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Civil disobedience full essay
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CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND REBELLION
“Civil disobedience and rebellion becomes a sacred duty of a person when the state becomes lawless and corrupt”. These are the words spoken by Mahatma Gandhi; a leader of the independence movement in the British ruled India. Civil disobedience is disagreeing with the government in a peaceful way whereas rebellion is doing the same thing in a violent way. These actions are provoked when the people don’t like something that the government is doing. They are necessary ways to help protect people’s treasured rights, to publicize an issue and overthrow an unjust government or gain independence. For these reasons, civil disobedience and rebellion are both equally necessary to obtain an effective democracy.
People use civil disobedience and rebellion to claim freedom and denied rights. It is also used to overthrow a tyrannical government. According to principle no. 3 from the declaration of independence; it is the government’s duty is to protect the people’s unalienable rights. The government is not to seize or deny people of their rights and liberty or the government is classified as tyrannical. In the 1700s American colonies were under the rule of the British government. The colonists lived under the British monarch, King George III. The king then started to take an
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However, there are major disadvantages to rebellion and civil disobedience. First, rebellion and disobedience will cause destruction. It will harm property and may even claim lives. In spite of that the benefits of rebellion and civil disobedience outweigh its disadvantages. Through civil disobedience and rebellion we can gain peace and also be happy. Besides, many people also think that you are not really living your life without your rights. To sum up, civil disobedience and rebellion will certainly help structure an effective
“No radical change on the plane of history is possible without crime,” This quote from Hermann Keyserling is just one of many statements that help describe the meaning and true raw power of Civil Disobedience. Civil disobedience as defined by Merriam Webster is the “refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government”. The most promising and understandable of the definitions of Civil Disobedience would be that given to us by Gandhi from India “Compassion in the form of respectful disagreement”. Even the Veterans Fast for Life from here in the United States must agree when saying, “when leaders act contrary to conscience, we must act contrary to leaders.” To understand why civil disobedience is so important in our lives you must first look into your heart and realize that the integrity of mankind has no need of rules.
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
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”.
Henry David Thoreau, well known for his work Civil Disobedience, discusses and argues for a sustainable government for the American populace. The motto: “That government is best which governs least” (part 1, paragraph 1) carries on and supports several claims Thoreau makes throughout his essay. His response states: “I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect…” (part 1, paragraph 1) which strengthens Thoreau’s point of view about the American government and the type of government he desires. Thoreau also applies figurative language and central ideas to make his points strong, convincing, and engaging toward the reader about a “better government”.
Henry David Thoreau effectively portrays his disagreement with the government. He formally points out and describes the shortcomings of the government of his time; as well as, he describes the so called benefits of the governing body. In his work, Civil Disobedience, even the title speaks out on his position with the government. He provides a very clear stand on his argument and provides very valid points which, to this day, still hold true.
There are times throughout the history of the United States when its citizens have felt the need to revolt against the government. There were such cases during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau, when there was unfair discrimination against the Afro-American community and Americans refusing to pay poll taxes to support the Mexican War. They used civil disobedience to eventually get legislation to stop the injustice brought against them and their nation. Civil disobedience is defined as refusal to obey civil laws or decrees, which usually takes the form of passive resistance. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider the law unjust, and want to call attention to its injustice, hoping to bring about its withdrawal.
In life, sometimes disagreements arise, yet we keep our opinions inward, we stay quiet about the issue. Other times, we fight back against the disagreements, and refuse to cave to the oppositions opinion. This is considered an act of disobedience. When displayed in a child’s character, it is usually considered normal. As an adult, however, when we speak up about our opinion and ask others to join us in common grounds, the act is viewed as civil disobedience. In his writings on civil disobedience, Henry David Thoreau tries to persuade his readers to change their views of the government by using ethos, pathos and logos. His works proved to be effective, and now, people have second thoughts about their government.
