Reflection Essay: What Causes And Actions Of Civil Disobedience

792 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Civil disobedience ESSAY

40 points I have personally been involved with Civil Disobedience. On March 14, 2018, the school held a walk out. I decided to partake in it, all the students that wanted to, quietly got up and left class to stand outside and protest and give 17 minutes of silence for the 17 lives of fellow students lost in the shooting that occurred in Florida. The three articles that I will be discussing are “On Nonviolent Resistance” by Mohandas Gandhi, “Letter From Birmingham Jail” by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and “ Civil Disobedience” by Erik Cockrell.
The first selection that I choose was “On Nonviolent Resistance” by Mohandas Gandhi. The first quote that I picked from this writing is “We made it clear to the said government that we would never bow to its outrageous laws.”, the reason why this quote connects to the theme Civil Disobedience is because the article explained that the people made it clear that they would not …show more content…

The first quote that I picked from this selection is “ believing that no man, or woman, is ever free until all are free….. and all share the right to respect,”, I picked this first quote because it talked about them not wanting to be free until all are free. Martin wanted equality for all and was not going to give up on his protest until everyone was granted exactly that. The second quote that I picked is “Civil Disobedience… a criminal act…… or the cost of freedom!”, I picked this second quote because it explained civil disobedience being a criminal act. The last quote I picked is “believing that all men, and women, are indeed equal… in needs, rights, beliefs, and desire.”, I picked this last quote because if explains everyone needing to be treated equally or the will peacefully protest. Martin truly believed that everyone should be given all the same equal rights, or if not him and all his followers were going to go against the government's beliefs and do what is right by

Show More
Related

  • Compare And Contrast Thoreau And Civil Disobedience

    596 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the great era of foundational philosophers, two stand out, Plato and Thoreau. Each had their own opinion on various topics, especially on civil disobedience. Plato’s life span was approximately 428-348 BC. Plato wrote numerous works throughout his lifetime, however we will be focusing on one, the Crito. Thoreau’s life span was 1817-1862. To help us determine what civil disobedience means to both of these philosophers we will first look at a general definition. According to Merriam-Webster civil disobedience is defined as “refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government.” This definition will act as a springboard to compare and contrast both of their thoughts on the topic. We will determine, according to Plato and Thoreau, when we are called to engage in civil disobedience and when the moral parameters of civil disobedience are pushed too far.

    Read More

  • Henry David Thoreau Analysis

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    When it comes to civil rights, there are two pieces of literature commonly discussed. One of these pieces is Henry David Thoreau’s persuasive lecture On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. In this work, Thoreau discusses how one must combat the government with disobedience of unjust laws and positive friction to create change. The second piece is the commonly known article Letter From a Birmingham Jail by Martin Luther King Jr.

    Read More

  • Prudence Crandall Abolitionism

    767 Words  | 2 Pages

    The most famous instances of famous civil disobedience were all non-violent. Many famous civil rights activist preach non-violence, but there have been a lot of instances of violent civil disobedience. In 2014 the Boko Haram organization kidnaped 329 Nigerian girls from the Government Secondary School in Chibok. The boko Haram disliked western style education. So they kidnaped all these girls to protest. They ended up forcing girls into marriage. There is always an act of disobedience going on. This is similar to what happened to Korematsu. He was forced to stay in a military base, because of his

    Read More

  • Lessons in Civil Disobedience

    839 Words  | 2 Pages

    No one possesses the same morals or beliefs. Morality does not have a black and white answer because no one is exactly alike. Everyone has their own opinion and right to voice that opinion, and there are numerous ways of doing so. As a citizen with my own beliefs, I believe I have the right to violate laws if I feel morally obligated to. The amount of progress that America has made in such a short amount of time is astonishing. In some ways it seems as if the only way to make any headway is to speak up. If I was morally opposed to a policy or law I would go against it due to its effectiveness, individualism, and past history of the world that has made immense progress.

    Read More

  • Paradox Of Civil Disobedience

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    In our country’s history, Civil Disobedience has had positive effects upon legislation and societal norms. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states five basic forms of expression that are to be protected by the government: Speech, Press, Assembly, Religion, and Petition. The Founders, in essence, created a means by which the average citizen can achieve political and social change. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. stated in 1989 that, “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government cannot prohibit the expression of an idea simply because the society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”* When citizens speak out or

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience

    577 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the past in this country, Thoreau wrote an essay on Civil disobedience saying that people make the law and have a right to disobey unjust laws, to try and get those laws changed.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience: Are We Morally Obliged to Obey Unjust Laws?

