Why Is Civil Disobedience Still Relevant Today

The formal definition of civil disobedience is any act or process of public defiance of a law or policy enforced by established governmental authorities. The term disobedient generally means to defy, or for the "normal" to be disobeyed. The term "normal" from one person to the next may be different. I believe that Freedom of Speech intervenes to a point. When a law is set, it is understandable that that law must be obeyed.

Peaceful Disobedience Peaceful protest is something our founding fathers felt very strong about. There is a reason they included in the first amendment of our bill of rights. The key word, however, is peaceful. Recently in America, there have been several “protests,” mostly against the new president of the United States. These are not protests however, they are riots.

“That government is best which governs least” (Thoreau). Civil disobedience continues to be a controversial issue in America. Understanding the two viewpoints on the issue can give better insight into whether the act of breaking the law, when nonviolent, is correct or not. There are many examples of acts of civil disobedience throughout history that we can analyze to conclude whether or not their effects positively or negatively impact a free society.

Peaceful or violent resistance? If one day you found a discriminating law you have to do something to change. To do that you have different types the violent and the nonviolent one. One type of peaceful resistance is the civil disobedience.

“One Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all” powerfully concludes the American pledge, an oath declaring to the globe our unique commitment to uphold these righteous ideals. Unfortunately, as a result of human error, even a government founded upon these righteous principles may waver from the administration of justice and require redirection by its citizens. Through amendment of the Constitution, the founders allowed for this avenue of change, but unfortunately, historical events reveal this process often remains inaccessible. Consequently, individuals express their legislative discontent through two methods: Violent Revolution or Civil Disobedience. To avoid both regression into barbaric anarchy and maintain the principles

Throughout the history of society, civil disobedience has become a key tool in combating laws seen as unjust. It was used thoroughly in the civil rights movement and was integral to the advancement of equality. The reason that civil disobedience plays such an important role in the advancement of rights is because of how effective it has been. The best way to make people aware of and relate to a movement is to make it well known. Events such as Bloody Sunday and the Montgomery Bus Boycott helped the civil rights movement gain much of the momentum that guaranteed its success.

The United States of America would be a different place without civil disobedience. Breaking the rules is usually considered wrong; however, sometimes there are exemptions to these rules, to fight for a good cause. Much of history was made through civil disobedience. Without it, we would still have slavery. We would have an overpowering government.

I believe peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society. As citizens of the United States, we are born with certain natural rights. According to John Locke, an eighteenth century philosopher, natural rights are not bestowed by the government, but inherited by birth by virtue of the fact that we are human beings. These natural rights include life, liberty, and property. He theorized that the purpose of government was to protect those rights; and if it did not, it would lose its legitimacy and need not be obeyed.

Civil disobedience is a way for people to express themselves on issues that are problematic to society in a peaceful matter. In developed countries like the United States, people have the freedom and a right to be civil disobedience and do so for a better change. Some may see it as a disrespectful way to disrupt the peace and in many communities. It is a dispute between it being right or wrong. Some feel like the power is being taken away from them and they need to do something about it but not cause a scene or disrupt anyone in any way, I believe people have the right to do this because I don't see the problem in someone speaking up something wrong.

When people do not agree with the law, the first instinct is to show their opinion and disapproval of the law. A lot of people will protest, sign petitions, or even peacefully resist the law. In today's society we see this everyday throughout all of the country. For example right now in the united states there is a humongous issue with authority and citizens. This matter is particularly African Americans feeling they do not get the right amount of justice from law enforcement officers.

Civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. Civil disobedience has been perform as an act of peaceful protest for plenty of years. I believe civil disobedience does indeed work. Civil disobedience opens the eyes of the civilians. It makes them aware of the treatment and their privileges as a citizen of the United States of America.

Civil disobedience is a refusal to obey a law or non-payment of taxes. Many of them like Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Gandhi has disobey the laws and changed the world. Although some may argue that civil disobedience cannot be justified as a democracy, I assert that it can be justified as a democracy because unjust laws are made by a democratic legislatures and also can be changed by a democratic legislatures. Civil disobedience in a democracy is justified as morally. It is refusal to obey government law and act as non-violent.

Civil Disobedience and It’s Impact Many Americans believe Civil Disobedience negatively impacts a free society because of the destruction the rebellious Americans can cause. Most of humanity believes “the law is something that can protect us” when, in the past, following the law has killed many innocent people and made governments go to war (Zinn). Civil Disobedience is a positive way for people to get heard and make a change. Those that went against the government in the past made an enormous impact on society today.

I believe that civil disobedience is good for the advancement of the American society. This a simple fact which has been proven many times by history all around the world. A few examples of important historical participants and leaders in civil disobedience include Mohandas Gandhi, Susan B. Anthony, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks and much more. Mohandas Gandhi was an Indian man who spent his life protesting the unjust anti-Indian law in Britan using, you guessed it, civil disobedience. Most importantly on March 30, 1930, when he lead a defiance march to the sea.

Civil Disobedience Does peaceful resistance to laws positively or negatively impact a free society? Many people in today’s world question this; however, the United States wouldn’t be what it is now if people didn’t honorably protest. Respectable rallying has a positive effect on a free society because without it, there wouldn’t be anything free about society. It would be unheard of to even write an essay on such a controversial topic without someone first fighting for the right to speak one’s mind. Peaceful resistance has many accounts of having a positive effect on society.