As Americans of the United States of America we live in a society where rebelling against our country is not wrong. Our country was created by people who rebelled against their government; therefore, documents such as the Declaration of Independence was created. Civil disobedience happens quite often here mainly about racism among ourselves.Racism among all age groups of all states has been a big problem in our country since the US was a country. Some are not happy about this at and have resorted to protesting violently;consequently, events such as the Ferguson Riots have happened in recent years regarding racism among police officers. There have been leaders of protests similar to this topic of civil disobedience. The two greatest yet peaceful …show more content…
We declared our country independent because we were being treated terribly by Britain so we could run our own government run by ourselves. It is run by citizens so they can protect their “Inalienable rights”. These include rights to Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. If these rights are threatened it is the people's duty to abolish unjust laws passed by a government. The founding fathers of this country created a government like this so the people have a say in any matter. The declaration also says that if a government is committing injustice upon citizens “It is their duty to throw off such government”. Which is where the Second Amendment becomes important to the citizens of a country. One amendment that assists our right to commit violence upon our government is the Second Amendment. The Second Amendment gives us our right to bear arms to fight against our government or invading forces: “A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state,the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” ("The Constitution of the United States," Amendment …show more content…
These leaders knew the risk of standing up for their rights but did it anyway because they knew nobody else would. One of these legends was Martin Luther King Jr. He gave the famous “I Have A Dream” speech in front of thousands on the steps of the memorial dedicated to president Lincoln. One very famous line in this speech was stated by the Biography editors was “I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but the content of their character” (Par 21). Martin Luther also organized the “Southern christian leadership conference” where Martin and others could conduct non violent protests to promote their civil rights. These actions by Martin helped exponentially with civil rights and was completely justified. It didn’t hurt anyone but it inspired millions to protest against a government that would not give people what they
Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” speech was delivered as motivation to fight for their rights and help paint the picture of what America could look like in the future. He does this by in the beginning saying that even though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed African Americans are not treated as normal citizens. By saying this Martin Luther King Jr. was saying we should not just be content with being free from slavery. That now it is time to fight for our rights and to end discrimination because of the color on one’s skin.
Civil disobedience has its roots in one of this country’s most fundamental principles: popular sovereignty. The people hold the power, and those entrusted to govern by the people must wield
According to Morris Liebman, author of “Civil Disobedience: A Threat to Our Society Under Law,” “Never in the history of mankind have so many lived so freely, so rightfully, so humanely. This open democratic republic is man’s highest achievement—not only for what it has already accomplished, but more importantly because it affords the greatest opportunity for orderly change and the realization of man’s self-renewing aspirations.” What Liebman fails to realize is that while the United States of America has made improvements, the United States still has a far way to go before it can be considered a fair country. Liebman also states that “The plain fact of human nature is that the organized disobedience of masses stirs up the primitive. This has been true of a soccer crowd and a lynch mob. Psychologically and psychiatrically it is very clear that no man—no matter how well-intentioned—can keep group passions in control.” While disagreeing with the first example from Liebman, it would be difficult to disregard the way that many protests seem to spiral out of control. Peaceful protest for the most part remain peaceful, however some may turn violent very quickly. Liebman also believes that there is no such thing as “righteous civil disobedience” as men and women are deliberately disregarding laws set in place to protect the country, and regards it as deplorable and destructive(Liebman). To combat Liebman, a new age of civil disobedience is rolling in, a more inclusive type. With various social media platforms, word of walkouts and peaceful, with an emphasis on peaceful, protests are spread more quickly. These student led activist groups are popping up more quickly and are not lacking in passion. Many students of today are tired of being told their too young and inexperienced to be taking
In Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience," he uses a hyperbole to support his belief that "one person can make a change," an idea still relevant today. Thoreau uses many forms of literary techniques such as multiple hyperbole, emotional appeals, and paradoxes. Thoreau uses these to sustain his ideas on civil disobedience. He believes if you believe in something, and support something you should do whatever it takes to help the cause. Many people in today's society believe to just go with the flow, rather than living like Thoreau has, and supporting his own beliefs no matter what the consequence. Henry David Thoreau had a lot of personal authority, he was all about his own independence. Many different people believed in being a non-conformist, and Thoreau was one of them, and he very well showed how much he supported it. Thoreau was not the only nonconformist, they're many people who followed his beliefs and they refused to be bound by anybody, or anything they did not support. Other non-conformists were Gandhi, Galileo, Malcom X and many more.