    2005 Words  | 5 Pages

    · Cohen, Carl, Civil Disobedience, Tactics and the Law. 1971, Columbia University Press: NY. Pgs: 3, 5, 6, 9, and 11.

    Read More

  • The Case Against Civil Disobedience

    913 Words  | 2 Pages

    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”).

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience And Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr.

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    Justice is often misconceived as injustice, and thus some essential matters that require more legal attentions than the others are neglected; ergo, some individuals aim to change that. The principles of civil disobedience, which are advocated in both “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. to the society, is present up to this time in the U.S. for that purpose.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience

    1100 Words  | 3 Pages

    I believe that civil disobedience is justified as a method of trying to change the law. I think that civil disobedience is an expression of one's viewpoints. If someone is willing to break a law for what they believe in, more power to them! Civil disobedience is defined as, "the refusal to obey the demands or commands of a government or occupying power, without resorting to violence or active measures of opposition" (Webster's Dictionary). This refusal usually takes the form of passive resistance. Its usual purpose is to force concessions from the government or occupying power. Civil disobedience has been a major tactic and philosophy of nationalist movements in Africa and India, in the civil rights movement of U.S. blacks, and of labor and anti-war movements in many countries. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider it unjust and hope to call attention to it. In his essay, "Civil Disobedience," American author Henry David Thoreau set forth the basic tenets of civil disobedience for the first time. The independence of India in the 1930's was largely a result of the nonviolent resistance by Mohandas Gandhi to the British colonial laws. In the United States, the nonmilitant efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr., helped bring about civil rights legislation. There are numerous examples that illustrate how civil disobedience is justified.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience In The Hunger Games By Suzanne Collins

    1113 Words  | 3 Pages

    Civil disobedience is described as the refusal to comply with certain laws as a form of political protest. Civil disobedience is commonly thought of as being nonviolent resistance, however that is not always true. The protesters standing up for what they believe in are often legally punished, but morally accept their punishment because they know what they are doing is not right. Thoreau explains the importance of speaking out and rebelling against unjust laws in his piece, Civil Disobedience. Another author that does this is Suzanne Collins. She is the author of The Hunger Games trilogy and does a great job of showing rebellion in her books. Collin’s idea to add civil disobedience in her novels encourages her readers to stand up for what they believe in, and to speak their mind instead of just going with the flow. Thoreau and Collins both have similar ways to express civil disobedience in their writing.

    Read More

  • Nelson Mandela: The Art of Civil Disobedience

    824 Words  | 2 Pages

    Suber, Peter. " Civil Disobedience." Earlham College, 1999. Web. 18 Dec. 2013. .

    Read More

  • Democracy in Civil Disobedience, Slavery in Massachusetts, Benito Cereno and Bartleby the Scrivener

    1539 Words  | 4 Pages

    ----- "Civil Disobedience" from A World of Ideas - Essential Readings for College Readers, Lee A. Jacobus, Bedford Books, 1998, 1849(123 -146)

    Read More

  • Similarities Between Lincoln And Martin Luther King

    559 Words  | 2 Pages

    “His moral leadership stirred the conscience of the nation and helped bring about the nation and helped bring about the passage of the Civil Rights Acts of 1964.” This shows that all the work and effort Martin put in changing the nation payed off. He brung over hundreds of people together to fight for freedom and he delivered his I Have a Dream speech. As stated, “...Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill…” This reveals that Martin wanted everyone to be free. He wanted everyone to be equal no matter the color of their skin. To sum it up, Martin had a dream to get freedom and we got it.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience Reflection

    1519 Words  | 4 Pages

    I think civil disobedience is an effective means to creating change. Civil disobedience gets the message across and it can bring about change. Violence cannot fix any problem, as it leads to more violence and more hatred. On the other hand, civil disobedience is a way to show the enemy that you do not hate them, but you hate what they are doing or claiming. In addition, civil disobedience shows the opponent that you are willing to let them do anything to you, as long as there is a change brought about for the better. Also, another benefit of using civil disobedience is that people who practice it are showing that they are serious about what they want. They are prepared to go to any extremes of listening to the other party, and only for their own beliefs and against what they know is wrong. This can send a very powerful response, and bring about a positive change.

    Read More

More about Reflection Essay: What Causes And Actions Of Civil Disobedience

Open Document