ipl-logo

How Does Civil Disobedience Cause Change

704 Words3 Pages

Over time many things change; laws, beliefs, and even people. But what causes change? Does disobedience create these things to changes? Henry David Thoreau believed that it was one's obligation to disobey laws that were unjust. His actions inspired Mahatma Gandhi to take civil action against Britain how was ruling over them at the time, leading to their independence. Martin Luther King Jr. also believed in civil disobedience which helped him united the majority of African Americans to protest with him in nonviolent ways leading to great change in american societies. But not all disobedience is effective for example, before MLK many Africans wanted to make a change but their anger clouded their judgment leading to deadly riots and protests …show more content…

This was due to the lack of structure and intense anger that the African American people had for people that believed they were not human. This rightful anger lead to riots and revolts that ended in casualties. Some African Americans believed that is what whites deserved, such as Malcolm X. Malcolm X wanted the same thing as MLK but he went about it in a very different way. He believed that you should protect yourself by any means necessary, this meant that he was not afraid of getting into a fight with police or other white men that got in his way. “Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery.” This quotes shows that Malcolm X was very serious about what he believed. This was a less effective way to create a positive change through disobedience, fear can only last so long, but being able to change someone's heart and beliefs will change them forever.

My personal belief is that disobedience can create change, but it the outcome of the disobeying is determined by how one disobeys. If they think through it and want a positive reaction they will disobey in a way that will be productive. If they just want to disobey for the heck of it they will do more damage then good. So yes! Disobedience differently creates change! But it's up to the one disobeying to determine if the changes is positive or negative

Open Document