--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The question is not whether we will be…" description: "\"The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.\" — Martin Luther King Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_extremism_the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-e_148497.jpg" --- # The question is not whether we will be extremists, but… ![“The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.” quote by Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_extremism_the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-e_148497.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_extremism_the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-e_148497.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_extremism_the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-e_148497.jpg) > “The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.” [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Extremism is inevitable; the focus should be on the moral direction of that extremism. **In simple terms:** Choose the right cause for strong conviction. Key Takeaway Align passion with ethical purpose. Themes ethics politics activism identity Mood determined hopeful Type political inspirational When to use this quote - civil rights movements - environmental activism - political campaigns - community organizing Key Concepts extremism morality social change Questions to Reflect On - What values define your activism? - How can passion stay constructive? A Different Perspective Extremist tactics can become harmful. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Extremism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism/) [Extremists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremists/) ## Related quotes > [“The question is not if we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. The nation and the world are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-if-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be... The nation and the world are in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of-2/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“So the question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be. Will we be extremists for hate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/so-the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [A 2014 survey found that 74% of law-enforcement agencies reported antigovernment extremism as one of the top terrorist threats. Just 3% of those agencies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ibrahim-hooper/a-2014-survey-found-that-74-of-law-enforcement-agencies-reported/) [Ibrahim Hooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ibrahim-hooper/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [The extremists took over the primary process.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlen-specter/the-extremists-took-over-the-primary-process/) [Arlen Specter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlen-specter/) > [Only if you empower the liberals, if you empower the moderate socialists, if you empower all factions of society, only then will extremists be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohamed-elbaradei/only-if-you-empower-the-liberals-if-you-empower-the-moderate/) [Mohamed ElBaradei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohamed-elbaradei/) > [Listen to the extremists - changes come from them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-peterson/listen-to-the-extremists-changes-come-from-them/) [Esther Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-peterson/) > [If we are extremists, then we are not ashamed of it, for the conditions that our people suffer are extreme, and extreme illness can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/if-we-are-extremists-then-we-are-not-ashamed-of-it-for-the-conditions/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [We have to understand how the extremists got the way they are. Without that kind of understanding, we'd never really get to know them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/we-have-to-understand-how-the-extremists-got-the-way-they-are-without/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“We live in a time when moderates are treated worse than extremists, being punished as if they were more fanatical than the actual fanatics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-live-in-a-time-when-moderates-are-treated-worse-than-extremists/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Extremists and their supports cause you to align yourself with something you're not in order to get as far away as possible from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sloane-crosley/extremists-and-their-supports-cause-you-to-align-yourself-with/) [Sloane Crosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sloane-crosley/) > [Will we be extremists for hate, or will we be extremists for love? Will we be extremists for the preservation of injustice, or will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/will-we-be-extremists-for-hate-or-will-we-be-extremists-for-love-will/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“A true fanatic, his promptings were reasons enough for his actions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-e-howard/a-true-fanatic-his-promptings-were-reasons-enough-for-his-actions/) [Robert E. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-e-howard/) > [“Kill extremists and more extremists will appear. Kill Extremist Ideology and extremism will disappear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/kill-extremists-and-more-extremists-will-appear-kill-extremist/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) ## More by Martin Luther King Jr > [We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-have-learned-to-fly-the-air-like-birds-and-swim-the-sea-like-fish/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [I had a dreamthat you would just shut the fuck up](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/i-had-a-dreamthat-you-would-just-shut-the-fuck-up/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice; say that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/yes-if-you-want-to-say-that-i-was-a-drum-major-say-that-i-was-a-drum/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-must-forever-conduct-our-struggle-on-the-high-plane-of-dignity-and/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“It may be true that the law cannot make a man love me, but it can stop him from lynching me, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/it-may-be-true-that-the-law-cannot-make-a-man-love-me-but-it-can-stop/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Privileged groups seldom give up their privileges voluntarily.