Editor:

I am a 60-year-old, retired medical doctor and a divinity student at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. I am researching a paper on Martin Luther King Jr.’s anti-Vietnam War ministry. In so doing, I came across Jay Richards’ Jan. 17 column, “Remember Martin Luther King Jr.”

One of the things I’ve found in reading about King is that emotional presentation often replaces accuracy-i.e., the truth.

For example, Richards writes that, “King?spoke with vigor against (the Vietnam War’s) inception and continuation.”

Well, I suppose you could argue that King did speak against the war’s inception-years after its inception. Using hindsight, anyone can speak against an ill-conceived war after its inception.

The point is that, while he was a pacifist, King did not publicly speak out against the war in Vietnam until March 1965, and it was not a feature of his ministry until April 1967.

You see, Richards, James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces journalism is not limited to Oprah.

While what you’ve said may “resonate,” as Oprah would say, it only sounds good. It just isn’t true.

King’s life was bigger than life without you painting him as bigger than life. I’ve put your integrity on the line here, Richards; rather, you put your integrity on the line, and so did The Daily Utah Chronicle if it published your column.

Alan PalmerDayton, Ohio