Letter -- Asbet Issakhanian

At a time when it seems that there is so much hate and prejudice in

the city of Glendale, and in honor of one of the greatest men who ever

lived, I would like to share some of his thoughts.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate

cannot drive out hate; only love can do that. Hate multiplies hate,

violence multiplies violence, and toughness multiplies toughness in a

descending spiral of destruction ... The chain reaction of evil-hate

begetting hate, wars producing more wars, must be broken, or we shall be

plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.”

-- Martin Luther King Jr., “Strength To Love,” 1963.

“Like an unchecked cancer, hate corrodes the personality and eats away

its vital unity. Hate destroys a man’s sense of values and his

objectivity. It causes him to describe the beautiful as ugly and the ugly

as beautiful, and to confuse the true with the false and the false with

the true.”

--- Martin Luther King Jr., “Strength To Love,” 1963.

“Let us all hope that the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon

pass away and the deep fog of misunderstanding will be lifted from our

fear-drenched communities, and in some not-too-distant tomorrow, the

radiant stars of love and brotherhood will shine over our great nation

with all their scintillating beauty.”

-- Martin Luther King Jr. “Letter From Birmingham Jail,” April 16,

1963.

ASBET A. ISSAKHANIAN

Glendale