Civil disobedience is just because one should not follow laws that cause or lead up to slavery. The aftereffects of civil disobedience are not god-awful owing to the fact that when comparing an abusive treatment with a consequence of going against it; it is clear that it is better to practice civil disobedience than to not practice it and remain in pain of such that can be caused by slavery. Thoreau disputes his idea of revolting against a government during rough times by utilizing metaphor, imagery, and rhetorical questioning.
As humans are imperfect and irrational, they throughout history have formulated governments to deter and prevent crime, organize communities, and act in the best interest of the ruling group [majority or minority]. Since governments can be irrational and humans are emotional, disobedience to authority has and shall always exist in civilised society. True civil disobedience according to Erich Fromm and Mr. Thoreau is against an irrational authority and the focus of protestation is irreconcilable with oneself. Civil disobedience by citizens is intended to evoke change but is drastically different in methodology depending on the government type. The consequences of civil disobedience in mind, in this essay I hereby advise civil disobedience solely
The novel Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck and “On The Duty of Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau have the same fundamentals. In chapter seventeen of Grapes of Wrath, Steinbeck writes about the migrant families integrate into one family, despite facing opposition from the government, land owners, and more. In “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience”, Thoreau discusses the function of the government and how it is not applicable towards today’s society. Steinbeck writes about the passivity of the government on the times before and after the Great Depression and how this event affected many families. Steinbeck does not suggest that the government should intervene in the people’s problems, rather the people should rise up against their oppressors, who are the land owners. Thoreau writes about how the government is ineffective and unjust in its acceptance of slavery and its actions in the Mexican-American War. Both Thoreau and
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.
“ There are as many views as there are different aspects of civil disobedience...the difference of views appears to be infinite. But there is general consensus that at least one common factor can be found, and that is, a willingness to respect and accept the relevant legal system. That is the marked difference between civil disobedience and open revolt or armed revolution,” ("Democracy Can 't Exist without Respect for the Rule of Law"). There are many differences between revolution and civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is nonviolent and respectful to the law. Armed revolution is a fighting against the government with weapons and an intent to destroy the government. Many may say that civil disobedience is a slippery slope and it will lead to revolution. Civil disobedience is very respectful and the only reason it is happening is because there are unjust laws. The people who participate in civil disobedience or peaceful protests are displaying respect for their government by helping it become better, rather than trying to overthrow
Thoreau and Emerson are the same in many ways, the both have the things they stand against. Emerson wants us to be ourselves by being independent, he thinks you have to be yourself to be great. Thoreau wants you be be yourself by not following the government blindly, if you know the law is unjust don't follow it. Although Thoreau and Emerson may have their similarities, they also have things that set them apart. Thoreau is fighting is individuality with the government and its unjust laws. In his essay “Civil Disobedience’ he states “That government is best which governs least” (Thoreau 390). In Emerson’s story “Self Reliance” he is fighting his individuality with the part of society who doesn't think or act for themselves. In Emerson’s essay he states “...But God will not have his work made manifest by cowards” (Emerson 225).
The concepts of obedience and disobedience are evident from the beginning of one 's life. Young children are born with the tendency to do things that are against what they are told or what they know they should do. They don 't have to learn how to disobey; it is an innate behavior. This struggle between obedience and disobedience carries on throughout our lives. There are three major factors that can cause obedience and disobedience; authority, social pressure, and situations. Each of these vastly impact an individual 's behavior and cause them to act in ways they would normally not.
I am a pacifist; I do not believe in nor promote violence. I do, however, promote peaceful protest. The act of civil disobedience, of protesting something that is unjust, unconstitutional is well within our constitutional rights. The right to criticize our government is one that was given, that was fought for by our founding fathers. It is an act that affects our society in a very positive way; peaceful resistance encourages others to criticize a cruel and unfair government. Peaceful protests, strikes, and boycotts have the opportunity to gain the government's attention, to try and stop these so-called "anarchists". When we look back at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we see a hero. We see someone who is intelligent, who is not afraid to argue,