Civil Disobedience Pros And Cons

Civil Disobedience is as controversial and varied as the other major governmental arguments of the day such as gay rights, gun control, and the like. It has the potential of being an instrument of both god and evil, and defining the line that separates the two can be difficult. Civil disobedience has it's roots away back in Greece. According to science.jrank.org, "The idea that there is a law that transcends the laws of the state is found in Socrates (c. 470–399 B.C.E.)" but there were others who had this philosophy. Mohandas Gandhi, arguably the most famous implementer of civil disobedience, and possibly the most successful deeply believed similarly. His philosophy was built around non-violence, believing that civil disobedience, or, as the

Civil disobedience is one of our rights as citizens of the United States of America. When a law is passed that we, as citizens, believe goes against our Constitutional freedoms, we have the right, if not the obligation to protest it. Asia-Pacific Economics Blog states many benefits of peaceful protest. Civil disobedience is a legal tool we have the right to exercise to gain the attention of the government, stating that, as a group, the law that has been passed has not been found to be in our best interest. Civil disobedience his the benefits of showing a point publicly, showing the government how many are supporting the cause. Strength comes in numbers, and when the government sees that the group is powerful enough to do damage, yet chooses not to, the pressure is added to negotiate change. Besides this, civil disobedience tends to attract news coverage, spreading the word, and demonstrating the peaceful intentions of the group. Most of all, peaceful protest has the power to bring about

It has been used to successfully bring about change multiple times around the globe. However, the potential for violence and misinterpretation is high. From this, I draw that civil disobedience is a valuable resource that should be used with care, respectfully, with careful thought and planning, and only after the basic principles of the movement are carefully laid out and the participants are educated on the chosen approach. Lastly, any movement that does not benefit the people as a whole, though they employ civil disobedience, is a threat to the society and should respectfully be treated as