Civil Disobedience

667 Words2 Pages

Civil Disobedience, Where’s The Line Drawn?

In order to properly characterize and understand all aspects of civil disobedience we must look at where the line of disobedience stands and who crosses it. This country was founded on the idea of democracy. Our proud and dedicated fore fathers of the Constitution created this nation on a basis of morality and true freedom. Unfortunately, this dream has been contorted. Twisted to fit the ever growing greed and power thirsty idealisms of the powerful and wealthy politician. Our country has been raped of it’s true seed that it started from.
I believe that this country’s main problem is that it’s run by a majority of white males, and of these men, not many younger than their forties. Where’s our equal representation of every populous? These people have lost touch with what they call, their number one resource, it’s youth. Yes, they were all young at one time as well, but times rapidly change. These quick changes can easily cause confusion among our leaders, and this results in poor decisions based on lack of current knowledge and direct involvement. Unfortunately, these people don’t understand what today’s youth goes through, and who’s there to represent my population? The legal voting age in this country is eighteen
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years old, a population that has already been thrown into the busy world of work and many of whom have already lost the essence of their youth. We need a change, a new policy of understanding.
The line of civil disobedience is drawn by our nation’s leaders and it’s their line and they mark it. The line’s they make are the illusions they see, they don’t look at the whole picture, our nation has a severe case of tunnel vision. Truthfully, laws are passed to protect our “Christian” morality, and notable standing among the Earth’s other great powers. It seems America’s main concern is how we project ourselves to others, and what we can get out of it. In this movement and idea, the young are lost in it’s deep cracks of political separation.
Our nation needs a voice, a voice of youth and honesty. Over half of our nation is comprised of young adults, but we have no say in how our lives are run. What may be small and seemingly harmless to a youth, may land him in jail for a few years. Policies on things such as drugs are very harsh on today’s children, but the real question is, is who is the punishment benefiting?

