Patriotism and People Who Commit Acts of Civil Disobedience
analytical Essay
2103 words
Today’s government is more powerful than ever. Between Supreme Court rulings that uphold sovereign immunity to the power of law enforcement to disperse Occupy Wall Street protests, it seems as if the citizens have no right to disobey laws that they know to be unjust. Yet by this measure, the heroes of the past such as the American colonists, abolitionists, women’s suffragists, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Junior, Rosa Parks, and Nelson Mandela would be little more than common criminals. All of these heroes broke the law in the name of a greater justice, and today all of them are revered as being the most patriotic of all people. The attribution of patriotism to people who commit acts of civil disobedience is lawful and just, because civil disobedience, or dissent are a vital part of a liberal democracy, and a free nation of rights. Definition of Civil Disobedience Taking the two components of the term separately, ‘civil’ refers to matters involving the populace or citizens while ‘disobedience’ refers to breaches of the law (Brownlee). This brief analysis hardly does the term justice, however, for its political, individual, and social implications. The political philosopher John Rawls defined it as “a public, non-violent and conscientious breach of law undertaken with the aim of bringing about a change in laws or government policies” (Brownlee). As such, the key components of an act of civil disobedience are: the breach of the law, the non-violent nature of the breach, the public forum in which the breach occurs, and the intention of changing a law or policy. Beyond this definition, the most influential insight into civil disobedience can be found in the transcendentalist writer Henry Thoreau’s article by the same title. In ... ... middle of paper ... ...reat.htm. Accessed December 13, 2013. Lumsden, Linda J. Rampant Women: Suffragists and the Right of Assembly. Nashville, TN: University of Tennessee, 1997. McCullough, David. 1776. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2005. Perry, Lewis. Civil Disobedience: An American Tradition. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2009. http://books.google.com/books?id=WdU_AQAAQBAJ&pg=PT138&lpg=PT138&dq=alasdair+macintyre+civil+disobedience&source=bl&ots=DmHQ3TSyRA&sig=-lDhfe1htmvTdAixEa1NPOqcgt8&hl=en&sa=X&ei=v7CrUrLnI8OayQGm3YGwBw&ved=0CFUQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=alasdair%20macintyre%20civil%20disobedience&f=false. Accessed December 13, 2013. Simpson, Peter. Vices, Virtues, and Consequences: Essays in Moral and Political Philosophy. US: CUA Press, 2001. Thoreau, Henry. “Civil Disobedience.” 1849. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/WALDEN/Essays/civil.html. Accessed December 13, 2013.
In this essay, the author
- Opines that today's government is more powerful than ever. civil disobedience, or dissent, are vital to a liberal democracy.
- Analyzes how hobbes and locke looked to nature as the basis for how social and political systems should be understood.
- Analyzes how locke argues that citizens have a duty to follow the law only so far as they have accepted to enter the social contract with their government.
- Explains that american history is rife with examples of civil disobedience that created positive change in society and the government.
- States that dittmer, john, local people: the struggle for civil rights in mississippi, champaign-urbana, il, university of illinois press, 1995.
- Explains that civil disobedience is defined as a public, non-violent, and conscientious breach of law undertaken with the aim of bringing about change in laws or government policies.
- Analyzes how thoreau defends a highly individualistic view of the relationship between the law, the government, and the citizen based on the notion from political theory that locke espoused.
- Explains that the abolitionist movement and the underground railroad are examples of civil disobedience in the 19th century.
- Explains that nelson mandela, anti-apartheid icon and father of modern south africa, dies. locke, john. chapter xviii: of tyranny.
- States perry, lewis, and simpson, peter. civil disobedience: an american tradition. new haven, ct: yale university press, 2009.
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- Comparing Letter from a Birmingham Jail and Civil Disobedienceanalytical essayMartin 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.
In this essay, the author
- Compares king and thoreau's essay on the importance of identifying and exposing injustice in order to fight for justice.
- Analyzes how thoreau, who agrees with king's definitions and argument, identifies unjust laws as an evil to society and wants them abolished immediately.
- Analyzes how thoreau and king explain why it is important to fight for justice. king relates this ideology to the injustice towards the african americans.
