Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The ethics of civil disobedience
The ethics of civil disobedience
Effectiveness of nonviolence
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
In The Chosen by Chaim Potok large amounts of trust are displayed by Mr. Malter, Billy, and Reb Saunders. Mr. Malter gives his son, Reuven, many freedoms a parent otherwise would not. For instance he allowed his son to befriend a boy from a completely different section of their religion. Not only does he allow the friendship, but he strongly encouraged it. Billy, a young boy, who unluckily turned blind due to an accident places trust in everyone around him.
During this day I believe that I would take up Martin Luther King's view on civil disobedience as my own because I see just how he said that not all laws that are legal are just. I believe that not all that is made law is just for all people but only make it just for the majority. King view on civil disobedience is more suitable for this day and age that why people would try to follow his example if they would have to take up civil disobedience.
When it comes to America's History you can clearly see how peaceful protest has brought this world to what it is today. If it wasn't for people such as Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks who voiced their opinions in a nonviolent manner, it's possible that our world would not have reached this equivalent state. While it is true that peaceful resistance has positively affected our society for centuries, these brave people have faced the consequences. For example, King was arrested after one of his nonviolent protests and sent to Birmingham Jail. While there he wrote the now famous piece "A Letter From Birmingham Jail".
Martin Luther King used civil disobedience to fight the unjust laws that were thrust upon his people. He would organize marches without permits, sit ins at white only establishments, and engage in activities that were strictly segregated. He believed that it was necessary and patriotic to go against unjust laws. They degraded humans. And he felt the actions he took against those unjust laws were just because they went against the human race and his and others morals.
In his famous "Letter from Birmingham Jail," Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. effectively states that social movements need to trigger conflict to advance and bring about societal change. Dr. King highlights the need for nonviolent direct action to generate moral awakening and a sense of urgency in the general population. In his letter, he makes the case that tension, when used constructively, can become a powerful tool for addressing injustices and that, on the other hand, passive acceptance of injustice feeds systematic oppression. Dr. King claims that people can overthrow the current system, force critical thought, and eventually open the door for laws and social norms to be transformed by peaceful protests and civil disobedience. An example of
Civil Disobedience Compare and Contrast Henry Thoreau and Martin Luther King both wrote persuasive discussions that oppose many ideals and make a justification of their cause, being both central to their argument. While the similarity is obvious, the two essays, Civil Disobedience by Thoreau and Letter from a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr. do have some similarities. King tries persuading white, southern clergymen that segregation is an evil, unfair law that ought to defeat by use of agitation of direct protesting. Thoreau, on the other hand, writes to a broader, non-addressed audience, and focuses more on the state itself. He further accepts it at its current state, in regard to the battle with Mexico and the institution of slavery.
People for centuries have gotten their moving inspirational speeches from impactful writers before their time. Even someone as inspirational as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, and he got his motivation from Henry David Thoreau who wrote“Civil Disobedience” which was published in 1849. The speech of King’s where “Civil Disobedience” shines through is the famous “I Have a Dream” speech. Both Thoreau’s and King’s pieces were written in a time of racial discrimination and injustice. The similarity in situations and lack of federal government participation gave King the perfect layout for some of the main portions of his speech.
"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so. "-Socrates. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because the society is not free unless it's able to check the government. As long as the protest of the law remains peaceful it is a good thing. It is the public telling the government that they will not let them gain to much power and crush their human rights.
A peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society showing that information will always and forever be free to everyone and that civil disobedience can set people free in a just nation. In this current age, information always seems to be locked away from the populace. In other words, the populace only gets to know what is deemed safe and secure by the federal government. For civilians who want to know more they get shooed away.
Peaceful resistance to laws positively affect a free society. Throughout history, there have been multiple cases of both violent and peaceful protests. However, the peaceful protests are the ones that tend to stick with a society and are the ones that change the society for the better. In April 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter about just and unjust laws while he was in Birmingham jail for peacefully protesting. King came to Birmingham because "injustice is here".
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society because it helps get people's points across, without breaking any rules. People are allowed to voice there opinion, without causing any physical harm to themselves, or anyone around them. Many equal right came about during peaceful resistances. Thomas Jefferson is an example of that. He led a revolution, and changed the lives of millions of African Americans, then and now.
Disobedience is defined as the refusal or neglect to obey. Disobedience is everywhere. Let's say you are in line at Walmart and you see a little kid crying and crying over a toy that his mother will not buy for him. His mother is upset and is trying to straighten up her kid.
One of the wise words said by Martin Luther King Jr., specifically in a letter while in Birmingham jail, is "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere". King was the leader of a civil obedience group and was therefore arrested for it due to it being a group that resisted laws, despite it being peacefully, to show the public and the government that a change was needed and succeeded in making that change to let the U.S. be what it is today. Thus, peaceful resistance to laws ultimately impact a free society positively so that a free society may remain or truly become free. Peacefully resisting laws help inform the government and/or citizens that something is not right. Rosa Parks is known for refusing to give up her seat on a bus to a white man for the laws back then were white accommodating and she was
There are many things to be said about peaceful resistance and how it has changed the world. It has taken many forms in the last century such as people fighting for equal treatment, education, and even the right to mourn. These protests have all positively impacted society. Up until 1965 African-Americans suffered from the oppression of the Jim Crow laws which enforced racial segregation between black and white people. “The broad category of Jim Crow laws includes the prohibition of interracial marriage and laws enforcing the "separate but equal" doctrine that prevented racial integration in public places, such as restaurants, and required racially segregated public schools.”
Peaceful Resistance no matter what way you look at it, it 's still going against someone whether it involves words or actions, resistance still causes more conflict. The last 5 years we have had people say they want change through these “peaceful protest” but these peaceful protests have done nothing but turn to violent riots were theirs damage to vehicles, business families rely on destroyed, bystanders hurt, officers killed and our country torn apart. Back when Martian Luther King Jr was around and he had his Peaceful Resistance or rallies for equality, they were peaceful and brought our country together with something that needed to be changed, but the protest we’ve had the last 5 years… he would be ashamed of. Peaceful Resistance to laws does negatively impact our free society in America. First going along with what I said about there being “peaceful rallies” even though some people may be at these rallies to make a difference to support their opinion, not everyone can respect that.