What was the civil rights movement about with Martin Luther King? It was about honor. It was about people who stood and they knew, they knew that it was going to be tough for them. They knew. They knew that they would be thrown in jail. Not for anything that they had done but just for standing up.
There are tough times coming. I hope nobody's thrown in jail, but I could see a time. But we have to be people who are nonviolent. We have to be those people because that's who we are. But they are painting us into something that we're not. So we need to go the extra step, and I don't think the extra step is to convince anybody because the media is going to do whatever they want.
This is for us.
As I read what Martin Luther King had people take, the pledge of nonviolence and the five principles of nonviolence, what he was doing was not sending a statement to the press that we're not violent. That wasn't the only goal there. The bigger goal, I believe, was to ingrain these thoughts and these principles into people because when it gets hard, you have to have a rock-solid foundation, something that you really, truly understand in your gut. Something that you know. It's like Ben Sherwood says, you know, those who survive are the ones who have looked out at the plane and said if this thing did catch on fire, how the heck would I get out of here?
You've made a plan. You've already war-gamed it in your head. That's what I think the pledge of nonviolence and the five principles of nonviolence was. So I've put them up temporarily now on my website, but I want you to read them and I want you to ponder them. And I'm going to ask you to do what Martin Luther King did with his people and that was sign your name to it. Sign your name to it.
Here it is. The Pledge of Nonviolence. As you prepare to march, meditate on the life and teachings of Jesus. If it's Buddha, it's Buddha. If it's Moses, it's Moses. But meditate. Understand the peace that these people brought. Understand. Jesus, he's my guy. Your guy might be different.
Remember the nonviolent movement seeks justice and reconciliation, not victory. What does that mean? I don't need to be right. Quite honestly I don't want to be right. I want justice. What I want is I want Timothy Geithner to pay his damn taxes because I have to. I want Charlie Rangel to pay his taxes because I have to. I want Goldman Sachs to stand on their own two feet because I have to. I want to help people because I want to. Because it's the right thing to do. I want the government to stop enslaving people. I want the government to stop spreading justice because their justice is never equal. That's not victory. That's justice.
Remember the nonviolent movement seeks justice and reconciliation, not victory.
Number three is walk and talk in the manner of love, for God is love. This one's going to be hard. It is going to be hard, but we have to discipline ourself. That doesn't mean we stop talking truth. We just make sure that we don't become bitter or angry. Bitter and angry. Think of Darth Vader: Yes, yes, feed your anger. No, don't. Walk and talk in the manner of love.
Number four is pray daily to be used by God that all men and women might be free. Pray. You're here for a reason, I know it. We all are. And we are a special group of people. We were not only born at this time think of the millions of years that you could have been born. Think of all of the time on this planet that you could have come here at this, and you come now at this time. You could have been born in the Dark Ages. You could have been born you could have been born quite honestly in 1900. But you were born now, at this time, to be alive for this purpose. What is it? You were here to stand, that others may be free.
Number five, sacrifice personal wishes that all may be free. So in other words, I want to be left alone. I want to go back and just have fun again. I want to do fun shows and funny shows and I want to live my life. I want to raise my kids. I want a nice car. I want a nice vacation. It's not about that now. It can't be. We have to change. We have to be willing to sacrifice personally. It means that you may lose your house. It may mean that whatever it is that you don't first entrap yourself into the slavery of this government. You don't take the handouts. Don't enslave yourself.
Number six, observe with friend and foe the ordinary rules of courtesy. This is what they are trying to do. They are trying to push you. They are trying to. Don't. Now, why was that one important? Why was that one important for Martin Luther King and why is that important now? Why did the march to Selma happen? Why did they march to Birmingham? Capital, yes, but it's a 57 mile trek. They marched to Birmingham. They knew that there would be losers on the way. They knew that something would happen.
See, Martin Luther King, his whole point was "I trust the American people. If they see racism, they will reject it." I still believe that and so do those in power. That's why they play that racism card. But you have to show it to them. You have to be that person. If you are always quiet and silent, if you are the crowd that we've had each time at the American Revival, 8,000 people somebody is hurt, we break out spontaneously into "Amazing Grace"? There's no way to paint that any other way. If they cover it, it would be covered as an amazing thing and people would say, wow, I want to be a part of that.
The protestors outside are the ugly ones and those are the ones that America says, I don't want anything to do with those people. It's ugly and dark. It's evil that is going on. Americans are not like that. Why do you think they keep saying this is a civil rights movement?
They need dogs and fire hoses. They need violence. They need racists.
They need dogs and fire hoses. They need violence. They need racists. That's why they keep saying you're a racist. It's akin to the civil rights movement. These are civil rights, and they're using all of the images of the civil rights movement, except they don't have they are not on the wrong they are not on the right side. They are not right on the right side.
Why do you think Nancy Pelosi went into that crowd? That was Selma! That was the march to Birmingham. They just didn't want to walk 57 miles. They go into what they think are a bunch of hating racists. They stir the pot, they anger them, they get them going and then all of the old leaders of the civil rights movement that were in that march, they lock arm in arm just the way Martin Luther King did and they recreate that march through the sea of haters, racists. When you didn't respond that way, they didn't know what to do. They just had to make it up, look at the racists. You are not. The louder they get, the quieter you must become.
Number seven, perform regular service for others in the world.
Number eight, refrain from violence of fist, tongue and heart.
Number nine, strive and be good spiritual and bodily health. My wife loves that one.
Number ten, follow the directions of the movement leaders and the captains on the demonstrations. That one doesn't make any sense because there are no leaders at this point.
Listen. I want you to accept the challenge to take the pledge today. You should also review the five principles of nonviolence. Please print them out, live these things, become those people. We already are those people. Cement yourself in those things, those teachings, those ideas and sign the pledge today.
