--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We still have a choice today: nonviolence…" description: "\"We still have a choice today: nonviolence coesistence or violent coannihilation.\" — Martin Luther King, Jr" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/martin-luther-king-jr-127_choices_we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence_1532815.png" --- # We still have a choice today: nonviolence coesistence or… ![“We still have a choice today: nonviolence coesistence or violent coannihilation.” quote by Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/martin-luther-king-jr-127_choices_we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence_1532815.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/martin-luther-king-jr-127_choices_we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence_1532815.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/martin-luther-king-jr-127_choices_we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence_1532815.png) > “We still have a choice today: nonviolence coesistence or violent coannihilation.” [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He presents a moral choice between peaceful coexistence and destructive conflict, urging society to choose nonviolence. **In simple terms:** Choose peace over violence. Key Takeaway Commit to nonviolent solutions. Themes peace violence choice morality society Mood inspirational hopeful Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - community building - policy making - education reform Key Concepts nonviolence coexistence conflict resolution Questions to Reflect On - What steps can you take to foster peaceful coexistence? - How do you resist violent impulses in conflict? A Different Perspective Nonviolence may be hard to maintain under pressure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) [Nonviolence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonviolence/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Peacebuilding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peacebuilding/) [Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/today/) [Violent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violent/) ## Related quotes > [We must follow nonviolence and love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-follow-nonviolence-and-love/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [A second basic fact that characterizes nonviolence is that it does not seek to defeat or humiliate the opponent, but to win his friendship…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/a-second-basic-fact-that-characterizes-nonviolence-is-that-it-does/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Nonviolence is an imperative in order to bring about ultimate community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolence-is-an-imperative-in-order-to-bring-about-ultimate/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I'm grateful to God that, through the Negro church, the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-m-grateful-to-god-that-through-the-negro-church-the-dimension-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The end of violence or the aftermath of violence is bitterness. The aftermath of nonviolence is reconciliation and the creation of a beloved community.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-end-of-violence-or-the-aftermath-of-violence-is-bitterness-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Nonviolence means avoiding not only external physical violence but also internal violence of spirit. You not only refuse to shoot a man, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolence-means-avoiding-not-only-external-physical-violence-but/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [ \[Nonviolence\] is directed against forces of evil rather than against persons who happen to be doing the evil. It is evil that the nonviolent… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolence-is-directed-against-forces-of-evil-rather-than-against/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [ \[nonviolence\] seeks to secure moral ends through moral means. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolence-seeks-to-secure-moral-ends-through-moral-means/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political moral questions of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolence-is-the-answer-to-the-crucial-political-moral-questions-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Here is the true meaning and value of compassion and nonviolence, when it helps us to see the enemy's point of view, to hear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/here-is-the-true-meaning-and-value-of-compassion-and-nonviolence-when/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Nonviolence is the most potent technique for oppressed people. Unearned suffering is redemptive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolence-is-the-most-potent-technique-for-oppressed-people/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [If your opponent has a conscience, then follow Gandhi and nonviolence. But if your enemy has no conscience like Hitler, then follow Bonhoeffer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/if-your-opponent-has-a-conscience-then-follow-gandhi-and-nonviolence/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it. It is a sword that heals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/nonviolence-is-a-powerful-and-just-weapon-which-cuts-without-wounding/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I have consistently preached that nonviolence demands that the means we use must be as pure as the ends we seek.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-have-consistently-preached-that-nonviolence-demands-that-the-means/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Nonviolence will empower and equip us to bring generations to the table and fuse our knowledge, gifts, and zeal together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernice-king/nonviolence-will-empower-and-equip-us-to-bring-generations-to-the/) [Bernice King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernice-king/) ## More by Martin Luther King, Jr > [The strong man holds in a living blend strongly marked opposites.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-strong-man-holds-in-a-living-blend-strongly-marked-opposites/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Our nation was born in genocide when it embraced the doctrine that the original American, the Indian, was an inferior race. ... We are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/our-nation-was-born-in-genocide-when-it-embraced-the-doctrine-that/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Every genuine expression of love grows out of a consistent and total surrender to God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/every-genuine-expression-of-love-grows-out-of-a-consistent-and-total/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education. The complete education gives one not only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-must-remember-that-intelligence-is-not-enough-intelligence-plus/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I’ve been to the Mountaintop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-ve-been-to-the-mountaintop/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The supreme task is to organize and unite people so that their anger becomes a transforming force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-supreme-task-is-to-organize-and-unite-people-so-that-their-anger/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The great issue of life is to harness the drum major instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-great-issue-of-life-is-to-harness-the-drum-major-instinct/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Somebody must have sense enough and morality enough to cut off the chain of hate and the chain of evil in the universe. