beyond vietnam --> beyond covid-19

have been reading a lot of dr. martin luther king jr.'s speeches for various classes, assignments, and just for personal comfort/call to activation the past few weeks. this passage really stood out as timeless & timely:

(from 1967 speech given from the pulpit of manhattan riverside church in nyc) :

"a true revolution of values will soon look uneasily on the glaring contrast of poverty and wealth ... if we do not act we shall surely be dragged down the long and dark and shameful corridors of time reserved for those who possess power without compassion, might without morality, and strength without sight ... now let us begin. now let us rededicate ourselves to the long and bitter, but beautiful, struggle for a new world ... shall we say the odds are too great? shall we tell ourselves the struggle is too hard? ... or will there be another message, of longing, of hope, of solidarity with our own yearnings, of commitment to the cause, whatever the cost? the choice is ours, and though we might prefer it otherwise, we must choose in this crucial moment of human history."