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Justification Of Civil Disobedience Essay

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A Moral Justification of Civil Disobedience

Democracy is the cornerstone of American society and was founded on the belief that each individual ought to have a say in the way they are governed. In the early 1960’s, many inequities in the system existed that inhibited justice in light of the law. Consequently, one’s political voice may not have been heard in the conventional manners of voting and petitioning elected officials. Through unconventional means, King writes, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” a passionate letter that responds to the criticism of clergymen and appeals to people, both white and black, to encourage solidarity among all. Hence, I will explain the nature and purpose of civil disobedience as it relates to the injustices of …show more content…

Justifiable C.D. is established as the public and intentional breaking of a law to enact a change in that law or a related one through an individual's “willingness to accept the penalty,” so that the conscience of the community, local or national, may evaluate the morality of the action. C.D. holds that laws do not have inherent or deep-rooted moral qualities and whether in rhetoric or application, laws do sometimes conflict with the moral law, causing injustice. Since individuals, as moral agents, are obliged to act morally and just, it follows that they are also obligated to violate an unjust law in that “an unjust law is no law at all.” C.D. also accepts that although injustice within the system is occurring, the underlying system of the government is just. Accordingly, if one were to break a law they deemed unjust and avoid all legal ramifications, then would be unjustifiably undermining the underlying processes of a just system and negatively impacting the free society. With the understanding that each individual has their own nuanced conception of justice, accepting the punishment for C.D. willingly leaves the final evaluation of what is just or moral on the conscience of the community, ensuring that the undermining action based on a potentially radical conception is avoided. C.D. fights injustices within the system, but allows for the underlying just or moral governmental processes to remain intact. It is in this sense and in the context of King's letter that C.D., the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences, positively impacts a free

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(Paragraph 4). This drew the clergymen’s attention to King’s beliefs and possibly made them realize the flaws in the system. King also states, “A just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law…” (Paragraph 5).

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