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somebody-must-have-sense-enough-and-morality-enough-to-cut-off-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Darkness is only driven out with light, not more darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/darkness-is-only-driven-out-with-light-not-more-darkness/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [What seems so necessary today may not even be desirable tomorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/what-seems-so-necessary-today-may-not-even-be-desirable-tomorrow/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The Negro cannot win the respect of his oppressor by acquiescing; he merely increases the oppressor's arrogance and contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-negro-cannot-win-the-respect-of-his-oppressor-by-acquiescing-he/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [The majority of the Negroes who took part in the year-long boycott of Montgomery's buses were poor and untutored; but they understood the essence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-majority-of-the-negroes-who-took-part-in-the-year-long-boycott-of/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Whenever you are engaged in work that serves humanity and is for the building of humanity, it has dignity and it has worth,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/whenever-you-are-engaged-in-work-that-serves-humanity-and-is-for-the/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-have-a-dream-that-one-day-even-the-state-of-mississippi-a-desert/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) [Explore all 1,210 Martin Luther King, Jr quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) ## More Choices quotes > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [“Don’t allow anyone to pressure you into taking a job in a field that doesn’t feel right in your gut. You are the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-james/don-t-allow-anyone-to-pressure-you-into-taking-a-job-in-a-field-that/) Alison James > [When you have a choice, choose happy!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pancho-barnes/when-you-have-a-choice-choose-happy/) Pancho Barnes > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Movies have power. Power to impact society and the choices we make. I want to entertain, but I also want to say something to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-prince-bythewood/movies-have-power-power-to-impact-society-and-the-choices-we-make-i/) [Gina Prince-Bythewood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-prince-bythewood/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [Personally, I prefer contemporary films, but the market calls for more period choices, especially since China opened up a cinema market in Hong Kong.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donnie-yen/personally-i-prefer-contemporary-films-but-the-market-calls-for-more/) [Donnie Yen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donnie-yen/) > [Clarissa," he said, "here with the vampire, I see. When things have settled a bit, we really must discuss you choice in pets..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/clarissa-he-said-here-with-the-vampire-i-see-when-things-have-settled/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Change is inevitable but personal growth is a choice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/change-is-inevitable-but-personal-growth-is-a-choice/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [If you choose to draw from the inner well of free will, then you can make choices that are outside your current karmic patterns.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/if-you-choose-to-draw-from-the-inner-well-of-free-will-then-you-can/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [Act always so as to increase the number of choices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinz-von-foerster/act-always-so-as-to-increase-the-number-of-choices/) [Heinz von Foerster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinz-von-foerster/) > [Give me a platter of choice finnan haddie, freshly cooked in its bath of water and milk, add melted butter, a slice or two…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-claiborne/give-me-a-platter-of-choice-finnan-haddie-freshly-cooked-in-its-bath/) [Craig Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-claiborne/) > [I don't know that any woman could ever not think about that at some point - even making the choice not to do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-watts/i-don-t-know-that-any-woman-could-ever-not-think-about-that-at-some/) [Naomi Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-watts/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) [Browse all 11,466 Choices quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/choices/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We still have a choice today: nonviolence coesistence or violent coannihilation.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Martin Luther King, Jr" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence-coesistence-or-violent/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Choices" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence-coesistence-or-violent/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/martin-luther-king-jr-127_choices_we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence_1532815.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/martin-luther-king-jr-127_choices_we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence_1532815.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d9b/martin-luther-king-jr-127_choices_we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence_1532815.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We still have a choice today: nonviolence coesistence or violent coannihilation.” — 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/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We still have a choice today:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence-coesistence-or-violent/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-still-have-a-choice-today-nonviolence-coesistence-or-violent/#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 } } ] } ```