Civil Disobedience is…

My fellow riskologists,

Today in the U.S. we celebrate a man who championed freedom and justice.

On the surface, this seems strange. Why do freedom and justice need champions? Isn’t this something we all believe in?  Why does anyone need to stand up for something so uncontroversial?

The answer is that most of us do believe in freedom, but a few of us don’t. Most of us believe in justice, but a few of us pervert its meaning. And while most of us believe in these things, far fewer of us are willing to truly champion them. Far fewer of us are willing to stand up for what is right no matter the consequence, no matter the inconvenience to our lives.

Martin Luther King, Jr. represents a man so faithful to his morals and so faithful to his belief in freedom and justice for all of mankind, that he fought and ultimately gave his life for them. And he did so without ever raising a fist, a sword, a gun.

In his time, Dr. King had a lot to say about civil and peaceful disobedience. He taught us to fight for what is right not with our guns, but with the steel of our minds and the strength of our hearts.

He taught us that when you believe in freedom and justice, you answer to a higher authority than any law a man or woman can make.

Most of all, he taught us that when you stand for the truth, even though you may feel small and insignificant, you do not stand alone.

These are virtues I want to embody here at Riskology.co. And while I try, I don’t always succeed, and I certainly don’t convey them with the same gravitas as the man I look to for inspiration about them.

So today, I’d like to share this short video montage I created of a few of Dr. King’s greatest speeches about civil disobedience and what it truly means to take a risk.

I hope you find it a fitting tribute. Even more, I hope you find it a fitting call to action.

The truth is, every generation must face injustice, and every generation must withstand a threat to its liberty.

When you’re challenged by the truth, and that truth does not match the world you see around you, what will you do?