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.
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Examples Of Civil Disobedience In The United States
782 Words | 2 Pages
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
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Morris Liebman's Civil Disobedience
1714 Words | 4 Pages
According to Morris Liebman, author of “Civil Disobedience: A Threat to Our Society Under Law,” “Never in the history of mankind have so many lived so freely, so rightfully, so humanely. This open democratic republic is man’s highest achievement—not only for what it has already accomplished, but more importantly because it affords the greatest opportunity for orderly change and the realization of man’s self-renewing aspirations.” What Liebman fails to realize is that while the United States of America has made improvements, the United States still has a far way to go before it can be considered a fair country. Liebman also states that “The plain fact of human nature is that the organized disobedience of masses stirs up the primitive. This has been true of a soccer crowd and a lynch mob. Psychologically and psychiatrically it is very clear that no man—no matter how well-intentioned—can keep group passions in control.” While disagreeing with the first example from Liebman, it would be difficult to disregard the way that many protests seem to spiral out of control. Peaceful protest for the most part remain peaceful, however some may turn violent very quickly. Liebman also believes that there is no such thing as “righteous civil disobedience” as men and women are deliberately disregarding laws set in place to protect the country, and regards it as deplorable and destructive(Liebman). To combat Liebman, a new age of civil disobedience is rolling in, a more inclusive type. With various social media platforms, word of walkouts and peaceful, with an emphasis on peaceful, protests are spread more quickly. These student led activist groups are popping up more quickly and are not lacking in passion. Many students of today are tired of being told their too young and inexperienced to be taking
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civil disobediance
736 Words | 2 Pages
In Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," he uses a hyperbole to support his belief that "one person can make a change," an idea still relevant today. Thoreau uses many forms of literary techniques such as multiple hyperbole, emotional appeals, and paradoxes. Thoreau uses these to sustain his ideas on civil disobedience. He believes if you believe in something, and support something you should do whatever it takes to help the cause. Many people in today's society believe to just go with the flow, rather than living like Thoreau has, and supporting his own beliefs no matter what the consequence. Henry David Thoreau had a lot of personal authority, he was all about his own independence. Many different people believed in being a non-conformist, and Thoreau was one of them, and he very well showed how much he supported it. Thoreau was not the only nonconformist, they're many people who followed his beliefs and they refused to be bound by anybody, or anything they did not support. Other non-conformists were Gandhi, Galileo, Malcom X and many more.
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Lessons in Civil Disobedience
839 Words | 2 Pages
It is important to notice that if civil disobedience was not effective, then it would not be continually used to disobey the law. In "The Role of Civil Disobedience in Democracy” by Kayla Starr, she explains why we have the right to participate in civil disobedience. “The U.S. Bill of Rights asserts that the authority of a government is derived from the consent of the governed, and whenever any form of government becomes destructive, it is the right and duty of the people to alter or abolish it” (Starr 1). There are many examples of how effective this act of defiance could be. During the Boston Tea Party, the citizens of Massachusetts practiced civil disobedience by throwing Britain’s tea into the Boston harbor because they did not want to pay taxes on tea. Now, you can see that the Boston Tea Party played a major role in the United States becoming independent from Britain (Starr 1). Although violating the law has consequences, in this case the reward outweighed the risk. I think that by realizing the power that civil disobedience carries, we can stand up against ...
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Rawls and King on Civil Disobedience
773 Words | 2 Pages
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”.
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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
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Civil Disobedience
577 Words | 2 Pages
Civil disobedience has been around for a long time. In Bible times Christians would disobey laws that would go against their beliefs, such as the law that they couldn’t preach. (Acts 4) Christians still disobey laws in many countries that do not let them practice their faith, some end up in jail or killed.
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Civil Disobedience
639 Words | 2 Pages
Henry David Thoreau, a philosopher and creative artist as well as an anti slavery activist, wrote his short story “From Resistance to Civil Disobedience”. In this story he’s arrested for not paying his state taxes. At the time the state was engaged in the Mexican-American War that was not only fought over boundaries expanding slavery but was also enacted by President Polk under his own decision. Thoreau thought the war was too aggressive and without just reason.
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Civil Disobedience
1266 Words | 3 Pages
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. received a Nobel Prize and was honored by the President of the United States for his contributions to society. On the other hand, he was prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated, and had his sentence reaffirmed by the Supreme Court. These explanations seem rather contradictory. If what he did was noble, why was he jailed for his actions? When we take into account these manifestations of the government's attitude towards Martin Luther King, we can safely make the assumption that the government is not always justified in the laws that it creates. Our government's original purpose was to keep order and ensure freedom to its people. As history has shown us, as in the case of African Americans, the government will expand its role and take away liberties of the few. The individual is justified in acting out in civil disobedience when the government restricts the liberties of the individual.
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Civil Disobedience In The Black Community
103 Words | 1 Pages
The problem in the black community is its inability to be united and stay united. This is not the fault of the people but instead the system that fosters them. Many attempts have been made to assimilate to the system as well as to change the system. In the end neither has worked for the black community, that is why I propose that the United States Government declare complete Anarchy. That being the last resort and complete extream theory I do believe that civil disobedience whether violent or nonviolent has proven itself successful but has not got the results that are really
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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”).
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Civil Disobedience
932 Words | 2 Pages
The political concepts of justice and how a society should be governed have dominated literature through out human history. The concept of peacefully resisting laws set by a governing force can be first be depicted in the world of the Ancient Greeks in the works of Sophocles and actions of Socrates. This popular idea has developed over the centuries and is commonly known today as civil disobedience. Due to the works of Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. civil disobedience is a well-known political action to Americans; first in the application against slavery and second in the application against segregation. Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” and King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are the leading arguments in defining and encouraging the use of civil disobedience to produce justice from the government despite differences in their separate applications.
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Civil Disobedience as a Method of Protest
875 Words | 2 Pages
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.
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Civil Disobedience: The Second Treatise Of Government
958 Words | 2 Pages
Civil disobedience, in a general sense, is when a group of people come together to protest inequality or political decisions of a higher authority. Civil disobedience has been seen throughout the world ever since a governmental type system was devised. The reasons why people enact civil disobedience are extensive but John Locke’s explains The Second Treatise of Government, why civil disobedience even exists and what stimulates
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Civil Disobedience

Compare And Contrast Thoreau And Civil Disobedience

Examples Of Civil Disobedience In The United States

Morris Liebman's Civil Disobedience

civil disobediance

Lessons in Civil Disobedience

Rawls and King on Civil Disobedience

Paradox Of Civil Disobedience