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Civil Disobedience Unjust Laws

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Civil disobedience has always been a positive impact on a free society. It is a necessary freedom. We have seen in the past that it has made nothing but great changes. It has given me, and millions of other people countless opportunities. All of the people who have practiced civil disobedience have made revolutionary changes to our government. Without civil disobedience, the United States would not be the great nation that it is today.
Martin Luther King, and Rosa Parks were protesters during the time of racial segregation. They both protested peacefully and they all accepted the consequences of their protests. In Martin Luther King’s “Letter From A Birmingham Jail” he stated “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. I would agree with St. Augustine that "an unjust law is no law at all.” (King) This is the first principle of Civil Disobedience. “You must maintain respect for the rule of law even while disobeying the specific law that you perceive as unjust.” (Grier) Martin also stated that “civil disobedience is a necessary strategy for progress.” (King) He believed that for people to have a virtuous …show more content…

Mr. King himself once stated “love is the only force capable of transforming friend into enemy.” (King) Mr. King has proved this, and we have seen several examples of this throughout history. When the Jim Crow laws were discarded, people learned to love and accept each other no matter their race, or color of skin. We recently saw it in the summer of 2015 when gay marriage became legal. Many people were against it, but we have learned to accept and respect others for who they

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