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Comments And Questions About Civil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreau
Comments And Questions About Civil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreau
Comments And Questions About Civil Disobedience By Henry David Thoreau
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The peaceful resistance of laws positively affects society as a whole. Throughout history, many men have shown this remark to be true. From the likes of Henry David Thoreau, to Martin Luther King Jr., to Mahatma Gandhi, the world has learned civil disobedience does work and positively affects everyone as a whole.
In his essay Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau, from a time of his own frustration with slavery and the Mexican-American War, highlights the problems with the 'Bystander effect', stating "There are thousands who are in opinion opposed to slavery and to the war, who yet in effect do nothing to put an end to them ... They will wait, well disposed, for others to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret."
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The public simply seeing wrongs committed but not acting on them creates a limbo where nobody actually gets anything good done. Due to this possible limbo, obvious action is absolutely required to be taken if society wants to right wrongs. However, Thoreau at the same time states "I do not wish to quarrel with any man or nation. I do not wish to split hairs, to make fine distinctions, or set myself up as better than my neighbors." He, although fully against situations such as the war and slavery, does not think it right or feel the need to petition through violence or quarrel with his fellow man. Thoreau knows that peaceful resistance is a key balancing point between the status-quo of the Bystander effect and the escalation of conflict in violent action. Due to the Mexican-American War and slavery being horrible influences on the population at the time of Thoreau, the action taken by him, fellow protesters, and fellow abolitionists definitely led to a positive impact on society, even after escalations happened with people who took it further than peaceful. Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.
also highlights the importance of action in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. Just as Thoreau before, King is frustrated at this point with certain parts of the Civil Rights Movement. King stresses the importance of peaceful demonstration and he recognizes that after centuries of oppression, a race held back will yearn for freedom, and they will express that yearning in whichever way authorities choose - peaceful or violent. Speaking of African American demonstrators, King urges the public and authorities to "let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so. If his repressed emotions are not released in nonviolent ways, they will seek expression through violence." King knows that with or without peaceful demonstration, change will come. The change could come with scars and pain or with love and understanding, as changes will take place when they are long yearned. The good impacts of civil disobedience come into play here, showing that without a peaceful outlet, violent demonstration will overcome with possibly devastating impact. King also explains what he considers a divide in his own race, stating that he has "tried to stand between these two forces, saying that we need emulate neither the "do nothingism" of the complacent nor the hatred and despair of the black nationalist." Echoing the thoughts of Thoreau before him, King too expresses his frustration with both complacent people who stand by and watch, feeling they have no duty, and true extremists who escalate situations and make them violent. Peaceful resistance is once again successful in the situation of Civil Rights; even though there were violent bursts from both sides, nonviolent demonstrations saved everyone from destructive
impact. Mahatma Gandhi is possibly one of the most respected, well known and successful leaders of peace in history. Using only peaceful tactics, he managed to free his country with the world watching in awe. Due to his disobedience, however, he was arrested many times. At one trial, he stated that in his "humble opinion, non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good." The strong stance of Gandhi highlights the need for action when surrounded by wrongdoings. He feels that there is as much duty for people to not cooperate and use civil disobedience in oppression as there is duty for people to follow a good government in freedom. Gandhi, with the help of millions, began to disobey the government and shun the then current situations in India. Saying "“that in a non-violent conflict there is no rancor left behind and, in the end, the enemies are converted into friends.”, Gandhi truly believed that violence was not the answer, and he was right, as his movement went on successfully, inspiring many from then and now across the world using just one thing - peace.
The tone set by Dr. King in the part of the letter where he describes “pent-up resentments and latent frustrations,” and where he recognizes the “vital urge” being suppressed, is very passionate. His passion shines through loud and clear. The way Dr. King feels is, in fact, quite clear throughout the entire letter, yet the overriding sense of reason and logic that anyone can relate to is ever apparent. As he describes the unrest he finds in his community, the community as a whole really; he explains that he did not encourage them to “get rid of your [their] discontent” he instead encouraged them to, “make prayer pilgrimages to city hall;… go on freedom rides,… and try to understand why he [they] must do so”; these quotes from the letter point out the ways Dr....
