The Arc of History

I met up with my friend, Kiel, late one night at Perkins off Highway 169. He was reading in a booth near the back. As I approached, Kiel stood and we embraced. I hadn't seen him in nearly three months.

During our rambling conversation that lasted to nearly two in the morning, Kiel told me something from the book he had been reading before my arrival, a chronicle of America during the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

"The thing about proponents of nonviolence," Kiel said, "like King, like Gandhi, is that they believe nonviolence requires a kind of religious faith. They would consider it irresponsible to let someone participate in a demonstration or something if that person didn't believe in a higher power, something that guarantees human beings are intrinsically good and this good can be awakened within them. In fact, King says that the bare minimum is a belief that the arc of history, though long, bends toward justice." Kiel stirred his coffee and smiled. "I can do that," he said. "I can believe that. I want to."