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The free society that is America was founded on the idea that the government can be wrong, and requires people to unite against it in order to fix their government's mistake. Many people believe that civil disobedience is just an excuse to break the laws, but sometimes laws must be broken in order to show people how wrong they really are. People that have committed civil disobedience helped show our country how foolish it was being.
Rosa Parks is well known for bringing about change in the civil rights movement and stopping segregation in the south. It is well known that she refused to give up her seat to a white man which seems absurd now, but at that time was actually illegal. She had committed a blatant act of civil disobedience by simply saying 'no'. By this act of civil disobedience she was able to bring national attention to the segregation that was going on in the south, and brought about major changes in creating complete equality for black people that lived in the south. Theses changes helped further our nation into being more accepting, and created a more freer society, this is the impact that one act of civil disobedience had on the nation.
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He did inform his country of secrets the country shouldn't be hiding from them, while having ," no lasting harm to the national security of his country" (Cassidy). It was a peaceful way to inform everybody, but still a serious crime, and because of this he left the country in order to avoid being arrested. With him leaving the country he no longer embodies the one of the core values of civil disobedience, which accepting the consequences of the law that was broken as Muhammad Ali and Rosa Parks had done. Even if Snowden doesn't turn himself in what he did still helped the people of this country people aware of what their government was doing behind thier backs, and allowing them to limit what the government can do with listening in on its own
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
When Rosa Parks refused to give up her bus seat to a white passenger in Montgomery in 1955, she engaged in one of the most iconic acts of civil disobedience in American history. She was arrested, and her nonviolent resistance of segregation laws led to the famous Montgomery bus boycott. Although many people hail Parks’ act of civil disobedience as one of courage and great importance, today the topic of civil disobedience is controversial. Some criticize this form of protest as a path to anarchy, and others say that it is not defiant enough. However, peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because it can help marginalized groups, challenge immoral war, and combat harmful corporate interests.
Henry David Thoreau’s work on civil disobedience in 1849 paved way for Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. His work stated that if you don’t like what is being done then don’t just say you want change be the change you want to see. In the case of Rosa Parks she didn’t find it right she had to sit in the back of the bus so she didn’t sit in the back. Then she was put into jail. After people heard about Rosa Parks they stood up and started protecting.
In December of 1955, Rosa Parks would become the catapult for change in the segregated United States. As she sat on a bus on her way home one day in Montgomery, Alabama, Rosa Parks peacefully refused to give up her seat for a white individual. Soon after refusing to move, Rosa Parks was arrested and put in jail. Parks utilized civil disobedience to create a positive change in the country for years to come. Peaceful resistance and civil disobedience to laws positively impact a free society because it initiates change to create more freedom, and it tests the laws according to what the American Constitution says.
Throughout United States history, there have been hundreds of influential people that have impacted many changes in the nation. Rosa Parks is one of many who have changed the lives of African Americans. Parks was an outstanding woman who stood up for what she believed in, and she never let anyone tell her different. Parks was a kind hearted, selfless person and for that she will always be remembered. Parks endured many hardships, not only during her childhood but also during her adult life, and gave rise to the civil rights movement through a boycott.
It is important to notice that if civil disobedience was not effective, then it would not be continually used to disobey the law. In "The Role of Civil Disobedience in Democracy” by Kayla Starr, she explains why we have the right to participate in civil disobedience. “The U.S. Bill of Rights asserts that the authority of a government is derived from the consent of the governed, and whenever any form of government becomes destructive, it is the right and duty of the people to alter or abolish it” (Starr 1). There are many examples of how effective this act of defiance could be. During the Boston Tea Party, the citizens of Massachusetts practiced civil disobedience by throwing Britain’s tea into the Boston harbor because they did not want to pay taxes on tea. Now, you can see that the Boston Tea Party played a major role in the United States becoming independent from Britain (Starr 1). Although violating the law has consequences, in this case the reward outweighed the risk. I think that by realizing the power that civil disobedience carries, we can stand up against ...
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
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.
Rosa Parks was a African American woman who sat in the front of the bus after a long hard day at work. As she traveled on the bus back home, a Caucasian male approached and asked her to get up from her seat to go to the back of the bus because he wanted to sit there. Instead of avoiding the trouble and just going to the back of the bus, she decided to stay where she was . Due to the time period, because of her not giving her seat up to the gentlemen, she was arrested and charged with civil disobedience. After her arrest was made a boycott would ensue
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.
Throughout history, there are always laws and rules; however, these rules wouldn’t evolve and progress in a government if it weren’t for civil disobedience. Throughout the course of history, especially in democracies, civil disobedience has been used to change unright laws, and it gives people the freedom to stand for what they believe in. There are countless examples of people who have protested and changed the world. In a way, it also lets people stay true to what they believe is right, whether it be for religious reasons or just because of their ethics. Civil disobedience is, and always has been, a part of society; it is not only a part of government, but it is also necessary in a democracy where people have freedom of speech and other similar rights.
In the end, Rosa Parks got what she wanted; rights for blacks. Even though there is still racism today blacks are considered equal to whites. When she sat in her bus seat and said, “I’m tired of you [people] pushing [us] around.” It made a difference in this world. She became a positive role model for Colored people.
Rosa Parks was a black American who it has been said, started the black civil rights movement. Rosa Parks was fro Montgomery, and in Montgomery they had a local low that black people were only allowed to sit in a few seats on the public buses and if a white person wanted their set, they would have to give it up. On one bus journey Parks was asked to move for a white person, she refused and the police were call and she was arrested and convicted of breaking the bus laws.
By not giving up her seat to a white man, Rosa Parks has started the cause of the civil rights movement in the United States. This helps all African Americans get rights in America. Rosa Parks saw racial discrimination in her early life. Also, she saw African Americans as not equal. She influenced the change of African American rights, which helped develop the Civil Rights Movement. Rosa Parks helped influenced society, when she said no to a white male for her seat. The boycott of African American rights started after Rosa Parks did not give up her seat. Rosa Parks did not know she was going to influence society, nor did she know she was going to get arrested by doing this. Rosa Parks influence has helped change society and also is still a great example to others today.
Overall, Rosa Parks, with the support of the black community & many other people, become a huge icon in the Civil Rights movement. Because of the Montgomery Bus Boycott it changed the view for many people on how they treated each other back then. Even though Rosa may not have realized at the time how much of an impact she would make, the reaction that she had to the Montgomery Bus Boycott made many benefits on how we treated each other