I refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, civil rights leader, social activist, preacher

Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Stockholm, Sweden (11 Dec 1964)