Many people believe laws are in place to protect them from danger and each other. Thus inferring they take some sort of control over people's actions. Laws are in place by our government (authority) to control a group of people living in a area together (community) (merriam-webster). These laws should not be broken or a penalty fitting the crime will be given, and those responsible will be sentenced to pay. Although not all laws that are broken are meant to be an act of defilement some are broken to show one's stand on a issue or as solidarity to others. It may be inferred from the actions that Martin Luther King Jr. took that he fought for the rights and the constant injustice he and others lived. King helped move the segregation issue forward by constant battles and by letting his clear, load voice be heard across the nation. As human beings and members of a country with so much to offer, everyone should have a moral obligation to stand up for what they believe in. Fighting injustice in a peaceful and determined way will result in a greater outcome for all. What makes a fair law and what makes an unjust law? In addition, when can they decide which is which? The answer to this question depends very much on people's understanding and opinion on the status of the law. On this issue it is likely that everyone falls into one of two categories. People falling into the first of these categories would be those who consider that through social contract they are indebted to obey the law, whatever the law states and regardless of their opinion on the moral status of that law ,that they are morally obligated to operate within the law. Furthermore by this way of thinking we can conclude that if the law binds us we must commit to what t... ... middle of paper ... ...thod that he would rather die than commit an unjust act by escaping. Socrates feared to be seen as unjust and seen as a corrupting force, since he would have destroyed the power of the law. He chose death to show his people what he believed in was true. Nevertheless, if one observes the actions of Martin Luther King Jr. and Cesar Chavez and compares them to the actions of other groups or individuals who have attempted to bring about social change, a simple conclusion can be reached. Nonviolent means of protest are the most effective way to bring about change, and also the best way to give others an understanding of why the change is necessary. In conclusion King wrote and spoke amazing words about freedom, equality, and justice his work along with others like him, have changed the United States, and has given people what he wanted the most dignity and respect.
Utilizing paradox, Chavez describes the effectiveness of nonviolent protest to his audience. Recalling the achievements of MLK, Chavez claims that King “learned how to successfully fight hatred and violence with the unstoppable power of nonviolence.” This quote demonstrates
In the article, published on the tenth anniversary of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Cesar Chavez invokes the ideas of Dr. King and advocates for nonviolent resistance. Utilizing a determined tone throughout, he asserts that nonviolence will accomplish the goals of civil rights activists. By using contrasting diction to distinguish nonviolent action and violent action, he is able to reason for nonviolent virtues. With the use of rhetorical strategies, Chavez is able to drive his argument for nonviolent resistance.
Everyone that has been through the American school system within the past 20 years knows exactly who Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is, and exactly what he did to help shape the United States to what it is today. In the beginning of the book, Martin Luther King Jr. Apostle of Militant Nonviolence, by James A. Colaiaco, he states that “this book is not a biography of King, [but] a study of King’s contribution to the black freedom struggle through an analysis and assessment of his nonviolent protest campaigns” (2). Colaiaco discusses the successful protests, rallies, and marches that King put together. . Many students generally only learn of Dr. King’s success, and rarely ever of his failures, but Colaiaco shows of the failures of Dr. King once he started moving farther North.
Cesar Chavez uses morals and his audience fear of destruction to justify his stance on non-violent protests . Martin Luther King jr was an activist and civil rights leader that did not use violence to get his point across like many other activists at that time. Cesar Chavez wrote on the anniversary of his death explaining why using nonviolence is the way to advocate rights for those in need. His article was put in a religious organization that helped people who were in need of help. Cesar Chavez uses morals as a way to appeal to the religious side of his audience. Cesar Chavez also uses the fear of losing power to prove that doing nonviolent protests are the right way to spread his cause.
...ealing to the compassion of the humanity through the means of civil disobedience, Dr. King was able to expose racial injustices and appeal to the human conscience and national opinion so that those who had the power to initiate change would support him and those who were fighting to overcome oppression.