- Analyzes how king feels that his people cannot afford to wait for their freedom because if they do, their revolt will not be practiced non-violently. thoreau also supports king in his "direct action" plan.
- Argues that it is moral to break an unjust law since it takes away the people's god-given rights and restricts their individualism.
- Compares thoreau and king's "letter from a birmingham jail" and argues for civil disobedience to ensure that the people’s god-given rights are preserved for generations.
- Describes king's letter from a birmingham jail to fellow clergymen.
- Compares martin luther king and henry david thoreau's essays on social injustice and civil disobedience.
1558 wordsRead More - Justice is often misconceived as injustice, and thus some essential matters that require more legal attentions than the others are neglected; ergo, some individuals aim to change that. The principles of civil disobedience, which are advocated in both “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. to the society, is present up to this time in the U.S. for that purpose.
In this essay, the author
- Explains how martin luther king jr. applies the principles of civil disobedience in his nonviolent campaign.
- Analyzes thoreau and king's conception of an injustice happening in the u.s. today.
- Explains that civil disobedience is a viable tool against any inexpediency in the government. it sheds light to neglected matters that are essential to the society.
- Analyzes how thoreau's "civil disobedience" and "letter from birmingham jail" advocate civil disobéism in the u.s.
799 wordsRead More - The Need For Civil Disobedienceanalytical essayMartin Luther King stated “Cowardice asks the question, 'Is it safe?' Expediency asks the question, 'Is it politic?' But conscience asks the question, 'Is it right?' And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.” Conscience is the main sense of human being that helps to distinguish what is wrong and what is right. Thus, conscience has to be a main driving force when people encounter unjust laws of government. One of the philosophers who favored this idea was Henry David Thoreau. Specifically, he proposed a theory that a personal conscience is the main sense, which is responsible for basic rudiments of social principles and argued that if complying the law forces to support and be a part of unjust affairs of the government then people should make their own decisions founded on morality. Therefore a person should try to follow conscience in order to act in accordance with their moral principles. During Thoreau’s time, he mentioned two main unjust aspects, such as the slavery and Mexican war that cause him to reach the conclusion that individual conscience is crucial and has major priority than current laws. As proof of his idea, Thoreau explained that person should act from own conscience instead of laws in order to avoid sharing responsibility for the government unjust actions. Also, Thoreau claimed that the individual conscience is a base of social morality and principles, which helps to develop to better society. According to Thoreau’s society should show their civil disobedience for any unjust of government.
In this essay, the author
- Explains martin luther king's quote that conscience is the main sense of human being that helps to distinguish between right and wrong. thoreau argued that individual conscience was crucial and had major priority than current laws.
- Explains thoreau's view that true honor is derived from civil disobedience to government unjust policy rather than tacit disagreement, coupled with social passivity.
- Explains that following conscience can be one of the factors of being right person. thoreau was an explicit example of "one-man revolution".
- Analyzes thoreau's "civil disobedience" in a world of ideas: essential readings for college writer.
1158 wordsRead More - Breaking the Law or Civil Desobedienceanalytical essayCivil Disobedience is when one breaks the law to prove a point or bring about a potential moral change. This can include just changing the way society thinks about a certain subject. Throughout history, Civil Disobedience has been effectively used to bring about drastic change in not only the way people think, but also their actions. It was Henry David Thoreau who coined the term in the 1848 because he did not believe he should pay taxes that went to the war against Mexico or supporting the Fugitive Slave Law, both of which he saw as immoral. A key factor in Civil Disobedience is that the offender should generally be willing to accept the punishment for it, as it shows how they still have respect for the authority; the priority is simply change (“Civil Disobedience”).
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how civil disobedience is a way of combating unjust laws. martin luther king jr. clarifies that laws are good on the outside, but when they are put into practice, they're used against minorities while society doesn't follow them.
- Opines that civil disobedience is a moral right, but only when the government is eliminating basic human rights.
- Explains that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. one has a legal and moral responsibility to obey just laws.
- Analyzes how civil disobedience has been used as an effective tool for change and a necessary one. gandhi and his followers produced salt themselves illegally and spread it on his march through the indian countryside.
- Analyzes how civil disobedience can be used to change the way people think and gain support to an idea or injustice in a democratic society.
- Reviews raz's ity of law: essays on law and morality, oxford: clarendon press.
