Fear No Man

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King faced many death threats throughout his life. In the spring of 1968, as he planned a Poor People's March on Washington, D.C., to support economic rights for America's poor, he decided to stop in Memphis, Tennessee, to help striking sanitation workers, who were mostly black and who were paid very little. The night before he was assassinated (April 3, 1968), Dr. King spoke these prophetic words.

Well, I don’t know what will happen now. We’ve got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountaintop…. And I’ve looked over. And I’ve seen the promised land…. I’m not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

King David said: “G-d is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear?” (Psalm 27). Once one truly grasps that G-d is eternal and man is temporal, we must invest our energies in serving above. With such short lives, why should we fear the perception and respect of mere mortals?

Laurence Kohlberg, the founder of the modern field of moral development, taught that stage 6 (the highest stage in moral development) is achieved when one lives by universal principles (as opposed to being motivated by fear, reward, convention, or law). Few achieved Kohlberg’s level 6 aside from the great heroes who rejected societal norms in the pursuit of justice (such as Mohandas Gandhi, MLK, and others).

The other way to avoid fear of man is to come to see the good essence in every human being. Nelson Mandela, who, like Dr. King, won a Nobel Peace Prize for enduring 27 years in prison and then, upon winning the Presidency of South Africa, embarked on a campaign of reconciliation instead of vengeance, achieved this spiritual height during one of the most challenging periods of his life.

Because of the courage of the ordinary men and women of my country, I always knew that deep down in every human heart, there is mercy and generosity. No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite. Even in the grimmest times in prison, when my comrades and I were pushed to our limits, I would see a glimmer of humanity in one of the guards, perhaps just for a second, but it was enough to reassure me and keep me going. Man’s goodness is a flame that can be hidden but never extinguished.

Interestingly, military leadership does not equate with moral courage. Dwight D. Eisenhower was the Allied Supreme Commander in Europe during World War 2, the nation's only 5-star general, and later the first commander of NATO. In 1952, with the Korean War still raging, he was a shoo-in for President, and could have been the nominee for either party. He chose to run as a Republican, and in doing so faced a dilemma. One of his most popular colleagues was Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy, who was already noted for his wild, unsubstantiated charges of Communists throughout the government and other leading institutions. During the campaign, McCarthy launched an attack on George C. Marshall, calling him "a man steeped in falsehood."

Eisenhower knew better. George C. Marshall had been on the Army General Staff during World War 1, and during World War 2 he had served as Chief of Staff, working with Eisenhower on a daily basis. After the war, he had served as Secretary of State during the Truman administration, and was instrumental in creating the "Marshall Plan," an economic assistance program that helped Western Europe emerge economically from the war's destruction.

During the campaign, when Eisenhower went to McCarthy's home state of Wisconsin, he was prepared to defend his old Army friend and denounce the slanderous tactics of Senator McCarthy. However, when he actually gave the speech, he refrained from defending Marshall or denouncing McCarthy. In doing so, he showed that he feared the scurrilous Senator McCarthy, and valued votes over the reputation of an honorable colleague. He later regretted this decision, but the damage had been done. His fear of the political consequences of criticizing a political ally, even one as despicable as McCarthy, overrode any consideration for moral courage.

As for Marshall, in 1953 he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts to rebuild Europe.

Fear is a natural emotion in the face of opposition and challenge. But we have to do our best not to fear humans when making value choices. We must live by principle even when presented with threats. This is no easy task but no one ever said living committed to truth and authenticity was easy.