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Martin luthers kinghs personal philosophy
Life and times of martin luther king jr
Life and times of martin luther king jr
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Is it okay to break the law if they are unjust and morally incorrect? This is a conflict both Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. faced when their governments passed laws that went against the natural and god-given rights. In Antigone, the king, Creon, declared that is was illegal to bury the traitor, Polyneices. Antigone, the sister of Polyneices, was deeply upset as it was the law of the Gods to bury a family member or anybody. Martin Luther King was faced with a similar problem, when the government of the United States would not give blacks and other people of color their “God-given and constitutional rights”. By burying her brother, Antigone was not only honoring her brother but also the Gods and by MLK breaking the racist laws of the south
he was fighting for all people’s natural rights. Both Antigone and MLK broke the law because what they were doing were rights they believed their God or Gods had given them. The laws created by Creon were unjust and conflicted with the laws of the Gods, a higher power then he. Similarly, the racist and discriminatory laws of the south not only went against the laws of God but also the constitutional rights all citizen of the USA were granted. MLK and Antigone did not follow these laws because they were unjust and morally incorrect, the morally correct thing to do in both cases was to break the law and fight for the rights they higher power had given them. “ All segregation statutes are unjust because segregation distorts the soul and damages the personality. It gives the segregator a false sense of superiority and the segregated a false sense of inferiority”(Martin Luther King Jr.). The laws that both the South and king Creon had enforced, gave them a false sense of superiority over all people but also over the Gods or God. MLK and Antigone did not follow their laws because they knew that the South and Creon were not above the people or the Gods. God or the Gods had granted all men these rights and nobody had the right to take them away, as nobody was above God or the Gods. MLK and Antigone fought and broke the law because they believed in what God or the Gods gave them and would not listen to the morally incorrect laws of men who were not superior to the Gods.
Comparing Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God by Jonathon Edward and Martin Luther King's Speech "I Have A Dream" Would you rather be scared into submission or moved to submit? Both are very effective as I will show. Jonathon Edward's "{Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", describes his views of a vengeful God and man as sinners. Martin Luther King's "I Have A Dream" is known as one of the most motivational speeches ever given. I would like to begin by describing what these two powerful speakers and speeches have in common, and will include their differences as well.
The similarity between Susan B. Anthony speech and Martin Luther King Juniors “I Have a Dream” speech is that they are fighting for the equality of America. Susan B. Anthony is fighting for women being able to vote like everyone else. Martin Luther King is fighting for the equality of African Americans. Both just want to see America as an equal place instead of discrimination against others based on race or gender. Even though their message has similarities the way they delivered them was different.
Although president Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation in 1862 that gave an end for slavery, white people persisted in oppressing and segregating black people. Life was segregated between blacks and whites: Black people had separate schools, restaurants, theaters, and even transportations. As the oppression increased, some black people started to refuse such harassment. Thus, many movements and marches were launched to bring equality for blacks (Patterson).
America’s society today seems to believe that oppression and injustice aren’t as prevalent as they once were. America also believes that the state of the rest of the world is completely arbitrary. Some Middle Eastern societies still have unjust and corrupt governments. However, one girl spoke up. This girl was deprived of her right to an education by an extremist group called the Taliban. The Taliban would shoot and kill any women who went to school. Someone had to speak up, and that someone was Malala Yousafzai. Often compared to Antigone, Malala spoke out against this oppression, but unfortunately paid the consequences. Antigone is a story that relates to Malala’s situation including Antigone being victim to an unjust government. These two
Socrates shares similar qualities as Martin Luther King Jr. In comparison, both men exposed their beliefs, methods, and philosophies to convey social change. Socrates and Dr. King rebelled against accepting social norm. Socrates taught his followers to defy tradition and question their knowledge on law, virtue, immorality, ethnics, wisdom, logic, etc. Dr. King encouraged equality and fought to erase racial segregation. Though they faced different circumstances, their motives were the same; they persuaded individuals to think for themselves. Socrates was executed and Dr. King was assassinated, but both men died honoring their principle, despite the public disapprovals and
Imagine being in the shoes of Rosa Parks, sitting on a bus and told to go to the back of the bus just because of the color of your skin. However, you decide to remain seated, adhering to your belief in equality for all. You do this despite knowing the consequences that may follow, such as prison. In this case is one doing wrong in standing up for their beliefs? In Plato’s Crito and Sophocles’s Antigone, both characters, Socrates and Antigone, face a difficult decision: whether or not to follow their notions. Socrates has the opportunity to escape prison, but he prefers death because he thinks it's immoral of him to break the law. Similarly, Antigone chooses death in order to bury her brother, Polyneices, because he isn't getting a proper burial,
In Antigone by Sophocles, Antigone is both an anarchist and a martyr, for different reasons. First off, there are many reasons that the girl could be considered an anarchist. An anarchist is one who wishes for no government, no higher power. So, there are many reasons why one could consider the girl an anarchist. The most obvious of these reasons being that she disobeyed the law, the law set by the king of Thebes, Creon. This law consisted of not being allowed to bury the man Polyneices, who was a traitor to Thebes, gathering an army after he was banished from his home city, to attack them, and then going to war against the city. Polyneices died, but still, this law was made. And Antigone broke it. She scattered dust on the rotting flesh “And sprinkled wine three times for her brother’s ghost” (Sophocles 202). And not only did the “anarchist” Antigone break this law that Creon had set, she boasted of it proudly. Later on, one could even argue that this action was imprudent. When convicted, she had no guilt, and did not look back. She wanted to show everyone that it was right of her ...