- Explains that civil disobedience is a crime that the offender should be willing to take the punishment for.
- Analyzes how the utah citizens used law breaking to protest the overreach of federal power in the west. it was the act of not moving from her seat that propelled rosa parks to fame
- Analyzes brandon, alex, and glionna, john's views on civil disobedience and the norton anthology of african american literature.
1627 wordsRead More - Exploration of Civil Disobedience in Sophocles' Antigone, King's Letter from Birmingham Jail, and Plato's From Critoanalytical essayCivil disobedience spawns a major and widely debated issue by many who established by well-known intelligent scholars and many examples of civil disobedience become displayed. The acts of civil disobedience can be noted in major works such as Sophocles?s Antigone, King?s ?Letter from Birmingham Jail?, or even from Plato?s ?from Crito?. A specific claim exemplified throughout these works make that civil disobedience races in gaining popularity and should remain allowed, and continued to be seen as a solution to reform poorly established laws. A claim represented is, civil disobedience is right. Rhetorically, appeals such as credibility, logic and emotion can provide support for these claims.
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes the importance of civil disobedience in sophocles' antigone, king's letter from birmingham jail, and plato’s from crito.
- Analyzes the creditability of antigone, crito, and letter from birmingham jail. sophocles is a credible author.
- Analyzes how plato was imprisoned because he taught philosophy to people and is credible for not doing wrong. martin luther king jr. is a very credible person in the civil rights movement.
- Analyzes how the logical part of rhetorical appeals refers mainly to the specific facts as evidence. martin luther king jr. supports and explains how his race was treated as inferior and being persecuted.
- Analyzes how emotion, death, and will contribute to a story's claim for civil disobedience.
- Analyzes the claim supported that civil disobedience should be supported and allowed against unmoral unjust laws. all three rhetorical techniques of logic, emotion and credibility are supported through the works of antigone, crito, and letter from birmingham jail
582 wordsRead More - Martin Luther King Jr Civil Disobedienceexplanatory essayCivil disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws, but in a peaceful form of political protests. Martin Luther King Jr. is the best example of a form of civil disobedience for the Civil rights Movement and many more through the late 1950s to the late 1960s. ‘’Martin Luther King Jr. used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance, such as protest, grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience.’’
In this essay, the author
- Explains that civil disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws, but in a peaceful form of political protests. martin luther king jr. was the best example for the civil rights movement.
- Explains that martin luther king jr. was born on january 15, 1929 at his family home in atlanta, georgia where he grew up to be a leader for equal rights.
184 wordsRead More - We Are Not Yet Done With Thoreau Rhetorical Analysisanalytical essayCivil Disobedience is an essay that highlights the importance of individualism. Thoreau personifies the precious nature of humanity and that individual’s thoughts are those of the highest regards. At first look I saw Thoreau a radical pessimist because of his negative outlook on society but in reality he does not shut down the whole basis of society, but simply challenges one to embody individuality within it. While Thoreau can sometimes be as an extremist several of his claim hold great value to Americans in the 21st century. Thoreau, through his essay, attempts to inspire individuals to stand up against the government if need be, to stand up for the injustices in the world no matter the cost, and to appoint
In this essay, the author
- Analyzes how thoreau's civil disobedience is an essay that highlights the importance of individualism. he personifies the precious nature of humanity and challenges one to embody individuality within it.
- Analyzes thoreau's question of whether a civil citizen is possible without loosing one’s principles. many powerful leaders like martin luther king jr., susan b. anthony, and nelson mandela have practiced civil disobedience
- Analyzes how thoreau was imprisoned on one occasion, although it was only for one night. he refused to pay taxes because he saw it as a way of denying his support of our nation's government.
- Analyzes thoreau's aggressive anti-government stance and states he strives for a government that relies on individuals to help fix it. americans must stand up against inequality because it can no longer be an acceptable practice.
- Opines that thoreau's beliefs are outdated and extremist, but fearless leaders who stand up against the government form the foundation of our nation.
