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The effects of civil disobedience
The effect of disobedience
Civil disobedience impacts on society
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While Civil disobedience (CD) is the act of opposing a law that an individual may not agree with but peacefully deciding to disobey it, it could have both some positive and negative effects on a free society. I would like to elaborate on both aspects because CD is a reality that I have seen practiced on numerous occasions in the past year. In society’s current condition of heightened free speech rather the message be love or hate, it has impacted humanity in a harsh way that inevitably feels as if recovery will be a long stretch ahead. Through protests, violence, hate and love speech, riots, acts of terrorism, and many more to name, I have seen instances where those who practiced peaceful resistance were still treated as if they had done a violent crime. As long as peaceful resistance is tolerated across the board being inclusive of all humanity with no ill effects, I believe that in return more …show more content…
According to Cobb (2017) Movements are born in the moments when abstract principles become concrete concerns. Choosing to take a stand such as CD means that you are speaking loudly by either using silence or non-vulgar cues, being non-cooperative in a non-violent and meek manner, and choosing to wholeheartedly accepted the consequences for the stand or cause that you have chosen. If everyone or even one person doesn’t stand up for something, then we’d surely fall for anything. In order to keep the pages turning in a positive forward motion, there may be some things that may be done such as CD to bring about positive change in the
When a citizen abides by the social contract, they initially agree to enter and be a participant of a civil society. The contract essentially binds people into a community that exists for mutual preservation. When a person wants to be a member of civil society, they sacrifice the physical freedom of being able to do whatever they please, but they gain the civil freedom of being able to think and act rationally and morally. Citizens have what is called prima facie obligation to obey the laws of a relatively just state. A prima facie duty is an obligation that we should try to satisfy but that can be overridden on occasion by another, stronger duty. When it comes to prima facie duty, this duty can be outweighed by a higher order obligation or
Civil Disobedience, as stated in the prompt, is the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences. Many people believe this has a negative impact on the free society because they believe civil disobedience can be dangerous or harmful. Civil disobedience does not negatively affect the free society in a dangerous manner because it is peaceful and once it becomes harmful to the free society then it is not civil disobedience. Thoreau believed civil disobedience is an effective way of changing laws that are unjust or changing things that as a society and to the people does not seem correct. This peaceful act of resistance positively impacts a free society. Some examples are Muhammad Ali peacefully denying the draft and getting arrested. These men believed that what they saw was wrong and they did something about it but they did it peacefully.
As Dr. King stated in Letter from A Birmingham Jail, “Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and establish such creative tension that a community that has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. I must confess that I am not afraid of the word, tension. I have earnestly worked and preached against violent tension, but there is a type of constructive tension that is necessary for growth. The purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.” Such as in the case of the 1969 student site-in against the Vietnam W...
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
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.
... for your beliefs, then you are more willing to be fully committee to your cause. The progress that several individuals made was because of their nonviolent protests. Civil disobedience made a big difference in the history of the world.
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
Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey civil laws in an effort to induce change in governmental policy or legislation, characterized by the use of passive resistance or other nonviolent means. The use of nonviolence runs throughout history however the fusion of organized mass struggle and nonviolence is relatively new.
Comparing the Civil Disobedience of Martin Luther King Jr., Henry David Thoreau, and Mohandas Gandhi
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.
Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. (King, Jr., 1963)
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.
...rom the Declaration of Independence to the civil rights movement, civil disobedience has been a great tribute to the progression of humanity in striving for equal treatments, only when it does not physically harm others, nor their properties, and also when it does not contravene an already enforced just law. Those who follow civil disobedience properly, find it necessary, like King and his followers, to endure struggle and conflict in order to correct an injustice. Those true civil disobedients find strength of non violence which comes from their willingness to take risks without threatening others, or their properties. They see civil disobedience as an attribute which can help them when law and justice don't go hand in hand. Civil disobedience when used improperly can hurt many people, however when used properly can help gain equal rights and justice for all.
“Be the change that you want to see in this world.” - Gandhi. Gandhi is saying that if you want something to make a change, then you have to do something about it and fight for what you believe in. I believe that civil disobedience is an effective method of social change. Civil disobedience is breaking a law in a peaceful, non-violent way. Some people believe that civil disobedience isn't an effective method because it doesn't always work, can create time in jail, and can take a very long time. One reason why civil disobedience is effective to create social change is because it is a legal way to protest. Also, civil disobedience has the power to create a change in society, law, and government. Lastly, civil disobedience draws attention to
I think civil disobedience is an effective means to creating change. Civil disobedience gets the message across and it can bring about change. Violence cannot fix any problem, as it leads to more violence and more hatred. On the other hand, civil disobedience is a way to show the enemy that you do not hate them, but you hate what they are doing or claiming. In addition, civil disobedience shows the opponent that you are willing to let them do anything to you, as long as there is a change brought about for the better. Also, another benefit of using civil disobedience is that people who practice it are showing that they are serious about what they want. They are prepared to go to any extremes of listening to the other party, and only for their own beliefs and against what they know is wrong. This can send a very powerful response, and bring about a positive change.