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Nobel Peace Prize Speech

Martin Luther King   (1964, modified excerpt)

Speech simplified 5

We have developed utvecklat   the greatest system of production tillverkning  that history has ever known.  We have become the richest nation in the world.  Yet, one-fifth 15  of our fellow citizens medborgare  are bound bunden  to a miserable culture of poverty.

In a sense på sätt och vis   being poor in America is more frustrating påfrestande  than being poor in Africa and Asia.  The misery elände   of the poor in Africa and Asia is shared misery.  It is a fact of life for the vast majority flertalet.  They are all poor together.  This is the result of years of exploitation utnyttjande   and underdevelopment underutveckling.
In sad contrast jämförelse, the poor in America know that they live in the richest nation in the world.  The poor of America know that they are perishing håller på att gå under   on a lonely island ö  of poverty fattigdom.  And that they are surrounded omringat   by a vast ocean of material prosperity ett oerhört hav av välstånd.

Glistening towers glänsande torn   of glass and steel are easy to see from their slum dwellings bostäder.  These glass and steel buildings glas-och-stål byggnader   spring up almost overnight växer upp som svampar ur marken.  Jets speed over their ghettoes at 600 miles an hour.  Satellites streak through susar förbi   outer space and reveal avslöjar   details of the moon.

President Johnson, in his State of the Union Message årliga tal till nationen   emphasized betonade   this contradiction motsägelse.  He heralded hyllade   the United States' "highest standard of living levnadsstandard   in the world".  At the same time he deplored beklagade   that the high living standard was accompanied by åtföljs av   "loss of jobs and poverty in the midst of mitt ibland  plenty".

So it is obvious uppenbart  that if man is to redeem his spiritual and moral "lag", he must go all out.  He must go all out to bridge the social and economic gulf bygga broar över glapet  between the "haves" and the "have nots" of the world. Poverty fattigdom  is one of the most urgent brådskande   items on the agenda dagordning   of modern life.

Original 6

Entirely in English:
We have developed the greatest system of production that history has ever known. We have become the richest nation in the world. Yet, at least one-fifth of our fellow citizens — some ten million families are bound to a miserable culture of poverty.

In a sense being poor in America is more frustrating than being poor in Africa and Asia. The misery of the poor in Africa and Asia is shared misery, a fact of life for the vast majority. They are all poor together as a result of years of exploitation and underdevelopment. In sad contrast, the poor in America know that they live in the richest nation in the world.

The poor of America know that even though they are perishing on a lonely island of poverty they are surrounded by a vast ocean of material prosperity. Glistening towers of glass and steel easily seen from their slum dwellings spring up almost overnight. Jet liners speed over their ghettoes at 600 miles an hour. Satellites streak through outer space and reveal details of the moon.

President Johnson, in his State of the Union Message emphasized this contradiction when he heralded the United States' "highest standard of living in the world", and deplored that it was accompanied by "dislocation; loss of jobs, and poverty in the midst of plenty".

So it is obvious that if man is to redeem his spiritual and moral "lag", he must go all out to bridge the social and economic gulf between the "haves" and the "have nots" of the world. Poverty is one of the most urgent items on the agenda of modern life.