It takes courage to dedicate a life to trying to make a difference in a society where people believe their ways will never change. Martin Luther King was one of the very few national idols of social movement which used the power of voice and faith to motivate millions. In,”Letter from a Birmingham Jail [King, Jr.]” he addressed the clergymen about racial discrimination the country was facing and how we should find peace without resorting to violence. Through MLK’s use of Ethos,Pathos,Logos he was able to argue about the nonviolent resistance movement towards racism.
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 has been around for a long time. In Bible times Christians would disobey laws that would go against their beliefs, such as the law that they couldn’t preach. (Acts 4) Christians still disobey laws in many countries that do not let them practice their faith, some end up in jail or killed.
Henry David Thoreau, a philosopher and creative artist as well as an anti slavery activist, wrote his short story “From Resistance to Civil Disobedience”. In this story he’s arrested for not paying his state taxes. At the time the state was engaged in the Mexican-American War that was not only fought over boundaries expanding slavery but was also enacted by President Polk under his own decision. Thoreau thought the war was too aggressive and without just reason.
When the Declaration of Independence was drafted, our forefathers were defying the laws of Britain. It was an act of treason for men to declare a separation from Britain and to create a newly formed government for America. These men acted in civil disobedience because the laws were unfair to Americans. Under the new government, they immediately drafted the Bill of Rights, rights that they believed were unalienable for all men. The government's role was not to control our lives, as the British rule had done, but to prevent chaos and protect us from those who tried to take our freedoms. Man is naturally power hungry, and those who run the government may attempt to take away the public's rights as stated under the Bill of Rights. Because of such cases where those in government have created laws to...
There are times throughout the history of the United States when its citizens have felt the need to revolt against the government. There were such cases during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau, when there was unfair discrimination against the Afro-American community and Americans refusing to pay poll taxes to support the Mexican War. They used civil disobedience to eventually get legislation to stop the injustice brought against them and their nation. Civil disobedience is defined as refusal to obey civil laws or decrees, which usually takes the form of passive resistance. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider the law unjust, and want to call attention to its injustice, hoping to bring about its withdrawal.
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.
Under the leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King, the civil rights movement mirrored Gandhi’s principles of nonviolent resistance. By disobeying unjust laws, while at the same time always accepting the punishment given, blacks proved themselves worthy of full rights in the eyes of the public. By highlighting their own suffering, they won the hearts if their oppressors. White America was both economically secure and morally insecure during the 50s, and the South's reaction to peaceful protesting only exacerbated the problem. The protestors were practicing Christians who preached Christian values when campaigning for their cause. Civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. spoke the language of the South, and their focus on Christian ethics of nonviolent resistance resonated with
Martin Luther King Jr. was the most influential leader of the American Civil Rights Movement as he fought for the freedom of African Americans. King’s most influential speech is his “I Have a Dream” given on August 28, 1963.1 King himself was a man whom thousands of people admired. Martin Luther King Jr. uses an expressive tone in his speeches by using verbal powerful imagery toward his audience, reminding them of the challenges facing them and defeating racism. Martin Luther King Jr. inspired others to take action, lead by example, as shown in his speeches and promoted non-violence as a method for change.
America has not had a peaceful past. Bloodshed is what has allowed us to be the great nation we are today. Some of that bloodshed, however, was caused because of civil disobedience. When you consider, what civil disobedience has done, it seems just for all people to agree with it. In some instances, civil disobedience is necessary, but we've reached a point where it would cause much more harm than good.
In modern-day society, there are figures of history and present time that are known as great leaders and heroes. Most people don’t tend to dwell on the actions of these individuals, however. Of the people who do linger on the actions of these figures they’ll realize that no matter the race, gender, or any other factor most of them have at least one thing in common; they broke the law. The definition of a criminal is a person who has committed a crime. Despite this definition these people are held to such a high standard in the views of many. And why? It’s because they were looking for at the greater good, even if they had to break a few laws to get people to realize that change was needed.. Thus in my opinion, civil disobedience isn’t a bad