Civil Disobedience Is An Unjust Law

761 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Thoreau's view of civil disobedience

“Must the citizen ever for a moment, or in the least degree, resign his conscience to the legislation? Why has every man a conscience, then? I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right.” Those words by Henry David Thoreau encapsulate that civil disobedience positively impacts a free society because it promotes protection of natural rights. This is proven with the following syllogism. First, governmental protection of natural rights is essential for a free society. Second, civil disobedience promotes governmental protection of natural rights. Finally, therefore, civil disobedience positively impacts a free society.

First, governmental protection …show more content…

The prompt defines civil disobedience as “the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences.” One can see from this definition that civil disobedience only opposes “unjust” laws. What then, is an unjust law? In his Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Martin Luther King Jr. recognized that an unjust law is one that infringes upon natural rights: “A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. To put it in the terms of St. Thomas Aquinas: An unjust law is a human law that is not rooted in eternal law and natural law.” Since unjust laws infringe upon natural rights, and since civil disobedience opposes unjust laws, civil disobedience promotes governmental protection of natural …show more content…

Using protection of natural rights as the basis for civil disobedience is illustrated with three examples. Martin Luther King, Jr. opposed segregation statutes because they undermined human personality. King’s peaceful opposition promoted protection of the natural right to individual life. Edward Snowden opposed the NSA spying because it undermined the Constitution’s 4th-Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures. Edward Snowden’s peaceful opposition promoted protection of the natural right to individual liberty. Finally, Americans opposed slavery in the 1800s because it undermined private property rights and freedom. The Declaration of Sentiments of the American Anti-Slavery Society in 1833 states the following, "That all those laws which are now in force, admitting the right of slavery, are therefore, before God, utterly null and void; being an audacious usurpation of the Divine prerogative, a daring infringement on the law of nature, a base overthrow of the very foundations of the social compact, a complete extinction of all the relations, endearments and obligations of mankind, and a presumptuous transgression of all the holy commandments; and that therefore they ought instantly to be abrogated." This declaration clearly uses

Show More
Related

  • Rhetorical Analysis Of David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience To The Mexican War

    1646 Words  | 4 Pages

    In 1848, David Thoreau addressed and lectured civil disobedience to the Concord Lyceum in response to his jail time related to his protest of slavery and the Mexican War. In his lecture, Thoreau expresses in the beginning “That government is best which governs least,” which sets the topic for the rest of the lecture, and is arguably the overall theme of his speech. He chastises American institutions and policies, attempting to expand his views to others. In addition, he advances his views to his audience by way of urgency, analyzing the misdeeds of the government while stressing the time-critical importance of civil disobedience. Thoreau addresses civil disobedience to apprise the people the need for a civil protest to the unjust laws created

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience And Letter From Birmingham Jail By Martin Luther King Jr.

    799 Words  | 2 Pages

    Justice is often misconceived as injustice, and thus some essential matters that require more legal attentions than the others are neglected; ergo, some individuals aim to change that. The principles of civil disobedience, which are advocated in both “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. to the society, is present up to this time in the U.S. for that purpose.

    Read More

  • Comparing Thoreau and Socrates

    341 Words  | 1 Pages

    Thoreau and Socrates start Civil Disobedience and Crito with basically the same premise. They both believe that humans are essentially moral beings. Thoreau says that people if left to their own ends will act justly, and should be treated accordingly by the law. Socrates says essentially the same thing, he says that "no one wants to commit injustice" for its own sake, many people end up doing so anyway. Socrates says that the citizens of a government have entered into an agreement to abide by its laws in exchange for protection. He also says that if one believes these laws to be unjust, one can always leave, but if one agrees to abide by the laws they have a duty to be subjected to punishment if they break these laws. Thoreau on the other hand says that it is the duty of the people not to abide by a law if they perceive it to be unjust, and if they claim to be opposed to it and nevertheless abide by it, they are a hypocrite.

    Read More

  • Why Is Civil Disobedience Bad

    534 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Thoreau’s Act of Civil Disobedience

    522 Words  | 2 Pages

    For acts of civil disobedience to be justified, those acts need to be acts of protest. Thoreau desired a change ...

    Read More

  • Henry David Thoreau's Views

    1203 Words  | 3 Pages

    According to the American heritage dictionary “Civil Disobedience” is 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. In “Civil Disobedience” Thoreau stated “That government is best which governs least, and I would like to see it acted up more rapidly and systematically” (pg227). Thoreau did not believe that the government should have the final say on everything. The citizens of this country should have rights in the decision making process and the opportunity to think for themselves also. Thoreau says that government does not, in fact, achieve that with which we credit it: it does not keep the country free, settle the West, or educate. Rather, these achievements come from the character of the American people, and they would have been even more successful in these endeavors had government been even less involved.

