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Oppinions on civil disobedience
How civil disobedience affects society
How civil disobedience affects society
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Everyone can act on civil disobediance because of their different values. This is caused by how people were raised and the right to free will. Without free will everyone would think and do the same, in which humans would no longer be human but only machines. So I ask this question, what is really worth fighting for even if it’s not against the government? Is it the amendments, choosing who you marry, wealth, privacy and/or safety. If we were to choose some of these, we wouldn’t be looking at the bigger picture... our OWN free will to make decisions make us human. That is worth fighting for. The definition of the government is, “the governing body of a nation, state, or community”. Though throughout history the government begins to control what the people think or feel, such as gun laws, gay rights, equality, racism;however, if we were to stand for our free will by listening to our conscious and …show more content…
For example, if we follow each and every law perfectly, we all would lose our individuality and not reach further goals. Many people believe that opposite opinions will result in conflict, though like when you turn rocks in a box the rocks begin to clash against each other to create beautiful new stones. In other words, everyones ideas matter and if we put them together we can build a better future where everyone can come to an understanding or at least respect for one another. The ability to think by yourself is what makes us human. And I believe that if our free will is threatened by a superior, we should do everything in our power to continue using our conscious. Without clashing opinions we would never become better people and advance our inventions or thought, we would think like machines,
Society is built on the fact that everyone is different: different gender, different hair color, different body types, and, most importantly, different opinions. Although conflict stems from different opinions, humans can not help but have their own thoughts and feelings about every situation. Different opinions, such as democrats vs. republicans or pro-life vs. pro-birth, are just a few examples, on the neverending list, of society spitting their views on a topic. Despite the fact that everyone is so different, people can learn from each other and grow their opinions after hearing the other “side of the story”. We may not always agree with each other, but we should just listen, understand, and respect the fact that everyone has different opinions.
The moment we learn to understand and accept the differences in others will be when everyone will flourish and live in peace. Instead of trying to outdo someone’s accomplishments ideas, or mentalities, one must learn to recognize and appreciate their accomplishments and attitudes and influence or encourage a positive response instead. There is no need to fight for the title of greatest, funniest or best in a group or representative for a group. The moment we all stop competing with each other will be when we all understand an learn how to cooperate and appreciate each
Thoreau, Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and now Parkland Florida students as well as students around the world; is it true that civil disobedience is the best way for people of all ages to get their voices heard, especially for students who are fighting for gun control?(hook rhetorical) Civil disobedience has been used for centuries to protest unjust laws and legislation, as well as other government decisions that many of the public do not agree with. Thoreau was one of the first to use the term “Resistance to Civil Government” know known as civil disobedience, in which he detailed that not only was the best government the one that did the least, but that laws passed by the government were no better than the people they governed(Thoreau).
Civil disobedience is the refusal to follow or demand laws or rules. Taking a stand on issues of justice in society may be important or redundant to many individuals. In my case, taking a stand on issues of justice is important. Individuals take a stand on justice so they can change issues, speak for people who can’t speak for themselves, and fight for what they believe in.
Why partake in civil disobedience? Oscar Wilde, an influential author, has an opinion on utilization of civil disobedience. “Disobedience, in the eyes of anyone who has read history, is man's original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion. Meaning, if a person wants to change society and its actions, they must rebel against the governing body in order to create effective alterations. Many situations exist where civil disobedience advocates change. In those situations, people have rights for disobedience, but must realize consequences may result from their disobedient actions.
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 ...
... lived during times where the government and church held much power in society, but Thoreau’s On the Duty of Civil Disobedience appealed to me the most with his methods of civil disobedience. The government today holds power over the people in the United States. Even though the United States is a democratic government there is still corruption within it. Such as there being corrupt police officers who may lie to save himself knowing that he was wrong. Enabling the persecution of another person who is innocent. Also the rich in this government still hold the most power in this country. A rich person may buy their way out of jail, while a non rich person is not able to. I believe civil disobedience is a great way to combat the government because it prevents bloodshed and allows a message to get across if down with enough people to gain attention.
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
Regardless of consequence, Thoreau talks in Civil Disobedience about the importance of acting on your right to revolution. “All men recognize the right of resolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, the government, when its tyranny or its inefficiency are great and unendurable” (4) he goes on to state that “A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority”
When nonviolent civil disobedience occurs, the participating citizens are attempting to bring about positive change to the system--change which has not (and may not have) been brought about by words alone. Given that this constitutional republic is intended to be representative of its citizens in accordance with its fundamental laws, citizens are undoubtedly justified in striving for representation for the public will. This is put succinctly by David Thoreau in the poem Civil Disobedience: “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” The government should enact the will of its people, and where people see a law as being unjust this disposition is voided. A purportedly representative governing body should be brought to consider the will of its people in earnest, and peaceful demonstration is the next step where words alone
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.
One of my main issues with the government is they are too involved with people’s private lives. There should not be laws pronounced only because of the sole reason of there being a majority vote. We should not have to vote on a personal/private matter. The government does not allow us to rule ourselves. We are not allowed to use our conscience. They overrule us. In Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience from Part I” he states, “ It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience, but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience.” This is arguably interpreted as the government thinks for us. They do not leave it to ‘the people.’ Also Thoreau states the following, "Now what are they? Men at all? Or small movable forts and magazines, at the service of some unscrupulous man in power?" The government puts men in war who did not wish to be there. They should leave it to the men and women who volunteer. We ar...
...k disagree and learn that disagreement may be a useful and even productive means of growth and acceptance towards a more accepting tomorrow.
All in all, civil disobedience has made many positive changes in the world today. Nevertheless, the end goal or result of any act of civil disobedience is not meant to benefit the individual, but the community as a whole. The ends of such an act should not be a private gain, but a public gain. Just like in The Hunger Games, how Peeta and Katniss remained brave by risking their lives to stand up for their districts.
“ Yet I believe that we are in great danger of being converted into complete organization men, and that means, eventually, into political totalitarianism, unless we regain the the capacity to be disobedient and to learn how to doubt.” (The Individual, 333). The world is slowly working towards full control, with obeying every rule presented to us, we are allowing them to follow through with that plan. If we started disobeying how society is asking us to live, we will learn more about what the world is offering. If we allow ourselves to be controlled, The Caste system could come back into place, and instead of advancing in our society, we would backtracking. We would be placed back into classes so we are not offered the same as some of the upper classes. This would easily destroy the human race and cause far more damage than