Civil disobedience is a moral dilemma that has been a struggle for the entirety of American history, as well as for all of history around the globe. There is a hazy line that exists that can make it hard to discern whether or not it is acceptable to break the rules in order to make a statement against a law or situation that is unjust. Throughout American history, however, there have been multiple instances in which people have broken laws with the best of intentions, and brought about positive change. ` One of the most notable examples of this was the action of Rosa Parks, whose single action sparked monumental resistance and gave even more strength to the Civil Rights Movement. Simply through her choice of seat on the bus, an option that every American takes for …show more content…
Although this may tend to break some minor laws, the benefits greatly outweigh the costs when considering the liberty of the American people. For the majority of the population, it may seem outlandish and extreme to break the law for a certain cause, but when the past is analyzed, it becomes clear that the most effective way to combat a societal problem may be civil disobedience. Although it is mainly utilized in extreme circumstances, it tends to be an effective method to have one’s voice heard. Breaking out of the mold and crossing lines are necessary when civil liberties and other justices are at risk. Therefore, people should be less afraid to step out of their comfort zones and take risks when they are passionate about certain issues that
All throughout history we have witnessed those exceptional beings whom have taken steps to better our society despite risking their lives and putting the lives of their family members at risk. Peaceful resistance and civil disobedience, as weak as it may sound can just be as powerful as the sword itself. Notably, we are fortunate enough to have had so many notable precedents where acts of peaceful resistance have successfully impacted society and made a mark in history. These remarkable figures have shown that acts of peaceful resistance can be just as significant and positively impacts a free society. Speaking in terms of today’s society, opposing laws that one believes to be unjust seems to be more effective because our citizens are aware
Martin Luther King Jr once stated, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” in his Letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963. He was invoking the principle of civil disobedience. He wasn't justifying breaking laws just because, but instead, meant that you break the law and accept your punishment, in hopes that people will come to see that the law is unethical. Civil disobedience plays an important role in how our society has been shaped up until this point.
Civil disobedience is an effective method for fighting injustice by the way it incentivizes conversation and indirectly
Henry David Thoreau, an American philosopher and abolitionist, once stated, “ Disobedience is the true foundation of Liberty. The obedient must be slaves”. Thoreau asserted that disobedience is the reason America claimed it 's Liberty and those who are obedient are the Government 's slaves who don 't realize what 's around them. I acquire that Disobedience is a very important act and helps us progress and achieve goals people said were impossible, but good people didn 't listen In the 1960’s, California witnessed an unexpected Civil Rights movement inspired by Cesar Chavez.
As Oscar Wilde said, “ It is through disobedience that progress has been made-- disobedience and rebellion.” Disobedience during the American Revolution was originally peaceful, but as grievances grew and British rule became harsher, Americans could no longer sit idly by. Radical disobedience to the law was necessary in order to promote change for American society. During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s, a drastic nonviolent movement was necessary to counteract the expectation of violence, reiterating to Americans that peaceful resistance to laws can positively affect a free society. The Civil Rights movement was split by two factions: one was a violent resistance named The Black Panthers and the other was a nonviolent protest led by Martin Luther King Jr.
In a free society, civil disobedience is used to nonviolently protest laws against injustices to create positive change. Change is accomplished with the best intention and through nonviolent
As Martin Luther King Jr. observes in his "Letters From a Birmingham Jail," it is a sad thing when people condemn the effects of civil disobedience without considering the conditions which festered and led to such a nonviolent protest. As Thoreau writes in his "Civil Disobedience," too much respect for the law can lead people to blindly to terrible things. Consider the Germans who, out of fear of the law, committed the atrocities of the Holocaust; or, the participants of the Milgram experiment on obedience to authority figures, in which men were instructed to continuously 'shock' a hidden person, and which, goaded on by the authority figure, continued even until the subject of the punishment (in actuality an actor) 'died.' Those who choose to take action to take down laws that do not uphold the morals of the people as a whole work instead towards a society based on considered values that respect all of its
I consider civil disobedience to be an easily-ignored pillar upon which our democracy was founded. In fact we are only established as a nation now because our founding fathers engaged in civil disobedience themselves. We were in a “social contract” of sorts with Great Britain and when we felt that they had not upheld their part of the contract (they did not allow us to create courts to maintain order, or to create a navy to defend ourselves, or to sustain our economy due to an inability to trade with any other countries), Thomas Jefferson concluded that it was our not only our right, but also our duty to break away. And it was Thomas Jefferson that combined all of the works of the great thinkers before him such as Thomas Hobbes, John Locke
Civil Disobedience In the dictionary civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest, but Thoreau and Martin Luther King have their own beliefs to civil disobedience. In Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” he writes about the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws. Martin Luther King uses civil disobedience as something that effectuates change in the government. Both Thoreau and Martin Luther King has similar yet different perspectives on civil disobedience.
This can either work in the protestors favor or against them if they retaliate. Moreover, when civil disobedience is use it highlights that there is indeed a serious problem that does not have a proper solution. The use of civil disobedience can tarnish the reputation of the nation and spark an attitude of repeated acts of disobedience. Also, the issue in which civil disobedience is considered to be used for has to meet certain criteria for it to be successful. Thus, civil disobedience is always an option to use when combating a moral evil, but may not be the best tactic to use to fight every moral
Today we are all called to enact on our own civil disobedience when we are faced with injustice and unfair laws, we are called to make a stand and a declaration to stand up for what we believe
As kids people get taught what is wrong and right from a parental figure or experiences of life teach us how to react to different situations. When we finally turn adults no one is there to remind us of what’s good and what's bad so we have to use our past experiences and our knowledge to help guide us. Each adult shapes their societies for their generation and many more generations to come. Mohandas k. Gandhi and Susan B Anthony’s speech along with the article Selma to Montgomery March on history show that civil disobedience is a moral responsibility.
People's justification to engage in civil disobedience rests on the unresponsiveness that their engagement to oppose an unjust law receives. People who yearn for a change in a policy might sometimes find themselves in a dead end because their “attempts to have the laws repealed have been ignored and legal protests and demonstrations have had no success” (Rawls 373). What Rawls says is that civil disobedience is a last option to oppose an unjust law; therefore, providing civil disobedients with a justification for their cause. Civil disobedience is the spark of light that people encountered at the dead end and they hope that this spark of light will illuminate to show that an unjust law should not exist at all. Martin Luther King, Jr, in his “Letter from
Civil Disobedience Thousands of dedicated people march the streets of a huge city, chanting repetitively about needing a change. They proudly hold vibrant signs and banners as they fight for what they believe in. Expressions of determination and hope are visibly spread across their faces. These people aren’t using weapons or violence to fight for their ideas; simply, they are using civil disobedience.
Civil Disobedience is known as breaking the law because you don 't agree with a certain law or have a peaceful protest about that law or what you believe in. An example would be when Mahatma Gandhi walked miles to the Indian ocean as the citizens gathered more and more to fight for there Indian Independence. This occasion was called the Salt March. The reason for The Salt March was a March were all the citizens from India walked with gandhi to fight back for their Independence from the British, since it was taken away from the British.