Compare and contrast the part that the city or state (polis) plays in Antigone and Oedipus The King.
Claim: The views expressed by Martin Luther King Jr. and Langston Hughes are quite identical, mostly because they apply similar schemes that complement their ideals.
It is easy to place the blame on fate or God when one is encumbered by suffering. It is much harder to find meaning in that pain, and harvest it into motivation to move forward and grow from the grief. It is imperative for one to understand one’s suffering as a gateway to new wisdom and development; for without suffering, people cannot find true value in happiness nor can they find actual meaning to their lives. In both Antigone and The Holy Bible there are a plethora of instances that give light to the quintessential role suffering plays in defining life across cultures. The Holy Bible and Sophocles’ Antigone both mirror the dichotomous reality in which society is situated, underlining the necessity of both joy and suffering in the world.
Antigone’s strength allows her to defend her brother’s honor against Creon, who wants to make a statement about traitors. However, both Antigone and King Creon commit faults while trying to protect the things they love. Antigone should not have died for her beliefs as it puts her loved ones and community in danger, and Creon should not have forbidden the burial of Polyneices as it angers the Gods and causes him great suffering in the end.
A crucial question in Antigone is, "When someone makes a law that is known by the public to be morally wrong, should the public break his/her law? Or should they collaborate with that person by obeying? Antigone felt that the law (no one was supposed to bury her brother Polyneicies) should be broken so she took what she thought to be appropriate measures. This is called Civil Disobedience. Another question is "Is Civil Disobedience morally and ethically correct?" The Nazis say one thing, and the Vietnam war veterans say one thing. The Nazis did not believe that Civil Disobedience was ethically or morally righteous, because of there inhumane acts upon the Jews in the 1940's probably led some Nazi officials to think about Civil Disobedience, after all the were told to do a job and if they didn't they would have been killed. As Adolph Hitler showed the world, just because one idiotic person thinks something is right that doesn't make it right. The Nazi officials parallel Ismene, because there is a law that they both knew to be wrong but they are so afraid to step up that they just collaborate with it. Another parallel is that the Jews and Polyneicies' soul. The Jews were caught up in the middle of the officials, the liberating nations, and Adolph Hitler. As was Polyneicies' soul caught in between Creon, Antigone, and Ismene. Also, in that they both had to undergo extreme pain, torture, and horror. Lastly the invading nations parallel Antigone in that they both fought against the law in both their times. Antigone fought to save her brother's spirit, and the invading nations fought to save the Jews. Civil disobedience is wrong even though it might not go with any religious beliefs, but for Christians, laws are established by governments, governments are established by God, so what is there to go against besides God's own law? Laws are made for the communities own safety, or own good. If a law was passed not to stay outside because of serial killings how many would stay outside late at night, not to many. A law was passed not to steal, how many people are arrested and convicted every week because they stole something. So laws are for the benefit of that area, in order to uphold that law there must be a price of punishment.
In Antigone’s case she was going against the law of her King by burying his brother but for her not doing so would bring dishonour to her in eyes of the gods and as she said “I would not risk the punishment of the gods in fear of any man.” Antigone was doing what she knew was morally correct and as we witnessed in the end she was right and
Overpowering and overbearing rulers can blur their judgment of what is right. Taking leadership to the extreme can cause a person to act in ways that do not correspond with their personal beliefs. This problem comes up a number of times in Sophocles plays, Antigone and Oedipus the king. Creon, the second king of Thebes, who is also the uncle of Antigone and Ismene, is a ruler who only cares for himself. Oedipus, the previous king, cares for the well- being of the people and views them as equals. Although Creon transforms over the course of both plays, he is still an uncaring tyrant leader whereas Oedipus is a more humane leader.
Divine laws & Civil laws are both very constructive as to keeping society in place, but what happens when Civil law clashes with Divine law? In Antigone, Creon creates a law that contradicts Divine law. This creates a lot of tragic conflict throughout the story. Things turn sour when Antigone chooses to follow the Divine law instead of Creon’s law. She decided to bury her brother, Polyneices. Even though Creon’s law goes against it. When Antigone buried him she was aware of the consequences that Creon had once he found out Antigone had done it. Antigone realized how dire the consequences were going to be and she became very hesitant. She attempts to gain pity from the choragus & they react in a very confronting way. The Tragic hero of “Antigone”