Debate paper
Civil disobedience in a democratic society is morally justified. Which means breaking the laws of the nation to be able to persuade the public. Civil disobedience has been around since the biblical times. Democracy is a form of government that is by the people and for the people. Although Democracy is a system of government that the people elect government officials to speak and make decisions for the people.
Throughout history there has been many incidences that civil disobedience has occurred. From the Boston Tea Party to the Civil Rights Movement. With these non violent demonstrations people had more say in the government creating communication, so better decisions could be made. During the Boston Tea Party the American colonies
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There is no reason why we should disagree to the point to not abide the law when we the people elected the officials. The people need to listen to rules and laws because they are keeping the people safe and the government needs support, so it can be successful in different circumstances such as war. The soldiers need full support during war time from their country and the government can not get distracted from the people and then end up fighting two wars. This then would discourage the soldiers for fighting and then therefore morale may be lowered and the government could be destabilized. They say that the act of breaking the law is nonviolent which is false it's only pushing to break more laws and become violent.
Since the people elect the government officials, why don't the officials listen to what the people want? If a democratic society doesn't listen to the people, the people have a right to form petitions. Petitions are a written request that appeal to authority for a specific case. The people also need to backup the government in times of need. If the United States of America goes into war with none of the nations people behind them,
Civil disobedience is being disobedient to certain laws in a peaceful, but active manner. So the person who commits civil disobedience must actively rejects to follow certain laws of government and peacefully accept the consequences. For example, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a typical example of modern civil disobedience. He actively rejected to follow
Civil disobedience has its roots in one of this country’s most fundamental principles: popular sovereignty. The people hold the power, and those entrusted to govern by the people must wield
On The Duty of Civil Disobedience, written by Henry David Thoreau, explains that civil disobedience is the act of standing for your beliefs even though they are against the law. Thoreau goes on to say that the government (because it is ruled by the majority) is not always right for everyone especially the individual and the minority. Over the course of American history, there have been many different groups formed for the purpose of civil disobedience. The two that I am going to focus on are the activists of the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panthers of the Black Liberation Movement. The Civil Rights Movement began in 1954 with the case of Brown vs. the Board of Education. It was basically lead by Martin Luther King Jr. whose teachings were of peaceful protesting and boycotting in order to achieve the goals of integration and equality for Black Americans (Small). The Black Liberation Movement started a few years later in 1960 and was later taken over and popularized by the Black Panthers in 1966. The basis of this movement was not just black equality but also black independence by any and every means necessary. The Panthers wanted blacks to be in control of their own neighborhoods (Acoli). These two protest movements had similar but at the same time very different platforms. The difference their effectiveness was caused by the difference in the techniques.
Civil Disobedience occurs when an individual or group of people are in violation of the law rather than a refusal of the system as a whole. There is evidence of civil disobedience dating back to the era after Jesus was born. Jesus followers broke the laws that went against their faith. An example of this is in Acts 4:19-20,”God told the church to preach the gospel, so they defied orders to keep quiet about Jesus,” In my opinion civil disobedience will always be needed in the world. The ability to identify with yourself and knowing right from wrong helps to explain my opinion. Often in society when civil
In the Theory of Justice by John Rawls, he defines civil disobedience,” I shall begin by defining civil disobedience as a public, nonviolent, conscientious yet political act contrary to law usually done with the aim of bringing about a change in the law or policies of the government”.
Sometimes civil disobedience can become violent as in the case in South Africa during the struggle to end apartied. It started out with passive resistance, but after years of struggling with no change, a violent group was formed and was willing to do anything to get the freedom they desired.
Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey civil laws in an effort to induce change in governmental policy or legislation, characterized by the use of passive resistance or other nonviolent means. The use of nonviolence runs throughout history however the fusion of organized mass struggle and nonviolence is relatively new.