Martin Luther King Jr.'s achievement of a nonviolent movement. Chavez wanted to follow King's philosophy, and he gave reasons as to why King's ideas are the only way to achieve a successful protest. "If we resort to violence then one of two things will happen: either the violence will be escalated and there will be many injuries and perhaps deaths on both sides, or there will be total demoralization of the workers." After King's death, the movement became violent, and several Americans died as a result of those violent acts. The white people demoralized the black people after the violence, so Chavez stressed the negative effects to the
(Ansbro, 231) instead of promoting love and violence among all races. King’s purpose in promoting nonviolence direct action was to create a situation so crisis packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiations. He felt that practicing nonviolence would portray his followers as moral beings while making apparent the brutality of the segregationists. King’s preaching of nonviolence was monumental in succeeding in demonstrations such as the Montgomery bus boycott and the desegregation of public schools. King’s reaching of nonviolent direct action furthers the arguments that King is the most influential person of the twentieth century.
From the creation of the very first civilizations, people have been using laws for potential disputes and or other issues that they come across. With the evolution of time and the expansion of the legal system, many laws were established that did not promote justice and equality. In essence, they did not take into consideration the ethical and racial implications that these laws generated. In our days, laws of this nature are still in effect and are characterized as unjust. They can be found anywhere and can take various forms.
"Martin Luther King: The Philosophy of Nonviolent Resistance." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. Web. 16 Nov. 2010. .
Martin Luther King Jr., a peaceful protester that used words to lead to a positive impact on a free society, which guided the United States government to change. He stated, “Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.” Mr. King is known for peaceful protests in the 1950s and 1960s. He unlike Malcolm X and others who used violence to try and get change; that lead the society to be angry at these type of protesters. Martin Luther King Jr. used words to persuade the federal government that there needed to be changes. If peaceful resistance to laws negatively impacted a free society, nothing would get accomplished; whereas peaceful resistance to the
To begin, however, I believe it is necessary to define an "unjust" law. According to St. Thomas Aquinas, "Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust." (King, 3) According to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., "An unjust law is a code that a numerical or power majority compels a minority group to obey, but does not make binding on itself." (King, 4)
Justice is controlled differently all throughout the world. Similarly, justice means a different thing to different people. Though not always enforced, my definition of what is just most likely differs from the person next to me. However, there are some actions that are generally accepted as being unjust. To give one example from the reading it is controversial whether “laws” are capable of determining what is just & what is unjust. It can be agreed by most that there are some laws are unjust but it is controversial among people whether these unjust laws can justly be disobeyed. Is disobeying a law always unjust regardless of the absurdity of the particular law?
In Cesar Chavez’s article “He Showed us the Way”, Chavez talks about Martin Luther King’s practices, how he stands with his nonviolent teachings and how king believed hate cannot driven out hate. Chavez explains how being nonviolent helped many members of the Civil Rights Movement get what they wanted. Throughout the article, Chavez uses religious and historical allusion, to show how nonviolence can be the best route to achieve what they want.
They claim "Martin Luther King, Jr., is a hero we consider to have greatly influenced society rather than society having influenced him. Through his leadership in the civil rights movement and through his political protests, he forever altered American society" (Husain, 8). He did not change us on his own. He was first a victim of cruel injustices and this effect from society motivated him to try and change it." Dr. King was not immune to the influences of society around him, as he, and the civil rights movement he led, were affected by the racism and prejudice that was endemic in America at the time…His ability to motivate people to embrace the ideals he preached, and to transform society, was dictated and provided by the specific conditions of the society around him"(Husain, 8). This illustrates that Martin Luther King was first inspired by the animosity and racism ever-so-present in current times to protest and fight against it. King acted upon this influence, changing the culture in turn, and becoming one of our most pivotal heroes. He was created by this society, like many others, and only altered the culture after this
One component of the definition of justice is the final outcome of the process of the law, whereby justice is distributed by the State. According to this definition, justice is the mechanical process of the structure of law – set in place and agreed to by the people of the State. Another definition is concerned with the value inherent in ‘just’ behavior. One distinction between these two definitions is the difference between an individual viewpoint and the larger view of the society. Either view incorporates the concept of moral judgment; ‘good’ as opposed to ‘bad.’