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/privileged-groups-seldom-give-up-their-privileges-voluntarily/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [God has set the type of marriage everywhere throughout the creation. Every creature seeks its perfection in another. The very heavens and earth picture…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/god-has-set-the-type-of-marriage-everywhere-throughout-the-creation/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [A nation that continues to produce soft-minded men purchases its own spiritual death on the installment plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/a-nation-that-continues-to-produce-soft-minded-men-purchases-its-own/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“It is not enough to say, 'We must not wage war.' It is necessary to love peace and sacrifice for it. We must concentrate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/it-is-not-enough-to-say-we-must-not-wage-war-it-is-necessary-to-love/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“When, for decades, you have been able to make a man compromise his manhood by threatening him with a cruel and unjust punishment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/when-for-decades-you-have-been-able-to-make-a-man-compromise-his/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Deep in our history of struggle for freedom, Canada was the North star”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/deep-in-our-history-of-struggle-for-freedom-canada-was-the-north-star/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“And he's allowed me to go to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the promised land! I may not get there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/and-he-s-allowed-me-to-go-to-the-mountain-and-i-ve-looked-over-and-i/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-know-through-painful-experience-that-freedom-is-never-voluntarily/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/returning-hate-for-hate-multiplies-hate-adding-deeper-darkness-to-a/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“When a police dog buried his fangs in the ankle of a small child in Birmingham, he buried his fangs in the ankle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/when-a-police-dog-buried-his-fangs-in-the-ankle-of-a-small-child-in/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) [Explore all 219 Martin Luther King Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) ## More Extremism quotes > [“Kill extremists and more extremists will appear. Kill Extremist Ideology and extremism will disappear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouloud-benzadi/kill-extremists-and-more-extremists-will-appear-kill-extremist/) [Mouloud Benzadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouloud-benzadi/) > [“It is very difficult to convince a person to come out of his conservative shell, unless he feels discomfort there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarif-naaz/it-is-very-difficult-to-convince-a-person-to-come-out-of-his/) [Tarif Naaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarif-naaz/) > [Not only do we still engage in wars far away from our homes, which settle nothing and fuel extremism in the aftermath, we sell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-mckenna/not-only-do-we-still-engage-in-wars-far-away-from-our-homes-which/) [Declan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-mckenna/) > [“Bombs kill terrorists, Books kill terrorism. Missiles kill extremists, Mindfulness kills extremism. Guns kill supremacists, Goodness kills supremacy. Law restrains cruel people, Love reforms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/bombs-kill-terrorists-books-kill-terrorism-missiles-kill-extremists/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [I think the only way one can really determine whether extremism in the defense of liberty is justified, is not to approach it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/i-think-the-only-way-one-can-really-determine-whether-extremism-in/) [Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/) > [Freedom is never granted. It is earned by each generation... in the face of tyranny, cruelty, oppression, extremism, sometimes there is only one choice.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/freedom-is-never-granted-it-is-earned-by-each-generation-in-the-face/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [People are just afraid of things too much … Sure, evil exists, extremism exists. Somebody could commit a hate crime and hurt me. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-ocean/people-are-just-afraid-of-things-too-much-sure-evil-exists-extremism/) [Frank Ocean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-ocean/) > [“Extremism' certainly sounds bad, and governments often try to make it sound worse by using the word 'terrorism' in the same sentence. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-snyder/extremism-certainly-sounds-bad-and-governments-often-try-to-make-it/) [Timothy Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-snyder/) > [We will see that the greatest problem confronting civilization is not merely religious extremism: rather, it is the larger set of cultural and intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-will-see-that-the-greatest-problem-confronting-civilization-is-not/) [Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/) > [“If Jack Dylan was Captain Ahab, Bart Breitner was Moby Dick. Jack felt exhilarated, as Ahab must have felt when he finally encountered the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-m-bello/if-jack-dylan-was-captain-ahab-bart-breitner-was-moby-dick-jack-felt/) [Mark M. Bello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-m-bello/) > [There’s no need to get rid of literally hundreds of thousands of books that are fine simply because you have a problem with an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-earley/there-s-no-need-to-get-rid-of-literally-hundreds-of-thousands-of/) Mark Earley > [I have a particular disdain for Islamic extremism, and of course, in both 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns' that's obvious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-particular-disdain-for-islamic-extremism-and-of-course-in/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [If allowed to continue, this process will turn the United States into a declining, unfair society with an impoverished, angry, uneducated population under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-ferguson/if-allowed-to-continue-this-process-will-turn-the-united-states-into/) [Charles Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-ferguson/) > [One outcome is almost certain. Extremism stands to benefit enormously from an uncalculated adventure in Iraq,.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammad-javad-zarif/one-outcome-is-almost-certain-extremism-stands-to-benefit-enormously/) [Mohammad Javad Zarif](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammad-javad-zarif/) > [“We live in a time when moderates are treated worse than extremists, being punished as if they were more fanatical than the actual fanatics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-live-in-a-time-when-moderates-are-treated-worse-than-extremists/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Browse all 365 Extremism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Luther King Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Extremism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_extremism_the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-e_148497.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_extremism_the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-e_148497.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/566/martin-luther-king-jr-2-1523_extremism_the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-e_148497.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The question is not whether we will be extremists, but what kind of extremists we will be.” — Martin Luther King Jr", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Martin Luther King Jr", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The question is not whether we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/the-question-is-not-whether-we-will-be-extremists-but-what-kind-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```