The Washington Monthly

January 17, 2005

MLK JR....Jeralyn Merritt suggests that everyone take a few minutes today to reacquaint themselves with the words of Martin Luther King, Jr. She says this one is her favorite: "An eye for an eye leaves everybody blind."

Of course, as King well knew but so many fans of Old Testament justice don't — or simply refuse to accept — the Biblical admonition of "eye for eye, tooth for tooth" was never intended as an endorsement of revenge. Rather, it was intended as a limit on revenge: instead of endless cycles of vengeance, punishment was henceforth required to be proportional. If someone knocks out a tooth, you're not allowed to commit murder in return.

King's best known legacy took this a step further, of course, as embodied in the quote Jeralyn spotlighted today. It's a good choice.

—Kevin Drum 12:20 PM Permalink | Trackbacks

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