Dr. King uses his credibility to convince eight Alabama clergymen that his direct action protests are (right, constitutional, essential, should be accepted or supported or……...?). At the beginning of his letter, Dr. King indicates that there are 85 organizations across southern states that associated with his organization. This shows reader that his organization is backed-up by other organizations and (protesters are not bad [in different words]………?). Then he says that he cannot ignore what is happening in Birmingham while he is sitting in Atlanta, Georgia (). He mentions this to let his audience know that there are some problems in Birmingham and he is trying to solve them. He says, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” () He gives his reader an idea that there is injustice in Birmingham. It also indicate that King is unhappy and protesting because injustice exists in Birmingham. Dr. King says that he and people who are involved in direct-action protests are not the ones who create tension, but they a...
“All machines have their friction―and possibly this does enough good to counterbalance the evil… But when the friction comes to have its machine… I say, let us not have such a machine any longer” (Thoreau 8). In Henry David Thoreau’s essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” the author compares government to a machine, and its friction to inequity. He believes that when injustice overcomes a nation, it is time for that nation’s government to end. Thoreau is ashamed of his government, and says that civil disobedience can fight the system that is bringing his country down. Alas, his philosophy is defective: he does not identify the benefits of organized government, and fails to recognize the danger of a country without it. When looked into, Thoreau’s contempt for the government does not justify his argument against organized democracy.
talks about how African Americans in the South were being arrested and publicly chastened by the police force for their nonviolent protests. But, he extols these protests because of what they stand for. He says they “…preserve the evil system of segregation…I wish you had commended the Negro demonstrators of Birmingham for their sublime courage, their willingness to suffer, and their amazing discipline in the midst of the most inhuman provocation” (94). Because these people were aiming to end the discrimination they were facing, and did this in a peaceful manner that respected their Judeo-Christian values that all men are created equal, King saw it as exactly what this oppressed group needed. They needed a push of confidence to know that they were being treated unjustly, and that they did have the power to stand up to
Non-violent direct action and respectful disagreement are a form of civil disobedience. Martin Luther King, Jr. defines “civil disobedience” as a way to show others what to do when a law is unjust and unreasonable. King is most famous for his role in leading the African American Civil Rights Movement and using non-violent civil disobedience to promote his beliefs. King also firmly believed that civil disobedience was the way to defeat racial segregation against African Americans. While leading a protest march on the streets, King was arrested and sent to jail. In response to his imprisonment and an article he read while there, King wrote Letter from Birmingham Jail, explaining that an injustice affects everyone and listed his own criteria for
King proceeds to the latter part of his speech by declaring the need for peaceful resistance. His analogies of man “carving highways of death in the stratosphere” (3) and how non peaceful defiance will contribute to “a civilization plunged into the abyss of annihilation” (3) soundly depicts his ideals of how African Americans should reach true freedom and equality only through pacifism. He mandates this passiveness in order to bring about change insightfully because his goal is not to wage war against their oppressors but to defeat the evil sentiment held by the nation. King’s remarkable aptitude and brilliant intuition in his dialogue enables the reader to appreciate and concede to his ideals.
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
was the master of generating widespread support for the Civil Rights movement. It was his words in this letter that persuaded many, even those not of his race. However, King repeatedly states that he was immensely disappointed by those who did not take a direct stand against wrongdoings:“Never again can we afford to live with the narrow, provincial "outside agitator" idea” ( 970). King believed that the only way to combat the injustices of the world was for everyone to join forces and speak together so that everyone’s voice can be heard, not stand alone as an “outside agitator” that the government can easily ignore or quell. If social change is a necessary action, than people should not act as if they are the sole person to make a difference, as King said, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly” (970). Every injustice in the world affects every person; if people do not take a stand together, then it will continue to tear apart society; people cannot just stand idly by and call out grievances every once in a while. Injustice is “like a boil that can never be cured so long as it is covered up but must be opened with all its ugliness to the natural medicines of air and light” (King 974). If people just continue to pick at an issue, then it will only become worse. However, if they open it wide
While addressing the clergymen’s public statement, King successfully encouraged his followers to stay in a hopeful and devoted state of mind despite the clergymen’s advice to cease demonstrations and marches. This is the reason why this letter is so important to the civil rights movement. It proved that although King was arrested, he remained hopeful in his boycotts, his sit-ins, and his demonstrations, because he believed in a better future for society.
