I believe that peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society. The concept of freedom has many different meanings depending on the perspective of the individual. For Americans, freedom is the definition of personal liberties stated in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Civil disobedience is a person's right to peacefully oppose the laws that are being placed over him or her and accepting the consequences of his or her actions. This definition clearly empowers the idea of a person's civil right. In a free nation, individuals should know that they may choose the outcome of their actions, but still they have the right to choose. Whenever a country makes its people believe they do not have a choice of whether or not they may …show more content…
When a person's civil right to disagree with a law or with a situation moves to the point of causing others to feel unsafe or be violated of their own civil rights, then that person's civil right has quickly turned into a crime or injustice. Martin Luther King always demonstrated that true change and getting one's point across comes through peaceful resistance. When Rosa Parks resisted to move from her seat, the law was broken; however, she had a right to chose to not obey the law to make her statement. She was not acting violently or disturbing others, and her stance eventually changed the world. Civil disobedience can bring about change and is a person's right. If a person stops having choices about his or her own actions then that person is no longer human, but a puppet under a master's hand. I truly believe all the turmoil overtaking the country today is due to the misconception of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience has turned uncivil. People believe their rights are more important than other people's rights. Civil disobedience--the key word being civil--exemplifies true freedom in the United States of
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society because if there isn't, how will people hear the voices of the oppressed and mistreated? Peaceful resistance comes a long way in trying to advance the rights and customs of the oppressed today. For example, The Salt March of 1930 was based on the Salt Act of 1882, which excluded the people the India from producing or getting salt, only British officials. Mahatma Gandhi was the leader of this protest. According to an article by time.com, it says that "The protest continued until Gandhi was granted bargaining rights at a negotiation in London. India didn’t see freedom until 1947, but the salt satyagraha (his brand of civil disobedience) established Gandhi as a force to be reckoned with and set a powerful precedent for future nonviolent protestors, including Martin Luther King Jr.(Sarah Begley,2015)" This means the salt march was a start for India's independence. Also, Gandhi's brand of civil disobedience set precedents for future nonviolent protests. Another Example of how peaceful protests
“No radical change on the plane of history is possible without crime,” This quote from Hermann Keyserling is just one of many statements that help describe the meaning and true raw power of Civil Disobedience. Civil disobedience as defined by Merriam Webster is the “refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government”. The most promising and understandable of the definitions of Civil Disobedience would be that given to us by Gandhi from India “Compassion in the form of respectful disagreement”. Even the Veterans Fast for Life from here in the United States must agree when saying, “when leaders act contrary to conscience, we must act contrary to leaders.” To understand why civil disobedience is so important in our lives you must first look into your heart and realize that the integrity of mankind has no need of rules.
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
In the Theory of Justice by John Rawls, he defines civil disobedience,” I shall begin by defining civil disobedience as a public, nonviolent, conscientious yet political act contrary to law usually done with the aim of bringing about a change in the law or policies of the government”.
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
The extremely simplified definition of civil disobedience given by Webster’s Dictionary is “nonviolent opposition to a law through refusal to comply with it, on grounds of conscience.”
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.
Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws, but in a peaceful form of political protests. Martin Luther King Jr. is the best example of a form of civil disobedience for the Civil rights Movement and many more through the late 1950s to the late 1960s. ‘’Martin Luther King Jr. used the power of words and acts of nonviolent resistance, such as protest, grassroots organizing, and civil disobedience.’’
Peaceful resistance itself does not affect a free society. A people-group can protest any number of laws: voting rights, taxes, and the legality of murder. A majority of society must determine what is best for itself. If the principles of a resistance aligns with the ideals of the society, the pursuit of betterment positively impacts that
Civil disobedience is fighting for what one believes in while acting nonviolently and fairly. Whether they’re up against powerful people, like the government or a big corporation, or up against a more local power, like a school board or a small business, people protest things that go against their beliefs everyday. Civil disobedience is a way of fighting for justice without attacking those who are for things that one finds unfair. This can be found constantly in the Civil Right’s Movement. During the Civil Rights Movement, many people decided to hold nonviolent protests, sit-ins, and freedom rides to fight for equality among races. A man by the name of John Lewis was the first student to be assaulted during the Freedom Rides, a movement where people rode buses into the segregated parts of the South. The Freedom Rides were a nonviolent way to test the Supreme Court’s ruling on segregation. John Lewis and the other freedom riders showed civil disobedience when they refrained from fighting the people who attacked them during the Freedom Rides, and when they continued to ride to protest segregation in the South.
“...It becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another (person)...” Thomas Jefferson wrote in the Declaration of Independence. Civil disobedience is when you exercise the right of the people and protest peacefully against the government. As we read in Jefferson’s writing, as well as Martin Luther King Jr. and Mohandas Gandhi’s. According to our great writers civil disobedience builds a great framework to promote change.
When a government imposes atrocious laws, violates human rights, and acts against the faith of its citizens; a civilian is often left with no choice but to resist. Under extreme circumstances the positive impact of a civilian resistance whether it be violent or peaceful would be apparent. So to answer the question, peaceful resistance has great potential in positively impacting a free society. But this is an over simplified answer and I am not satisfied. Of course it can, we have seen it done throughout history and we continue to see it today. In effort to answer the prompt question as best as I can, I must look into the broader scope of things. I wonder where the line is between merely breaking the law and making a statement in civil disobedience? And generally speaking, it seems more often than not modern governments enforce laws in good faith, within reason, and with the purpose of benefiting
“An individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law” (King, Martin L., Jr.). When the African Americans were protesting oppression it was an act of civil disobedience. When the women’s suffrage movement happened thousands of women marched in the streets, they endured hunger strikes, and submitted to arrest to gain the right to vote (Starr).In other words, America has a long history of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is nonviolent. It helps alleviate frivolous and harmful laws. Civil disobedience is morally justified in a democracy because
Depending on the situation, civil disobedience can either negatively impact or positively impact a free society. For example, the Boston Tea Party, which occurred in 1773, was a form of civil disobedience. The Boston Tea Party was a protest against having to pay taxes. A group of just over 100 people participated in this act in Boston, gathering together on ships, and protesting by simply throwing tea overboard. Hence the name, "Boston Tea Party." This act of civil obedience didn't necessarily disturb anyone's peace, but it did start a revolution, and it did cause thousands of dollars in damage, in their currency, at the time. According to the online article, "Boston Tea Party Facts," the damage that was done would be worth around $1,700,000 in today's United States currency. In that case, the Boston Tea Party in fact would have negatively impacted the "free society." Only due to the fact that it caused quite a bit of debt in their time.