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Disobedience In Antigone: Unjust Law, And Civil Rights

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Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” If Martin Luther King Jr. and countless others had not protested during the Civil Right movement there would still be segregation and inequality. Without a doubt, there are times when it is justifiable to break a law in a democratic society. If rights are being denied, if the majority feel it is an unjust law, or even if the minorities (being that they are experts on the subject) feel it is wrong as well. Despite the social contract, it’s a citizen’s responsibility to go against the government at times. Citizens have that right to protest against the government because there are basic rights that the government must provide for their citizens. The right to practice religion freely is one that most Americans might be familiar with. Oftentimes it is required to take part in one faith throughout a country. In the case of Antigone, Polynices had taken an army against Thebes, and in the eyes of King Creon he was a traitor. For that, he was not to be buried and given his last rites. The Ancient Greeks strongly believed in the power of the gods, and this was violating the law of the higher …show more content…

It comes down to ethics, and what will truly benefit the people while providing basic human rights. Although, especially in a democratic society, if it is the people being governed and feel the need to push for something then it is completely acceptable to try to get it accomplished, even if it is completely wrong. Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty.” A common, albeit cliché, example of civil disobedience having been necessary would be the American Revolution. Although rebellion to that extent is not usually necessary, if they had not rebelled they would not have been able to create that new government that provides its’ citizens with the rights they

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Martin Luther King Jr once stated, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” in his Letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963. He was invoking the principle of civil disobedience. He wasn't justifying breaking laws just because, but instead, meant that you break the law and accept your punishment, in hopes that people will come to see that the law is unethical. Civil disobedience plays an important role in how our society has been shaped up until this point.

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51 It’s a cold December day in 1773 as the Sons of Liberty prepare make history. The Sons of Liberty march up the docks of Boston to make the ultimate act of defiance against the newly established laws and taxes implemented by the tyrannous British. The British sought to tighten their tyrannical control on the colonies with unfair laws and taxes, however the Sons of Liberty weren't so willing to be forced to follow these limitations. In revenge, they dumped 92,000 pounds of British tea into the ocean.

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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

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However, it could also be argued that civil disobedience is beneficial to ridding a society of unjust law. If there is law, you have a duty as a citizen to obey the law or you may try to convince those in charge to change them. If using civil disobedience is a method of convincing others to change unjust law, civil disobedience must be unjust. If it is true that being a citizen of a society binds you to obeying the laws, and civil disobedience is an act which breaks the law, then it is not just for

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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.

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