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Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience is the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences. The courageous souls that have chosen to partake in civil disobedience have shaped our society today. If it wasn’t for them our country would be in a entirely far worse state than it is now. We owe our gratitude to those who sacrificed their safety and freedom to stand up for what was right even when authority said otherwise. From Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with the Civil Rights Movements to The Natives protesting the pipelines at Standing Rock. We as citizens of a nation made for the people can never stop fighting unjust authority.
One of the most famous Civil Disobedience acts is the Civil
Oscar Wilde, an Irish author, once suggested that if one were to ever look at the discourse of history, they would find that disobedience is man’s original virtue, and through disobedience social progress is made. The study of history is the study of social progress. Social progressions are the changes that occur in society that progress or improve social, political, and economic structures. Social progress can be achieved in several ways, but just like Oscar Wilde, I believe that disobedience is a valuable human trait that just so happens to be a huge part in the progression our society has made and continues to make.
When a citizen abides by the social contract, they initially agree to enter and be a participant of a civil society. The contract essentially binds people into a community that exists for mutual preservation. When a person wants to be a member of civil society, they sacrifice the physical freedom of being able to do whatever they please, but they gain the civil freedom of being able to think and act rationally and morally. Citizens have what is called prima facie obligation to obey the laws of a relatively just state. A prima facie duty is an obligation that we should try to satisfy but that can be overridden on occasion by another, stronger duty. When it comes to prima facie duty, this duty can be outweighed by a higher order obligation or
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, as stated in the prompt, is the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences. Many people believe this has a negative impact on the free society because they believe civil disobedience can be dangerous or harmful. Civil disobedience does not negatively affect the free society in a dangerous manner because it is peaceful and once it becomes harmful to the free society then it is not civil disobedience. Thoreau believed civil disobedience is an effective way of changing laws that are unjust or changing things that as a society and to the people does not seem correct. This peaceful act of resistance positively impacts a free society. Some examples are Muhammad Ali peacefully denying the draft and getting arrested. These men believed that what they saw was wrong and they did something about it but they did it peacefully.
In 1968, Martin Luther King Jr passed away from a sniper’s bullet. He gave us thirteen years of nonviolent protest during the civil rights movement of the 1950’s. Before I can give my opinion on the history of race relations in the United States since King’s assassination in 1968 strengthened or weakened his arguments on the necessity and value of civil disobedience? You should know the meaning of civil disobedience. The word civil has several definitions. “The one that is intended in this case is "relating to citizens and their interrelations with one another or with the state", and so civil disobedience means "disobedience to the state". Sometimes people assume that civil in this case means "observing accepted social forms; polite" which would make civil disobedience something like polite, orderly disobedience. Although this is an acceptable dictionary definition of the word civil, it is not what is intended here. This misinterpretation is one reason the essay (by Henry David Thoreau that was first published in 1849) is sometimes considered to be an argument for pacifism or for exclusively nonviolent resistance”.
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
Civil disobedience is a refusal to follow certain rules and is usually shown through a peaceful form of protest. The Moratorium March was somewhat a civil disobedience event because although it started as a peaceful anti- war movement, violence was unavoidable. The vast majority of demonstrators were peaceful; however, a conflict broke out at the Justice Department when demonstrator’s started throwing rocks and bottles, which the police responded to with tear gas canisters (Leen). According to Henry David Thoreau’s statement in his essay “Civil Disobedience,” “If the machine of government…is of such a nature that it requires yo...
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”.
Civil Disobedience is a paradox. Civility and disobedience diametrically oppose one another; civility implies politeness or a regard to the status quo while disobedience is a refusal to submit to the standard. When these words are coupled together, however, they compliment one another. The purpose of Civil Disobedience is to disregard the obligation of observing a law with the intention of highlighting a need for change. Morality, Religion, and Ethics often play into the decision to willingly break a law which creates more depth behind the practical meaning phrase, because those three tend to emphasize a respect for authority and integrity. When people break the law in the name of civility, they often are asking questions like, “What must I
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.
Webster's dictionary defines civil disobedience as "refusal to obey governmental demands esp. as a nonviolent and usu. collective means of forcing concessions from the government." Henry Thoreau wrote an essay titled Civil Disobedience that has through the years become the authoritative argument on the subject. People as distinguished as Martin Luther King and Gandhi have used this essay as a cornerstone in their respective movements. However, I see Thoreau more as a hypocrite and an anarchist. While his goals might have been noble, like most theorists, he does not take into account the realities of the world we live in. I will convince you in this essay that Thoreau's argument was not valid for several reasons, but mainly due to his logos and ethos.
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.
When a government imposes atrocious laws, violates human rights, and acts against the faith of its citizens; a civilian is often left with no choice but to resist. Under extreme circumstances the positive impact of a civilian resistance whether it be violent or peaceful would be apparent. So to answer the question, peaceful resistance has great potential in positively impacting a free society. But this is an over simplified answer and I am not satisfied. Of course it can, we have seen it done throughout history and we continue to see it today. In effort to answer the prompt question as best as I can, I must look into the broader scope of things. I wonder where the line is between merely breaking the law and making a statement in civil disobedience? And generally speaking, it seems more often than not modern governments enforce laws in good faith, within reason, and with the purpose of benefiting
Disobedience How did this country become what it is today? The answer is simple, for every issue someone had went against the overseer of society, the government. These small acts sparked a movement for the fight of that issue, one by one these issues were resolved and eventually shaped our country as it is today. I believe that without a doubt, disobedience and dissent promotes social progress. From the ideology of communism to the fight for women's rights.
Civil disobedience is an act of opposing a law one might consider unfair so it’s peacefully disobeyed while accepting the consequences. If there is a way to protest in a way without causing any violent disturbance to the society then why do people avoid using it? Is it because it takes a long time to get the point across or is it because the government won’t care? Great figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Mohandas Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela have used this tactic and impacted the society greatly. They brought justice and equality for the people that were treated unethically even though it required time. Their point got across effectively without any use violence and has impacted the society for the greater good. Therefore, peaceful resistance to laws can positively impact a free society by allowing it to change the errors of the law, however others might say otherwise.