Standing up for yourself

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All across the world there are controversies over various issues. Only certain people have the courage to stand up for what they believe in and defend it. These people include Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, Zahra Arabzada and the original peaceful protester, Mohandas Gandhi. These people have a God given right to stand up for themselves. Often times people who stand up for themselves represent a crowd or a cause that many people support. Standing up for yourself takes great strength and courage, especially if an opposing force is stronger. No matter the situation it is one’s right and responsibility to stand up for what one believes in.
Throughout history many men and women have stood up for themselves and their cause. In the late 1800’s and into the 1900’s a man named Mohandas Gandhi led a revolution for racial equality and India’s independence from Britain. Creating the principle of non-violent protesting, he introduced a method known as “non-cooperation”. “Non-cooperation” involved the people of India spurning everything that the British government told them to do. Gandhi called for a campaign of non-cooperation with the British. Indian children were withdrawn from school, Indians in public office resigned and Indians boycotted the legal system”(Edidin 18) . This act caused obstruction in Britain’s government and led to the lessening of social order. Indians crowded the streets making them impassable and refused to fight back even when beaten. During the Civil Rights Movement Martin Luther King Jr. would go on to follow these methods of civil disobedience. Non-cooperation was a successful non-violent method that ultimately contributed to the freedom of India.
Gandhi was at the head of many successful non-violent prote...

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...n he was finally released from prison he was elected as president of South Africa and stood up for peace between everyone. Mandela stood up for what he believed and spent 27 years in jail because of it. Because Mandela stood up for his, and many others beliefs, and never gave up his movement, South Africa is the racially equal country it is today.
Certain people have the desire, courage and drive to stand up for things that they believe in. It can happen in many ways shapes and forms. Whether it be a violent and physical protest or something as simple as a sit in, it spreads a message of intolerance against an opposing force. Spreading ones beliefs is the root to revolution and reform. Change is caused by people standing up for themselves or others. It is one’s God given right to stand up for yourself. The power of one person can turn into a power that is unmatched.

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