760 wordsRead More - Civil Disobedience: Martin Luther King And Henry David Thoreauanalytical essayCivil disobedience is defined as the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest.The justice system in America generally does not support civil disobedience. For example, during the years preceding the Civil Rights Movement, refusing to obey the governmental demands and requests was not something one should take part in if one were “colored.” If a person refuses to do what is asked and acts on it in an aggressive manner, it forces the justice system to not be on that person’s side, and the outcome for that person in the long run could be worse than for someone who acted out but did not use violence. Both Martin Luther King, Junior in his “Letter from Birmingham City c Jail” and Henry David Thoreau in his essay “Civil
In this essay, the author
- Explains that civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest.
- Analyzes how martin luther king, jr's "letter from birmingham jail" talks about how the justice system worked when it came to civil disobedience in this time.
- Analyzes how martin luther king jr. and henry david thoreau both wanted change, but neither of them got what they truly wanted.
- Analyzes thoreau's essay on civil disobedience and how the government is the leading cause for there being no change. martin luther king junior stayed steady on why the white man is treated better than the black man.
- Explains that civil disobedience is a peaceful form of political protest, and that the justice system dislikes it, but some are understandable. the civil rights movement is an example.
1076 wordsRead More - Compare And Contrast Thoreau And Civil Disobedienceanalytical essayMahatma Gandhi, a prominent leader in the independence movement of India once said, “Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.”(brainyquotes.com) Gandhi states that protest and civil disobedience are necessary when the authority becomes unscrupulous. This correlates to “Declaration of Independence,” by Thomas Jefferson; “Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau; and “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” by Martin Luther King Jr., because all three leaders felt that civil disobedience was important to help protest against an unjust ruling. Jefferson stood up to the injustice of the king by writing the Declaration of Independence and urged others to stand up for the independence of America. Thoreau exemplified
In this essay, the author
- Compares gandhi's "declaration of independence," "civil disobedience," and "letter from a birmingham jail" with jefferson, thoreau, and king.
- Explains that thomas jefferson wanted to cut off all connections with great britain in order to maintain god-given rights. many people came to the colonies to get away from the inequitable rule of king george iii.
- Explains that he has refused to assent to laws, forbidden his governors to pass laws of immediate and pressing importance, called together legislative bodies at places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the depository of their public records.
- Analyzes how jefferson uses "he has" to list all of the unfair actions and laws that king george has done or passed. jefferson used civil disobedience to rebel against the king of great britain and document the separation between the two countries.
- Analyzes how thoreau, inspired by jefferson, stood up for slaves and soldiers in the mexican-american war by using civil disobedience to help preserve the american philosophy of the unalienable rights.
- Opines that the people must cease to make war on mexico, though it cost their existence as people.
- Compares thoreau's analogy to the moral wrongness in stealing another drowning man’s plank for his safety and the government taking soldiers away for their own safety.
- Analyzes how king hopes to convince the clergy to join the protest by using civil disobedience. king protested against segregation of blacks in alabama which led him to jail.
- Analyzes how king uses a pathos-based appeal to help argue to the clergy to support his cause.
- Explains that thomas jefferson, henry david thoreau, and martin luther king jr. advocated for american citizens to speak out against an unjust ruling.
1321 wordsRead More - Role Of Individualism In Civil Disobedienceopinion essayIn the story civil disobedience there is one thing they mainly talk about that relates to
In this essay, the author
- Explains that in the story of civil disobedience, there is one thing that they mainly talk about.
- Explains that transcendentalists believe in nature and god, and most of their writings come from nature.
- Explains that civil disobedience is the rejection of civil orders.
- Opines that he should allow government to make laws or tell what good and what's bad.
- Opines that this year, that would not be a violent and bloody measure, as it would be.
- Opines that if you really wish to do anything, resign.
- Explains individualism as speaking your mind, thoughts, inner feelings toward what you believe in, and taking a stand for yourself.
- Analyzes why the government isn't more apt to anticipate and provide for reform, cherish its wise minority, cry and resist before it's hurt, and encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults.
- Analyzes how civil disobedience comes into play when citizens aren't agreeing with what the government has made up.
- Analyzes how thoreau explained transcendentalism and why the government was doing poor things. the alternative is to keep all just men in prison or give up war and slavery.
- Opines that civil disobedience was a topic back then compared to present day. they say that we have big say in our government, freedom of speech, and other freedoms.
588 wordsRead More