It is very interesting the extent to which MLK’s Letter from a Birmingham Jail still resonates with us today. Indeed, the subject matter of the letter is very timely, since its main thrust is concerned with segregation within Birmingham and the South in general which, arguably doesn’t exist today, or at least not in the same form as in the 1960’s. Given the timely nature of the letter and the discussion it would seem easy for us to pass over it or forget its contents like so many other historical events. Yet, there is a reason why we are attracted to reading it, not just as an annual gesture on MLK day, but more broadly in a serious and interested manner. The fact that we can return to the letter and read it seriously points to the timeless nature of the letter and its contents. This is most poignantly illustrated by the content of the letter. While on face it seems as though MLK’s goal is narrowly tailored to address the reservations and objections of several local pastors and reverends, this cannot possibly the real goal of the letter. Indeed, MLK certainly is not naïve enough to believe that he will erase the entrenched prejudice of an entire region by writing a simple letter. Rather what lies at the heart of MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail is a challenge, both to those specifically named in the letter and to a much broader audience. The best way to flush this point out is by examining MLK’s point about Socrates and instigating tension. We may ask ourselves, why is Socrates so famous? After all, what did he really do? Indeed, Socrates is known not for giving man some kind of absolute truth, or ready knowledge or something of the sort. Socrates did not go around Athens merely informing people of something that he had discovered. Rather, Socrates is famous simply for challenging people and their thinking. In this manner he was the gadfly on the neck of Athens. Asking people about their views and conceptions of all kinds of things like justice, love, etc. At the end of the elenchus, there wasn’t a realization of a correct view, or even a consensus about what was the correct answer to the original question. There was instead no one answer, and in its place perplexity and intellectual curiosity. Herein lies the real genius of Socrates, for his real feat was to stimulate the intellect and challenge the thinking of all those he came across. Herein also lays the heart of MLK’s Letter from Birmingham Jail. Like Socrates before him, MLK is issuing a challenge to contemporary and entrenched view about segregation and racial inequality. MLK asks us to think about justice, law, and its application with regard to race. Ultimately, presenting one view allows one to object to and then forget the point, but challenging our intellectual curiosity and views about the world is the real key for bringing about change in the world.