colinresponse:

When Martin says “I wed non-violence and I am wed to love and compassion,” we know that he is saying something that is foolish in the eyes of the world, that is unwise in the eyes of any mainstream society…but he is willing to live and die for that kind of holy folly. This is a wisdom linked to something grander than just what the world has to offer. Against its status, its wealth, its power, its preoccupations with position, and saying, “No, there’s something deeper here.There is a life of integrity, there is a life of magnanimity, there is a life of love and service that I’m willing to pursue, always in an imperfect manner, but I am going to pursue it nonetheless.” That is my conception of a love of wisdom with a Christian tip and a blues infliction.

-Cornel West