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Was Martin Luther King Justified In Civil Disobedience

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Civil disobedience makes a statement. It is a tool that can be used to make a difference. Peaceful resistance to unjust laws helps a free society by allowing people to be heard without violence. Anyone can attack brutally, either verbally or physically, to get attention. But the best way to be noticed is to, “create such a crisis and establish such a creative tension...that it can no longer be ignored,” as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his letter from a Birmingham jail. In many instances, civil disobedience has proved successful. In the mid-1800s, Henry David Thoreau, in response to taxes supporting slavery during that time, decided to become a “tax rebel” and not pay his capital tax. Thoreau was then jailed for a night and inspired …show more content…

We obey laws because we fear the consequences, or we believe they are just. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. made a keen observation when saying, “An unjust law is a code that a majority inflicts on a minority…” referring to segregation in Alabama during the 1960s. He also argued that, “One who breaks an unjust law must do it openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.” Dr. King, like Gandhi before him, paid the ultimate penalty for his willingness to fight unjust laws. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. had a perceptive view on civil disobedience concerning the South in the 1960s. He realized that because of the false, racist belief that African-Americans were naturally violent, any violent acts would solidify the southern white view of African-American communities. So, instead Dr. King organized peaceful sit-ins, and marches to help end the racist practice of segregation. It was the peaceful actions by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that resonate through …show more content…

If we didn’t allow civil disobedience, than many of the things Americans take for granted wouldn’t be laws or rights. Slavery was abolished because of people like Henry David Thoreau and the lasting legacy of “Civil Disobedience”. Religious and racial intolerance were combated in India and South Africa because of the actions of people like Gandhi. In the United States, we no longer have discriminatory Jim Crow laws and government sanctioned racism because of people like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and the sacrifices he made through non-violent

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628 Words | 3 Pages

Dr. King also wanted the city council to be aware of the role they played by refusing the acknowledge injustice. The typical sit-ins he felt at this time would not be sufficient. There is a difference between a “just law” and an “un-just law”, Dr. King explained the difference between the two. According to him, the definition of a just law would be a man-made code. An un-just law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law or natural law.

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During the late 1950s and 1960s the southern states in America were segregated. Black and white people were separated from bathrooms to schools and therefore, blacks had to use their installments or they would be punished by whites. While this was happening, two African American men, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, wanted segregation to come to an end. So they proclaimed their ideas and started to form groups to protest against segregation in America. Consequently, Martin Luther King Jr’s civil rights philosophy made the most sense during the 1960s because integrated schools was the goal, nonviolence could have a huge impact on the enemy and nonviolence was the only practical strategy.

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Civil disobedience is the act of disobeying governmental commands in a peaceful, non-violent, form of protest. Throughout history, peaceful protest have had a positive impact on free society. Peaceful protest have had the biggest impact during the Civil Rights Movement. During this time, many people have led non-violent protest for their rights, including well known African-American Activist, Martin Luther King Jr.. He was most famously known for his speech, I Have a Dream.

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It ensures that one's voice is heard without throwing a temper tantrum or bringing on the destruction of other things or people. And it also ensures that we do not go on silently, always bitterly muttering to ourselves about how we wish things would change, but never gathering up enough courage or motivation to actually change these things. Civil Disobedience is an act of peaceful disagreement, a protest which does no harm to others but which one hopes will bring about a change which one believes is good. Now as far as the impact that civil disobedience has on a free society, I believe that it is a positive one. My reasons being that civil disobedience encourages one to use their rights to voice their opinions in a non-violent way.

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It's easy to get angry and/or violent protests confused with civil disobedience. Many overlook the effectiveness of civil disobedience and see it as just another way to protest the government but civil disobedience has a long history. A few examples of civil disobedience include Rosa Parks’ famous refusal to move from the back of the bus in 1955; the interracial marriage between Richard and Mildred Loving in 1958; and most recently, the protest against the Dakota Access pipeline construction. In each instance, people stood up for what they thought was just and right.

