” moral progress” fall behind our progress in science and technology. He said:

Yet, despite these spectacular strides in science and technology, and still unlimited ones to return, something basic is missing. There is a type of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to our scientific and technological abundance. The richer we’ve got become materially, the poorer now we have become morally and spiritually. We now have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we haven’t learned the straightforward art of living together as brothers.

…

This is the serious predicament, the deep and haunting problem confronting modern man. If we are to survive today, our moral and religious ” lag” have to be eliminated. Enlarged material powers spell enlarged peril if there isn’t proportionate growth of the soul. When the ” without” of man’s nature subjugates the ” within” , dark storm clouds begin to form on the earth.

If he was still alive today, he’d be 82. an excellent man with words that hit near home. [ Nobel Prize via Wired ]

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This post is tagged: dark storm clouds, martin luther king, martin luther king jr, moral progress, science and technology