Civil Disobedience Essay Examples

Civil disobedience is when one deliberately opposes a law believed to be unjust or unfair. Arguments have gone back and forth whether or not this is harmful or helpful to a society. Peaceful resistance to laws positively affects a free society, until it becomes destructive to the society it tries to help. A prime example of the benefits of the positive effects of peaceful disobedience is the work of Martin Luther King Jr. His life work of peaceful, non-violent protest helped end segregation and prejudice in the United States. For instance, his organization of city-wide boycotts, protests, and diner sit-ins in Birmingham, Alabama were not harmful to society in any way, but disobeyed the segregation laws to draw attention to their injustice. Although MLK was arrested for this, his message of the injustice of segregation and his wish to end it was peacefully conveyed, without harm to society

The women of America banded together to protest perceived threats against their rights and liberties. The women succeeded in bringing attention to their cause, and although they caused blockages on roads and in services, no harm was done to the society around them. In this way, peaceful protest was a benefit to the free society. However, disobedience to a law can bring more harm than good to a society, resulting in the reverse of the intended effect of the resistance. For instance, many during the time of the Vietnam war opposed the war by dodging the draft. This was harmful to the society they wanted to help. America needed troops to support the war effort, yet protestors burned draft cards, moved, and dodged the draft in an attempt to protest the war. By doing this, they weakened the American war effort, and arguably prolonged the conflict by decreasing the chance of American success in