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Civil Disobedience In the dictionary civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest, but Thoreau and Martin Luther King have their own beliefs to civil disobedience. In Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” he writes about the need to prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of laws. Martin Luther King uses civil disobedience as something that effectuates change in the government. Both Thoreau and Martin Luther King has similar yet different perspectives on civil disobedience.

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Martin Luther King Jr once stated, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” in his Letter from Birmingham Jail in 1963. He was invoking the principle of civil disobedience. He wasn't justifying breaking laws just because, but instead, meant that you break the law and accept your punishment, in hopes that people will come to see that the law is unethical. Civil disobedience plays an important role in how our society has been shaped up until this point.

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“Anyone in a free a society where the laws are unjust has an obligation to break the law…”(1), Henry David Thoreau wrote. With “civil disobedience” the right of the people sometimes must be exercised by protest, and can be achieved non-violently. We can read this is Thoreau’s writing, as well as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi and Thomas Jefferson. According to our great writers, civil disobedience shows refusing to disobey laws.

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Martin Luther King Jr. was a man that was willing to do anything to end segregation of the white and black people. He would be the man to dare and break the unjust law that was set upon colored people. He would do so by not promoting violence or any acts of harm toward others. Kings states, "One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.

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Our disobedience enstils the passion our contemporary society continues to have for what we feel is just. Peaceful resistance to unjust laws benefits a free society by giving the American people a voice in government. History and contemporary media has proven that protesting our governmental ideals is a strong and powerful means of changing the government. Martin Luther King Jr. protested the horrendous treatment of African-Americans in the 1960s by bringing people together in order to end racial segregation in the United States. King included in his Letter From Birmingham Jail that "an unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.”

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In the Crito by Plato, Socrates argues against civil disobedience, seeing it as an unjust act. Contrasting this view, Martin Luther King argues for civil disobedience against unjust laws, and seeing it as a responsibility of citizens. Civil disobedience is the active refusal to obey certain law, commands or requests of the government. I will argue that the view of Socrates is superior to the view of Martin Luther King on the justness of civil disobedience. Using the argument against harm, I will show that even if a law is viewed as unjust, you must not repay an evil with another evil, as evident in the Crito while contrary to ideas presented by MLK.

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The civil disobedience is to describe when the public refusal to obey the law or commands of a government that violate one's personal principals without the act of violence, as an effort to induce a change in governmental policy or legislation. The purpose is to force concessions from the government or occupying power. For example, if a group of people refuses to pay taxes as a peaceful way to express disapproval of those laws they disagree with or taxes. Civil disobedience may be appropriate when a democratically elected government uses its power to discriminate against their race, sex, religion or skin color. In such a situation, people would most liking object the Laws and start a protest to show they want to be treated equally.

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Civil Disobedience is an important moral responsibility of a citizen, however it should not get to the level of illegal activity under any circumstances, because great reform can be brought peacefully not violently. In the title named "On Civil Disobedience" by Mohandas K. Ghandi once said: “No country has ever become or will ever become, happy though victory in war”(Mohandas K. Gandhi , 148). Even that long ago, when war was at high, and people embraced it, he knew that the only thing war brought was death, and depression among civilians. This method of civil disobedience has only resulted into more wars, and no real solutions. The most efficient way to the be civilly disobedient is to be peaceful, but willing to stand up for your cause.

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Civil disobedience is nonviolent resistance to a government’s law in seek of change. Civil disobedience is an effective way to bring about change because it is a harmless way of fighting an unjust law or idea, it can educate people about the cause, and it has been successful many times in history. First and foremost, civil disobedience is

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Civil Disobedience Argumentative Essay For thousands of years, society has created laws to help protect the people and keep them safe and in order. There have been many historical figures such as Harriet Tubman, Cesar Chavez and Malala Yousafzai who have all broken the laws for the common people. Other historical figures like Nelson Mandela, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King J.R, have also broken laws for what they believed was right and worked hard to improve the conditions for others. Therefore, breaking the law is justified when someone feels a particular law is unjust and they will do everything in their power to ensure the law is fair for all citizens.

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