During the course of King's writing, one of his strong points is his ability to take the words of his oppressors, discredit them or explain why their ideas aren't plausible, convey his ideas, and detail exactly why and how they will work. In the sixth paragraph, King rebukes those who "deplore the demonstrations that are currently taking place in Birmingham," as they are only dealing with the effect and not recognizing the cause for the demonstrations, then clarifies that the white power left the Negro community no other choice. In the next paragraph, King spells out the four basic steps of any non-violent demonstration. Breaking it down even more, he gives an example of each step in the Birmingham situation. King gave the reader an easy to follow step by step account of a non-violent protest that let the reader understand the careful planning of each step.
the segregationists, resulting in the injury and deaths of many of King’s followers. With these points in mind, King came to the conclusion that the best strategy in gaining the rights of African American was the use of non-violent protest. He believed that violence only “intensifies evil,';
Martin Luther King Jr. was a key figure in the fight for the equality of African Americans. King had a great impact on the Civil Rights Movement, and had a nonviolent method of achieving what he did. Dr. King is a well-known Civil Rights Activist who gave his life for his cause. In his Letter from Birmingham Jail, he addresses his fellow clergyman on the topic of segregation and the protests against it. King is well known for his nonviolent protests, and even the participants of the event have to ask themselves during a period of self-purification, “‘Are you able to accept blows without retaliating? ', and ‘Are you able to endure the ordeal of jail? ' “(King). King believed that nonviolent protest were better to use because "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," (King). King believes that nonviolent tension is
The legacy of Dr. King propelled America into a new realm of individual liberty by introducing the peaceful protest. Dr. King’s principle indicated that violence was not an option; peace was the way to lawfully achieve their rights. He even had young followers vow that they would act in an ethical way to justify their cause for equality. This positively impacted Dr. King's contribution to history because it continued to remind citizens of America to peacefully protest their government if it is unjust. Additionally, King often told his followers that their actions would be judged, not only now, but even by future generations. This helped ease racial tensions and continued to remind his followers to act peacefully. In doing so, protesters were able to think and justify their actions before they proceeded which paved the way for future generations of America. Furthermore, Dr. King's legacy is remembered as remarkable because he made America embrace this new form of protest. He suggested reality and love rather than anger. Overall, Dr. King's principle of nonviolent protest made his legacy quite noticeable and inspiring
In Henry David Thoreau’s 1849 essay, Civil Disobedience, he argues the necessity of resistance to an unintentional evil, a political organization of the free, who of which are free to own slaves. In the essay, Thoreau stated that the best government is one that doesn’t governs at all. In a free society, a government is meant to protect its citizens from any blockade that prevents its citizens from equality among men. Without equality, and a government that acts in favor of removing the socio political disadvantages of the minority, beneficial change is destined to fail. An effective government is free society once it allows all of its citizens an equal chance at life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. So in a truly free society, there would be no need for any sort of resistance. So if there is any form of oppression instituted by a political organization that is met with resistance by any portion of the population, the only impact it could have on a free society would be positive since a free society
Throughout Thoreau’s essay, he expressed his opinions and beliefs on the importance of civil disobedience in a society. He talked about how one must use his or her moral sense, conscience, to decide what is just and unjust. From here, Thoreau urged his readers to take action, to stop the machine from continuing its lifeless duty. His call to action is if a system is prone to corruption, the people must disobey it. This means that personal endangerment may be needed to do what is right. Going against the status quo to uphold justice and ethics is the basic message behind Thoreau’s essay.