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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
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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)
The Act of Civil Disobedience in the eyes of the beholder is righteous and should be tolerated by many different governments all over the world, unfortunately when you act against the government there will be consequences for your actions even though you are composed and not dangerous to anyone. People may also say this disobedience is negative because humans can go into a primitive mode that makes them lose control and the same can go with the rest of the group. Cases of civil disobedience have grown to new height and will not stop until the people have their say in the matter at hand. Leaders in the past like Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr have had a positive impact in this world and allowed many men and women to stand up for what's right in today's society.
...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.
Civil disobedience is an act of opposing a law one might consider unfair so it’s peacefully disobeyed while accepting the consequences. If there is a way to protest in a way without causing any violent disturbance to the society then why do people avoid using it? Is it because it takes a long time to get the point across or is it because the government won’t care? Great figures like Martin Luther King Jr., Susan B. Anthony, Mohandas Gandhi, and Nelson Mandela have used this tactic and impacted the society greatly. They brought justice and equality for the people that were treated unethically even though it required time. Their point got across effectively without any use violence and has impacted the society for the greater good. Therefore, peaceful resistance to laws can positively impact a free society by allowing it to change the errors of the law, however others might say otherwise.
“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
As you may know that, civil disobedience is known as an unacceptable action for any individual in any nation, which means you try to do some bad things against the law or the government. However, sometimes when a person tries to go against the government, which is just only bad for them, but it's extremely good for the people of the country.Therefore, going against the law is not always bad, especially when you do it for millions of people.
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.