The civil disobedience is to describe when the public refusal to obey the law or commands of a government that violate one's personal principals without the act of violence, as an effort to induce a change in governmental policy or legislation. The purpose is to force concessions from the government or occupying power. For example, if a group of people refuses to pay taxes as a peaceful way to express disapproval of those laws they disagree with or taxes. Civil disobedience may be appropriate when a democratically elected government uses its power to discriminate against their race, sex, religion or skin color. In such a situation, people would most liking object the Laws and start a protest to show they want to be treated equally. Another point is that civil disobedience is a beneficial behavior in bringing about stability to this society. In fact, Martin Luther King Jr is the one of the most associated with nonviolent civil disobedience he saw color people getting treated unjustly and getting prosecuted because of their skin color. Another example would be the STC protest that occurred this month; six people refused to get off the bus keeping police on the scene for five hours till one in the morning. The six people got arrested but later they were released.
What is civil disobedience? What does it do? Why is it important? Is it a right thing? These few questions might pop into one 's head when they hear civil disobedience. This topic is highly debatable and different people might have different opinions. People who have suffered from some form of injustice may define civil disobedience differently from others. By definition, civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with specific laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. This is important because this is when one fights through a problem without physically hurting someone. Let 's look at some examples of civil disobedience in history, "The Declaration of Independence" by Thomas Jefferson,
Civil disobedience has been discerned in numerous time periods of American history. The definition of disobedience can be interpreted when one or a group prioritizes their conscience of their beliefs over the dictation of laws through rebellion. Notable historical events of slavery and independence has been marked with the disobedience of government laws. Even though the disobedience of societal laws can undermine the corruption of the government, disobedience has undeniably steer societal progress.
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.
In conclusion, civil disobedience is a peaceful, nonviolent, political protest and it has been used by Thomas Jefferson, Thoreau, and Gandhi in their essays “The Declaration of Independence,” “Civil Disobedience,” and “On Nonviolent Resistance.” Civil disobedience is a peaceful, successful way to getting something that you need. For Gandhi, MLK Jr., and Jefferson it worked out well for them and they had much success using civil
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
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 nonviolent resistance to a government’s law in seek of change. Civil disobedience is an effective way to bring about change because it is a harmless way of fighting an unjust law or idea, it can educate people about the cause, and it has been successful many times in history.
The American people have the right to assemble, and the freedom of speech, thanks to the first amendment. Civil disobedience goes along with this. When there is injustice in our society then we have the right to speak out about it. Our nation was founded on a group of people upset at how they were treated. Throwing tea into a harbor sure was not legal. When change is necessary then one needs to fight for it. Willingly breaking a law may seem absurd but when you are fighting for something you believe in then the reward of justice should outweigh the risk of
Civil disobedience is the act of disobeying governmental commands in a peaceful, non-violent, form of protest. Throughout history, peaceful protest have had a positive impact on free society. Peaceful protest have had the biggest impact during the Civil Rights Movement. During this time, many people have led non-violent protest for their rights, including well known African-American Activist, Martin Luther King Jr.. He was most famously known for his speech, I Have a Dream. In the 1950's, the Jim Crow Laws were passed. These laws allowed the dicrimination on people based on their race. Martin Luther King Jr. was a protester who fought against these laws. In his attempt to gain civil rights for blacks, he was arrested. He wrote a letter during his jail period called, the Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Even while King was being treated as a felon, he still continued his protest with the many people who read the letter. His attempt for justice was strongly successful towards the Civil Rights Act in 1964. King was assassinated four years later by James Earl Ray in 1968.
Civil Disobedience is a term that is held in a very stereotypical manner. When I think of the term, I think of a peaceful protest that eventually will solve the everlasting issue of governmental control regarding the people's lives. This term to me insinuates that no matter how terrible the situation at hand can be, individuals in any community like setting can ultimately be the bigger person and do no harm to anyone or anything while demoralizing a law. However in current situations, my assumption of the term has unfortunately taken a turn for the worse. Though this may be the case, I still continue to proclaim that civil disobedience sheds a positive light on communal views and how a society should handle an issue.
What is a civil disobedience? John Rawls defines it in A Theory of Justice (as cited in Civil Disobedience,2008), as: “a public, nonviolent, conscientious
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
As defined, civil disobedience is a nonviolent, public refusal to obey allegedly unjust laws. From behind the bars of the Birmingham, Alabama jail, King defends his timing and need to help the African Americans of Birmingham stand up for their civil right to be equal as all of the other community members, meaning to be equal to the white population. He explains to the clergymen that “We
Civil disobedience is defined as, the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes. Henry David Thoreau gives a complete rundown of civil disobedience in his book, Civil Disobedience. In “Letter From Birmingham City Jail”, Martin Luther King, Jr., he talks about how he was put in jail for peaceful protesting “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps..” (King), which is part of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience can be necessary in certain circumstances. There is not a whole lot of reasons that it should be used today but back in the day it was necessary.
Civil Disobedience is the disagreement to follow the laws and stand against them through peaceful demonstrations. In the early 1900’s women were treated lower than men, they were abused, and were not given the right to vote. Women’s rights to own property, and take part in politics were violated. Nellie McClung, a social activist voiced her opinion and stood up against the government to give women equal rights as men; provide them with the right to vote. Civil disobedience was used by Nellie McClung to attain her goals. Acts of civil disobedience used by Nellie McClung were justified because it is immoral to discriminate people on the basis of gender, it stabilizes the society, and brings the spotlight on the injustices of society.