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 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
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
“...It becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another (person)...” Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. Civil disobedience is when you exercise the right of the people and protest peacefully against the government. As we read in Jefferson’s writing, as well as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi’s. According to our great writers civil disobedience builds a great framework to promote change.
Civil Disobedience is when one breaks the law to prove a point or bring about a potential moral change. This can include just changing the way society thinks about a certain subject. Throughout history, Civil Disobedience has been effectively used to bring about drastic change in not only the way people think, but also their actions. It was Henry David Thoreau who coined the term in the 1848 because he did not believe he should pay taxes that went to the war against Mexico or supporting the Fugitive Slave Law, both of which he saw as immoral. A key factor in Civil Disobedience is that the offender should generally be willing to accept the punishment for it, as it shows how they still have respect for the authority; the priority is simply change (“Civil Disobedience”).
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”).
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”.
When nonviolent civil disobedience occurs, the participating citizens are attempting to bring about positive change to the system--change which has not (and may not have) been brought about by words alone. Given that this constitutional republic is intended to be representative of its citizens in accordance with its fundamental laws, citizens are undoubtedly justified in striving for representation for the public will. This is put succinctly by David Thoreau in the poem Civil Disobedience: “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” The government should enact the will of its people, and where people see a law as being unjust this disposition is voided. A purportedly representative governing body should be brought to consider the will of its people in earnest, and peaceful demonstration is the next step where words alone
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.
One of the many foundations in American politics is civil disobedience. To this day many issues, not only in America but all over the world have been solved with civil disobedience. Many influential men and women in America have voiced their personal version of civil disobedience.
In the American industrial revolution, businesses and factories were booming, monopolies such as Carnegie steel and the Pullman company were generating astronomical sums of wealth, America as a country had a booming economy. Sadly, the average American worker was left out of the wealth these monopolies were making. The people had no voice, they were given drastically low wages and could barely earn enough money to eat. Due to the people being left out, some individuals and groups were becoming civilly disobedient to the companies they were working for, and they went on strike. These workers decided to not continue to work due to the corrupt and greedy companies they worked for. In the beginning, the government sided with the monopolies, the national guard was even used a few times to enforce people continue to work. Slowly but surely, the people won, and the government sided with the people and they started regulating business. The regulation of business in America today came about by workers being not content with their conditions, so they decided to be civilly disobedient and not continue to work. These are regulations and laws such as minimum wage, child labor laws, and regulation of what goes into products. These changes have had a positive impact on America as a whole.
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
The definition of civil disobedience is a form of protest in which protesters deliberately violate the law (Suber, 1999). Civil disobedience can be shown in many different ways and is also used for many different reasons. Civil disobedience can be caused by democracy, used for murder excuses, government hacking, deportation and equal rights. Some say there is no way to justify civil disobedience while others think it is necessary in some cases. People choose civil disobedience because they feel it's the best way to get the attention they need for their cause. These people see it as the practical way to go about fighting for their cause without actually using violence. While some people who act upon civil disobedience do turn to violence, that doesn't mean that want to, they just think it's their only option.
In conclusion, laws should not be followed if one disagrees with them or believes they do not make justice. We should have the right to speak out for what we want. If one does not agree ith something, they should be able to keep
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.
Civil disobedience as a whole is often a vague conception; so what is it exactly? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “refusal to obey laws as a way of forcing the government to do or change something.” This is often seen as protesting. Civil disobedience occurs throughout the world; the United States, India, Hong Kong, South Africa (practiced inconsistently), Japan, and many other countries. Each country has its own laws and rights vary, but on a basic level a lot of countries have freedom of speech. One specific example is in the United States Constitution; the First Amendment states, “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” This basically states that denizens of the United States have the right to protest, as well as freedom of speech and freedom...