Civil Disobedience is a deliberate violation against the law in order to invoke change against a government policy. Civil disobedience can come in the form of running a red light or j-walking, or in more noticeable methods such as riots. Coined by American author and poet Henry David Thoreau, the term has developed to define the act of disobeying a law one sees as unfit or unjust. Usually the purpose of civil disobedience is to gain public attention to a perceived injustice and appeal to or gain support from the public in a non-violent way. The idea is to force the government to negotiate or else continue with the unwanted behavior; or in simpler terms, to “clog the machine” (“Civil Disobedience”). It is believed by many that the act of civil disobedience is justifiable in a democratic government like that of the United States. A Democracy is defined as a form of government controlled by elected representatives or by the people themselves. However, in order to have a stable government, it must be built on a stable society. Societal welfare is the general good for the public and how its members take action to provide opportunities and minimum standards. According to societal welfare, which is the sake of the emotional and physical well-being of the community, the laws must be abided and civil disobedience is morally unjust in our society. Once any member of the society questions the affairs of the state, the state may be given up for lost (“Jean Jacques Rousseau”).
There are times throughout the history of the United States when its citizens have felt the need to revolt against the government. There were such cases during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau, when there was unfair discrimination against the Afro-American community and Americans refusing to pay poll taxes to support the Mexican War. They used civil disobedience to eventually get legislation to stop the injustice brought against them and their nation. Civil disobedience is defined as refusal to obey civil laws or decrees, which usually takes the form of passive resistance. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider the law unjust, and want to call attention to its injustice, hoping to bring about its withdrawal.
The use of civil disobedience is a respectable way of protesting a governments rule. When someone believes that they are being forced into following unjust laws they should stand up for what they believe in no matter the consequences because it is not just one individual they are protesting for they are protesting for the well-being of a nation. Thoreau says ?to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable.? People should only let wrong and right be governed by what they believe not the people of the majority. The public should always stand for what is right, stand when they think a government is wrong, and trust in their moral beliefs.
According to Oscar Wilde, disobedience is a valuable human trait that promotes social progress. Civil disobedience allows for the unification of various groups to fight towards a common goal, often resulting in change. Historically, there has been much evidence supporting Wilde’s claim. Significant examples of disobedience that led to social progress include the Boston Tea Party, the Salt March, and the Civil Rights Movement.
The United States of America is a nation that values freedom above all, yet it fails to allow a portion of its population to be free. For centuries, African American slaves endured severe physical and mental abuse under the hands of their masters. The demise of slavery was followed by the end of the Civil War. Even though African Americans were finally emancipated, they were still unable to enjoy their newly granted freedom due to the unwillingness of white Americans to accept them as their equals. Being an African American in the U.S meant being denied basic Civil and Human Rights: the right to vote, social freedom, and equality. In order to ensure these rights for all, many great leaders, such as the late Martin Luther King Jr., rose to help
Throughout our history, this country has witnessed numerous instances of civil disobedience and violent attacks towards our government. In order to fully comprehend the differences between the two, civil disobedience is boycotting and refusing to comply with laws or demands by the government. While, direct attacks could be riots or domestic terrorism. Civil disobedience generally is legal if people don’t block roads, demolish any property, or result in violence towards others. Usually riots and domestic terrorist attacks will cause: damage to personal and private properties, injuries, or even deaths.
The most famous act of civil disobedience in American history is seen in the Civil Rights Movement with MLK Jr. at the forefront. The civil rights movements sought inspiration from another famous act of peaceful resistance against the government, this movement was Indian independence movement(1). In this movement in a completely different society, the Indians practiced peaceful resistance
Humanity has never been perfect. Throughout history, there has been repeated abuses of power against people where liberties and rights are stepped upon and people lose their voice in society. Ranging from English colonists in new America disobeying the British to Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat to, even today, Native Americans and others refusing to leave their land for a pipeline, civil disobedience has permeated our history. It promotes the recognition of our freedoms and equal rights while opening minds to the injustice and unfairness that goes on in our society. Without it, we would be living in a society that hinders us while also succumbing us to become brainless guppies, following every word the government says.