Martin Luther King Jr's Criticism Of Civil Disobedience

Civil Disobedience is a term that’s been used quite often in American History. From the writings of naturalist Henry David Thoreau, to the actions and letters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., civil disobedience has rooted itself in the American way and has become as American as apple pie and baseball. Certainly, there are some criticisms of Civil Disobedience, but peaceful civil disobedience does positively impact a free society by ensuring it remains free from tyranny.

The best course of action to explain this is to first define the term “Civil Disobedience”. Civil Disobedience is disobeying laws that are considered cruel or unjust. According to Dr. King, quoting St. Augustine, “An unjust law is no law at all.” (King, 1963), and the only right thing to do, according to Thoreau, is “at least, to wash his hands of it, and, if he gives it no thought loner, not

Muhammad Ali’s nonviolent refusal of service in the Vietnam War is an example that drew him much criticism and had people labeling him as a “draft dodger”. But, as author Tom Mullen points out, “Ali never dodged the draft; he opposed it, accepting the legal consequences without any attempt to evade them.” (Mullen, 2016) Instead of escaping the consequences of his actions, he embraced them head-on, and his example of a conscientious objector is still a shining example to this day. Or, as a more modern example, the protesters of the Dakota Access Pipeline, who protested for months to protect water quality and Native American landmarks from destruction due to an oil pipeline being built. They stood their ground even through the rubber bullets, attack dogs, and water hoses in the winter until the Army Corps of Engineers announced a halt to the project until an alternate route can be found. All of these examples brought change and peacefully objected to laws or actions that they deemed