There is one undeniable fact about life: Human Rights are a necessity. It is basic and bare minimum, yet we have struggled to respect those rights in the History of America and the history of the world as a whole. We have seen many activists focus on this topic, many of whom have made life easier for those whose differences seem to refuse them refuge, two of whom are Martin Luther King Jr., and Elie Wiesel. King and Wiesel were legendary activists whose ability to share stories of trauma and pain led to social change. King and Wiesel use literary devices such as repetition and metaphors to convey a message of equality and peace throughout their speeches.
Several philosophers have wrestled with ideas to decide under what conditions that humans are morally permitted to disobey the law. Civil disobedience is a concept that both Socrates and Martin Luther King Jr. strongly believed in, but they did not have the same viewpoints on it. Socrates dismissed any form of civil disobedience that got a person into conflict with the State, and Martin Luther King concluded that there were times when a man needed to partake in a protest that was non violent and take disobedient acts in in order to defend his freedom. Socrates believed that if a person lives in a government where he was given the chance to argue his case, he should not practice civil disobedience. Socrates thought that if a person was given
Martin Luther King, Jr. was arrested for breaking an unjust law against political demonstrations and his constitutional right to contact a lawyer was denied. After jail, Dr. King wrote a speech to argue that he and his fellow demonstrations have a duty to fight for justice. In the letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King states that we are responsible for justice in the world. Justice isn’t about obeying the laws but having unjust laws will only harm and result in conflicts. Martin uses persuasive elements such as connotations that puts an appropriate tone to his speech and vivid language to show that he is speaking directly to those who accused him of being guilty.
Amity Lodevico ENG 1A Professor Clark 10 September, 2016 A strong country can only prevail when individuals have attained the ideals of justice and equality. However, throughout American history people have had to fight for their rights due to the injustices caused by the government. In “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. promotes the importance of justice and equality through responding to a letter from clergymen who wanted him to stop protesting against racial inequality. King’s letter builds upon his influences such as Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” and Thomas Jefferson’s “The Declaration of Independence,” through expressing discontentment with injustice and proclaiming away to combat it. The texts can also
Both outstanding men extended influence over a great many people,
This nation has long been home to an idealistic hope that people strive to even have the chance at pursuing: the American Dream. However, this opportunity seemed unrealistic for an entire race as slavery and discrimination degraded African-Americans to a class seen as inferior to the rest of society. This idea existed in the mid-1800s and persisted throughout the Civil Rights Movement of the mid-1900s, both of which were met by the tactics of civil disobedience as seen through the work of Transcendentalist writer Henry David Thoreau and political activist Martin Luther King , Jr. Both similarities and differences between the two men become apparent in reading Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government” and King’s “Letters From Birmingham Jail.”
Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s. A Brief History with Documents written by David Howard-Pitney is a great history book that gives us an entry into two important American thinkers and a tumultuous part of American history. This 207-pages book was published by Bedford/St. Martin’s in Boston, New York on February 20, 2004. David Howard-Pitney worked at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Papers Project at Stanford University in 1986, and that made him a specialist on American civil religion and African-American leaders ' thought and rhetoric (208). Another publication of Howard-Pitney is The African-American Jeremiad: Appeals for Justice in America.
In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” Martin Luther King Jr. uses rhetoric to provide firsthand accounts of the suffering blacks have endured. He gives evidence to why he is right for breaking laws while leading civil disobedience movements. He creates his image among his audience as a figure they feel compassion towards. His letter successfully persuades the King establishes an emotional attachment between him and the reader, beginning with his belief that all Americans are connected to one another. What happens to one American happens to all Americans; we are bound to each other, we are united with one another, we are tied together by a “network of mutuality” (King 1).
The most important decision of a leader is the style of leading they decide to use when inspiring others, or providing a vision for the future. By looking at the past, it is proven that some leadership styles are guaranteed to be more effective than others. The leadership style of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X during the Civil Rights provides significant evidence of how different styles of leading can turn out to be a major success or defeat. Malcolm X’s leadership style included using violence to protest against violence and unequal rights, as well as supporting the segregation of African Americans and the whites. Martin Luther King’s style included nonviolent marches and protests against violence, and peacefully fighting for integrating the blacks and whites.
Seeking out simplicity in your lifetime can be a very time consuming goal and is often frowned upon from your peers. If someone doesn't fit into societies’ social expectations they are looked upon as outcasts. Outcasts face criticism from numerous peers, giving them motivation to keep creating their own path to obtain their individual goals in life. Martin Luther King Jr., and Chris Mccandless are two of the largest social and environmental warriors known today. Creating their own pathway of obtaining their goal in some similar ways.
Political activists and philosophers alike have a challenging task of determining the conditions under which citizens are morally entitled to go against the law. Socrates and Martin Luther King, Jr. had different opinions on the obligation of the citizens in a society to obey the law. Although they were willing to accept the legal punishment, King believed that there are clear and definable circumstances where it would be appropriate, and sometimes mandatory, to purposely disobey unjust laws. Socrates did not. Socrates obeyed what he considered to be an unjust verdict because he believed that it was his obligation, as a citizen of Athens, to persuade or obey its Laws, no matter how dire the consequences.
Martin Luther King Jr said,“We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools”. In the late 1960s, racial tension was high, African Americans were not given the right to vote, the right to a fair education, and the right to a fair judgement. This then led to the separation of schools and the destruction of a normal livelihood. Dr.King and Malcolm X, two men in the face of oppression rose up to challenge the racial barrier, thus changing the world forever. Although Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X seem to have mutual respect and an equal understanding of the inequality, their philosophies were quite different from each other.
Malala and Martin Luther King Jr. both are famous for the way they use their words. Their goals are to spread peace and equality throughout the world. They both had some obstacles, for Malala, she got shot in the face 3 times. For Martin Luther King Jr., he was arrested, segregated, and later in life he was assassinated. “There has always been this fear that if you give girls education, then girls will get out of control, You have the right to education, and you have the right to discover more in life.”
Martin Luther King Jr. was one of the most influential leaders of his time and played a crucial role in the African-American Civil Rights movement. Luther was a charismatic leader who took a firm stand against the oppressive and racist regime of the United States (US), devoting much of his life towards uniting the segregated African-American community of the US. His efforts to consolidate and harmonise the US into one country for all is reflected in many of his writings and speeches spanning his career. As a leader of his people, King took the stand to take radical measures to overcome the false promises of the sovereign government that had been addressing the issues of racial segregation through unimplemented transparent laws that did nothing to change the grim realities of the society. Hence, King’s works always had the recurring theme of the unity and strength of combined willpower.
The African Nelson Mandela and the American Martin Luther King are important and influential heroes who made the world better somehow, in terms to fight for black people rights in their country. According to (www.dictionary.com), a hero is defined as “ the man of distinguished courage or ability, admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities”. Certainly, both heroes had the courage to sacrifice for black people with extreme power to resist the racism in the past using various ways. It is clear that the two heroes met their ambitions, but Mandela made bigger change worldwide and he was inspirational leader with severe willingness to fight for justice. Nelson Mandela and Martin King lived many similar situations which led to their great effort.