    Read More

  • Ideal Society

    1643 Words  | 4 Pages

    ... 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.

    Read More

  • Paradox Of Civil Disobedience

    661 Words  | 2 Pages

    Civil Disobedience is a paradox. Civility and disobedience diametrically oppose one another; civility implies politeness or a regard to the status quo while disobedience is a refusal to submit to the standard. When these words are coupled together, however, they compliment one another. The purpose of Civil Disobedience is to disregard the obligation of observing a law with the intention of highlighting a need for change. Morality, Religion, and Ethics often play into the decision to willingly break a law which creates more depth behind the practical meaning phrase, because those three tend to emphasize a respect for authority and integrity. When people break the law in the name of civility, they often are asking questions like, “What must I

    Read More

  • The Political Principles of Thoreau

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thoreau’s summation of the role of government is eloquently stated in these lines from "Civil Disobedience." "There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly" (867).

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience

    932 Words  | 2 Pages

    The political concepts of justice and how a society should be governed have dominated literature through out human history. The concept of peacefully resisting laws set by a governing force can be first be depicted in the world of the Ancient Greeks in the works of Sophocles and actions of Socrates. This popular idea has developed over the centuries and is commonly known today as civil disobedience. Due to the works of Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. civil disobedience is a well-known political action to Americans; first in the application against slavery and second in the application against segregation. Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” and King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” are the leading arguments in defining and encouraging the use of civil disobedience to produce justice from the government despite differences in their separate applications.

    Read More

  • Nonviolent Civil Disobedience Essay

    563 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience as a Method of Protest

    875 Words  | 2 Pages

    By definition, civil disobedience means to actively refuse to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government or of an occupying power without resorting to physical violence (Wikipedia 2007). Many of the influential people in history have felt passionately about what they believe. These passions caused them to rebel against a government or authority. Many times they felt so strongly about what they believed and how they were being treated was wrong they became disobedient. They would take physical and verbal abuse for being disobedient but would never retaliate. They believed in what they thought was wrong and tried to change the way they were governed. Albert Einstein once said 'never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.' Albert Einstein's views seem to be reasonable. The claim by Albert Einstein is accurate because people should stand up for what they believe, they should know when they are right and their government is wrong, and they should trust in themselves and their own beliefs.

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience

    1424 Words  | 3 Pages

    Throughout History, there are always laws and rules; however, these rules wouldn’t evolve and progress in a government if it weren’t for civil disobedience. Throughout the course of history, especially in democracies, civil disobedience has been used to change unright laws, and it gives people the freedom to stand for what they believe in. There are countless examples of people who protested and changed the world. In a way, it also lets people stay true to what they believe is right, whether it be for religious reasons or just because of their ethics. Civil Disobedience is, and always has been, a part of society; it is not only a part of government, but it is also necessary in a democracy where people have freedom of speech and other similar rights.

    Read More

  • How Does Civil Disobedience Impact Society

    514 Words  | 2 Pages

    Civil disobedience does positively impact a free society, and let me tell you why. To start off civil disobedience causes change, and change is good. But before the change actually happens the idea needs to come from somewhere. What i mean by this is that when people participate in civil disobedience it shines light on our nations issues. The news channels feast over these types of things. The news channels want something that will gain attention of their viewers and anything to do with laws and government is a gold mine for FOX and MSNBC. An example of this is when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat. This had such a great impact because the word of what she did spread so far and so fast. But shining light on to subject is only the first step to making an

    Read More

  • Civil Disobedience Analysis

    649 Words  | 2 Pages

    The American society was developed on a necessity for the voice of the populace; the fundamental goal of the nation was to create a union based not solely by the binding nature of centralized government, but by the expressionism of smaller parties within a system. As history progressed, the shifts in technology, social issues, economic status, and foreign relations have stimulated the growth of the central government. In it’s purpose to restore order through the construction of regulation, the voices of the people are often muted. When a law is oppressive in nature it is our civic duty to speak up in form of civil disobedience to maintain a free society, but with our emphasis on individualism, Americans today mistake the context necessary to warrant it. But what is the difference between a law that is inherently unjust and a law we personally find unjust?

    Read More

More about Civil Disobedience Is An Unjust Law

Open Document