Malcolm X Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Malcolm X - Essay Example A gadfly is someone who is vehemently opposed to some policy of the existing authority and is able to evoke mass support for the same. Socrates was a gadfly because he encouraged those around him to question existing beliefs on morality and ethics. â€Å"He would ask people to explain a concept, point out flaws that would impel them to modify their answer, and continue like this until the person came up with a solid explanation or admit that they didn’t really understand the concept. (Cline) Martin Luther King was inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s sayings and was led to believe that non-violence could be used by blacks to obtain civil rights in America. The one statement by Gandhi which deeply affected him was â€Å"Through our pain we will make them see their injustice† Malcolm Xs famous statement was :â€Å"And when you see that you have problems, all you have to do is examine the historic method used all over the world by others who had problems similar to yours.†(Message to the Grassroots, 1963) What he was hinting at was the use of violence. He was inclined to believe that if America was justified in employing the blacks to defend herself abroad, then the Blacks in America likewise had the right to defend themselves against atrocities committed against themselves by the whites. These comments were made at a time when the Blacks in America were facing widespread discrimination and there were also instances of blacks being ruthlessly murdered by whites. In short, he professed the use of violence against people who themselves indulged in violence. ‘Creative tension’ is a rather unusual term because it makes use of words that are at odds with each other. Creativity generally blossoms when the person in question has a calm dispos ition, whilst ‘tension’ is generally associated with individuals who are agitated and vexed. So when you combine the two, it would pertain to individuals being tensed and creative at the same time. In the context of this literature, the leaders, namely, Socrates and Martin Luther King and MalcolmX are addressing the concerns of individuals who are in a displeasure able situation and seek a solution to end their misery. By their speeches the leaders are encouraging their followers to talk and find solutions to their problems. In effect they are being asked to become creative problem solvers. So, whilst they were very much in an agitated state of being, and unsure as to what to do next, the leaders by their speeches are adding to the tension and the people, in turn, are becoming creative in their actions. â€Å"Going against the grain of traditional education, Socrates insisted that personal investigation and reasoned argument, rather than ancestral custom, or appeal to the authority of Homer, Hesiod and other respected poets, was the only proper basis for answering these questions†. (Cooper, 1998) He continually stressed on analyzing any problem logically and abstaining from blindly following that which had been preached before. During his times, people who questioned beliefs were treated with imprudence especially when sentiments of a certain section of society were hurt, with chances of violent action being taken against the former them being quite high. Socrates questioned the use of violence and in this way he was forming creative tension in the minds of the people, for the people of his age were blindly following what had been preached before. He was forcing people to rethink on issues of morality which included pondering on what was right and wrong. Martin Luther King used to travel around the country making speeches and exhorted people to be part of the civil rights movement. He advocated the use of new means to achieve freedom. The B lacks of his times were a confused lot what with widespread discriminative practices against their community and no proper ways to give voice to their disgruntlement. It was during such times that King formed creative tension by giving some kind of direction to the civil rights