Analysis Of Martin Luther King's Beyond Vietnam: A Time To Break Silence

War is not a subject one should speak lightly of. It is an important but controversial issue in America, and it has been for years, as it affects the lives of every person living in the country. One person in particular stands against the war he lives to experience the effects of: the Vietnam War. In his speech, “Beyond Vietnam - A Time to Break Silence,” Martin Luther King Jr. presents a persuasive argument against America’s involvement in the Vietnam War through his word choice and anecdotal evidence. King provides descriptions of America’s condition during the war in Vietnam and before it. Before America’s involvement, there was a “real promise of hope for the poor - both black and white - through the poverty program.” This detail is important
because it illustrates how far America had come and how hard it had worked to protect all of its people. To emphasize the good state in which the country was, King includes a description of how America’s involvement in the Vietnam War affects that hard work. He uses terms such as “broken and eviscerated” to describe the program that is also treated like “some idle political plaything of a society gone mad on war.” This program was meant to help the poor, regardless of race; many can sympathize with the feeling of desperately needing money. To cast such a positive light on this program only to follow by describing the negative effects the Vietnam War had on it causes the reader to feel sorry for those in need of the program, and therefore turn against what causes the opportunity to disappear: America’s involvement in the Vietnam War. However, word choice alone does not win over the readers or listeners of this speech. King also tugs at the emotions of those listening to his speech through stories of hardship and pain. He brings up the fact that the war is tearing families apart and that it is sending family members “to fight and to die in extraordinarily high proportions relative to the rest of the population.” Mentioning the loss of family is important, as almost every person alive would dread losing a loved one. Appealing to the reader’s or listener’s love for family and friends leads him or her to oppose America’s involvement in the war; without the war, family members stay alive. Not only does King touch upon the death of family, but he also calls attention to the death of America. He predicts the future of the country, explaining that if an autopsy were to be performed on America’s corpse, part of the cause of death would be Vietnam. He compares the war to the murderer of an entire nation, explaining how it “destroys the deepest hopes of men the world over.” Such a comparison leaves the listener no choice but to stand against America’s involvement in the war, as standing with a murderer is not something many would prefer to do. Patriotism also comes into play when opposing the war because the death of one nation surely is not worth fighting a war that will only cost more lives of family members. While family and nationalism have been touched upon, race also plays an important role in this speech.
At this point, black people face more hardships than most, even without the war interfering. King calls attention to the irony of sending black young men “who had been crippled by our society” to fight to the death for a nation that could not even seat black and white boys together in the same school. The injustice of the situation is brought to light as King presents the hardships black boys go through. Not only are they forced to deal with inequality in America, but they are also required to fight in a foreign country for a nation that does not fight for their rights. Upon seeing the violence with which young black men are forced to deal on top of the preexisting racial inequality, the listener concludes that the war is crueler and even more unjust that the issues with which the country is already faced. Martin Luther King Jr. leaves a solid impression on the listener. He provides all the support he need for his argument through his dramatic word choice and emotionally appealing evidence. The listener is led to acknowledge that America’s involvement is fair to no one; it is not fair to those living in America or to the nation itself. Therefore, it is best to join in King’s opposition to involvement in the Vietnam
War.