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Dr. King's Impact On A Free Society

786 Words4 Pages

Dr. King sat languishing in jail. He had broken the law. He sought change through civil disobedience to laws he considered unjust and accepted the consequences of breaking those law. Civil disobedience like Dr. King's positively impacts a free society for several reasons. First, a free society requires just laws. Next, peaceful disobedience allows freedom to be kept in the midst of injustice. Lastly, there are many examples of peaceful resistance which have positively affected our society. First, a free society requires the whole of Law and the justness of individual laws. A free society can be defined with an examination of civil liberty. According to E.C.Wines: The fundamental idea of [Civil liberty] is that of protection in the …show more content…

The system of Law is necessary; however, an individual law may be detrimental to freedom. If a law is unjust, it dismantles human dignity, which in turn impedes freedom (King Jr., par. 13). Thus, it could be said that a free society hangs on the restraint of the system of Law and the justness of each individual law. Next, peaceful disobedience allows freedom to be kept in the midst of injustice. Within the bounds of Law, freedom is fostered; thus, a respect for the Law must also be fostered. When choosing to resist and disobey a law, one must still have a respect for the whole of the Law system. Peaceful disobedience allows for this respect. If this respect for the Law is lacking, then the very freedom demanded is encroached upon. For example, those who were destroying private property during President Trump's inauguration had a general disrespect for the Law and government. In order for the system of Law to be respected, though, only unjust laws may be opposed. A law must be truly unjust when protested to keep the freedom and human dignity that the opposer demands. When injustice is righted, a reverence for the system of Law is promoted. If the law questioned is just, then unnecessary doubt is cast upon the whole of Law that cannot be righted. Every step must be taken to bring attention to the injustice of a law before the law is broken. Broken laws also bring about doubt. When a law is broken the only way to keep the respect of the whole of Law is to respect the consequences that breaking a law

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