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Essay on the origins of civil disobedience
Why disobedience promotes social progress
Civil disobedience can peacefully solve a social injustice
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The act of civil disobedience involves the efforts of a group of people, large or small, partaking in a nonviolent protest in order to change something, particularly an aspect of government that the group does not agree with. These participants must “[refuse] to obey certain laws or governmental demands” in order to “[influence] legislation or government policy” by practicing different peaceful strategies such as “boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes” (Dictionary). Throughout history, acts of civil disobedience have been used to change controversial topics all over the world and have been successful in either getting the policy changed or by bringing the subject matter to the world’s attention. Because of many past examples of successful civil disobedient acts, it can be assumed that similar nonviolent protests will be victorious in today’s world. Martin Luther King, Jr. was the head of the United States’ famous civil rights movement in which he practiced his own derivation of Gandhi’s teachings of Satyagraha, or mass civil disobedience, in the 1960s. His famous “Letter from Birmingham City Jail” directly speaks to the Alabama congressmen about their severe support for segregation while he serves jail time for participating in a civil rights demonstration. He speaks of just laws as being “a man-made code that squares with moral law or the law of God” and unjust laws as “a code that is out of harmony with the moral law…inflicted upon a minority in which that minority had no part in enacting or creating because they did not have the unhampered right to vote,” ridiculing the racism and segregation in Alabama legislature (King). Similarly to Martin Luther King, Jr., Henry David Thoreau also wrote a letter in jail speakin... ... middle of paper ... ...women chose to peacefully refuse to obey their government, emanating the very definition of civil disobedience. The desired result of a civil disobedience movement is political change and/or political attention. With activists like Henry Thoreau, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Mohandas Gandhi all practicing successful forms of civil disobedience, non-violent protests will work in today’s society. Just like the women in Saudi Arabia’s demonstration, today’s activists can peacefully address an issue with non-violent governmental disobedience and illuminate the issue they are trying to get resolved. As long as every single future protestor in every single future group follows the methods their civil disobedient predecessors did, any movement has the potential to be successful. Without 100% peace, their demonstrations will not be taken seriously and deemed as failures.
In reading the first few paragraphs in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King Jr shows commitment to all African Americans. He says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”. In the one sentence King declared that he would fight racial...
Dr. Martin Luther King addressed many topics in “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. He answered all the issues that were aimed at him in a very skillful and well thought out manner. These issues came from “A Call For Unity”, which was a letter published by eight local clergymen expressing their feelings about what Dr. King was doing. One concern, in particular, that King did an outstanding job of confronting was that of the clergymen’s anxiety about him breaking the law. King addresses the question of, “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?”
"The Role of Civil Disobedience in Democracy." Civil Liberties Monitoring Project. Web. 01 Oct. 2011. .
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
The United States civil rights movement was a constant battle for the rights and freedom of African Americans. Martin Luther king Jr., the leader of the civil right movement, was hosting a non-violent protest in Birmingham city. However, the protest did not go as planned and King was arrested for agitating the public. Many fellow white clergymen were angered and upset over the “Ungodly” act. As a result,the Clergymen wrote a statement that claimed Martin Luther King Jr. to be an extremist. Martin Luther King Jr. responds to the clergymen’s statement while residing in Birmingham jail by writing a letter using the ethical, emotional, and logical appeals to defend his actions.
The following essay will attempt to evaluate the approach taken by Dworkin and Habermas on their views of civil disobedience. The two main pieces of literature referred to will be Dworkin?s paper on 'Civil Disobedience and Nuclear Protest?' and Habermas's paper on 'Civil Disobedience: Litmus Test for the Democratic Constitutional State.' An outline of both Dworkin's and Habermas's approach will be given , further discussion will then focus on a reflective evaluation of these approaches. Firstly though, it is worth commenting on civil disobedience in a more general context. Most would agree that civil disobedience is a 'vital and protected form of political communication in modern constitutional democracies' and further the 'civil disobedience has a legitimate if informal place in the political culture of the community.' Civil disobedience can basically be broken down into two methods, either intentionally violating the law and thus incurring arrest (persuasive), or using the power of the masses to make prosecution too costly to pursue (non persuasive).
Considering the context of its creation, the “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr. is remarkably powerful that sets many citizens to be involved for social justice. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was the first African American leader for the Civil Rights Movements. Because of his role as an activist and a humanitarian leader, he was best known for his role in civil engagements using nonviolent civil disobedience. The letter was a response to Birmingham clergy that segregation can happen on streets and instead of doing it the violent way, justices could be brought in a non-violent way to break unjust laws. Moving on, King Jr’s readings have a relationship with “From Non-Violent Resistance,” by Mohandas K. Gandhi. He is
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
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.
Comparing the Civil Disobedience of Martin Luther King Jr., Henry David Thoreau, and Mohandas Gandhi
In the chapter “Civil Disobedience” by Professor David S. Meyer, he talks about many different movements and social groups that had made an impact within society. He goes over the different areas that civil disobedience covers, and gives detailed examples about how civil disobedience leads to change of some sort. Meyer explains that in order to fully understand what civil disobedience is, it has to be looked at on a different level. Many people have their own interpretation of what they think civil disobedience is. It is seen as challenging public authority, and most of the time leading to an uproar of different groups participating in civil disobedience. When social movements take action into commencing civil disobedience, they do it
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” was written while he was “confined in the Birmingham city jail.” His letter was a direct response to the eight Alabama clergymen who insisted that King’s use of nonviolent direct action was unlawful. The clergymen questioned his method of protests even though they had similar goals as King. In his letter, King illustrates the hardships and injustices that African Americans in the United States were enduring during the mid-twentieth century; doing so allows King to justify the nonviolent actions of his fellow protestors. King uses the classical appeals of ethos, pathos, and logos, along with his rhetorical situation, to support his claims about the racial discrimination and segregation in the United States.
Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau each write exemplary persuasive essays that depict social injustice and discuss civil disobedience, which is the refusal to comply with the law in order to prove a point. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” King speaks to a specific audience: the African Americans, and discusses why he feels they should bring an end to segregation. Thoreau on the other hand, in “Civil Disobedience,” speaks to a broader, non-addressed audience as he largely expresses his feelings towards what he feels is an unjust government. Both essays however, focus on the mutual topics of morality and justice and use these topics to inform and motivate their audience to, at times, defy the government in order to establish the necessary justice.
applies the principles of civil disobedience in his procedure of a nonviolent campaign. According to him, “In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action” (King 262). The first step, which is “collection of the facts,” clarify whether the matter requires civil disobedience from the society (King 262). The second step, “negotiation,” is the step where civil disobedience is practiced in a formal way; to change an unjust law, both sides come to an agreement that respects each other’s demand, (King 262). Should the second step fail, comes the “self-purification,” in which the nonconformists question their willingness to endure the consequences without any retaliation that follow enactment of civil disobedience (King 262). The fourth and the last step, “direct action,” is to execute it; coordinated actions such as protests or strikes to pressure no one, but the inexpedient government to conform to them, and advocate their movement, and thus persuade others to promote the same belief (King 262). This procedure along with principles of civil disobedience is one justifiable campaign that systematically attains its objective. King not only presents, but inspires one of the most peaceful ways to void unjust
While Martin Luther King Jr. was imprisoned in Birmingham Jail King wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. In the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, King responds to the eight clergymen about the injustice and problems in society that he and his race face. He also tells the clergymen about non-violent direct action and how he and his people have waited too long by saying “Justice too long delayed is justice denied” (par. 11), and that action must be taken in order for them to fight for their goal of racial equality and instill peace in society once more. In the letter “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King also says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere” (par. 4), because if there is unjust behavior anywhere, others may think that