In the months leading up to President Trump’s presidency, there have been a constant flow of protests and marches against his policies and political views. With the mass demonstrations taking place every other week about a different issue, it is important to examine whether peaceful resistance is beneficial to a free society or rather becomes a nuisance to the public. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a society because it allows groups to freely express their opinions and mold government to fit society’s changing morals.
Peaceful resistance such as protests and marches benefit a free society because it allows the voices of the minority to be heard. For example, President Trump’s recent ban on refugees and visitors from seven Islamic
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Sitting in silence and simply accepting laws without opposition creates a society that can easily fall prey to dictators, special interest groups, and amoral legislation. Though some may argue that peaceful resistance allows individuals to go rogue and break the law whenever they please, these individuals will either face the consequences such as jail time or be able show that there needs to be a change in law that fits the new moral standard of society. An example would be Kolender v. Lawson case, where Kolender practiced civil disobedience against a state loitering law, was arrested multiple times, and was eventually was able to bring his case to the Supreme Court court . The court ruled that the loitering law in California was unconstitutional, and his actions lead to the state updating the law so that it can be more effective, less ambiguous, and depend less on racial profiling (4). By practicing non-violent resistance, Kolender was able to give more freedom to the people of California and ensure that their fourth amendment rights were
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.
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
This is a reason why most people believe that civil disobedience is bad. Civil disobedience is not dangerous because once someone breaks a law and harms others then it is not civil disobedience. Civil disobedience will be peaceful and will not intentionally harm anyone. Thoreau explained in his essay that he “asked for, not at once no government, but at once a better government.” This shows that in civil disobedience is only used to change government laws for the benefit of the people. Thoreau also says “I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterwards.” He believes the law made them subjects and he wanted all men to truly be free, so with civil disobedience he did show he disagreed with the law. With civil disobedience people may show how unjust the laws are because people were being arrested for not
In 1963, as protest to the authoritarian regime of President Ngo Dinh Diem, Buddhist monks began to go to public places in Vietnam and commit suicide, by drenching themselves in gasoline and setting themselves on fire. They did this as an act of civil disobedience, defined as an act of defiance of specific laws or policies of a formal structure which the individual or group believes to be unjust. The Buddhist civilization in Vietnam was not apparent to the Americans until the Buddhists began sacrificing themselves in Saigon’s public streets. The pictures of the monks engulfed in flames made world headlines and caused American intervention; and later the capture and killing of Diem and his brother. In contrast to these acts of civil disobedience, one can observe the actions of suicide bombers. In the Palestinian territories, those who support suicide bombing claim that it is merely a tactic of war in defense of their land and homes. Without superior weaponry, they see it as “a heroic act of martyrdom, a final act of resistance, stemming from desperation”(Suicide Bombers). Both the Buddhist monks and the “suicide bombers” in Palestine resort to self-sacrificial actions as their form of violent civil disobedience. Violent forms of civil disobedience should only be necessary to counter violence but never if it inhibits upon the liberties of the innocent. By this definition, the actions of the Buddhist monks are more justifiable than those of suicide bombers in the Middle East.
In our country’s history, Civil Disobedience has had positive effects upon legislation and societal norms. The First Amendment of the United States Constitution states five basic forms of expression that are to be protected by the government: Speech, Press, Assembly, Religion, and Petition. The Founders, in essence, created a means by which the average citizen can achieve political and social change. Justice William J. Brennan Jr. stated in 1989 that, “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that government cannot prohibit the expression of an idea simply because the society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.”* When citizens speak out or
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
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.
I am inspired by Martin Luther King Jr. in my answer to the original question. A peaceful resistance can make a positive impact on society when a law “degrades human personality”. One must disobey a law that is “not square with the law of moral”. Resist a government that sets laws to take the freedom of groups and individuals, that causes harm and chaos, and does not “cherish the minority”.One must follow suit of our past leaders of change and make a positive impact, they must peacefully
“An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” (Mahatma Gandhi), welcome to the world of non-violence, not similar to ‘disney land’ but merely a small philosophical village coated in white, decorated with crystals and abundant in doves; white resembling peace, crystals for clarity and pure spirit and doves for .. I don’t know, I guess I have been driven by my imagination.
Throughout history, during the late 18th century, early and mid 19th century, and even today, many people peacefully resisted laws they felt attacked their rights as a U.S. citizen and as a human. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and even the entire city of Baltimore, have all used peaceful protest to rally against an unjust or unfair law or situation they felt was surpressing them from the rights they have been given. In there efforts of their protests, they have positively effected our country today by deminishing segregation, kick-starting a fight against racism for generations and counting, and a drive to find equality between all types of people.
Flower power was a slogan used during the late 1960s and early 1970s as a symbol of passive resistance and non-violence ideology. It is rooted in the opposition movement to the Vietnam War. The expression was coined by the American beat poet Allen Ginsberg in 1965 as a means to transform war protests into peaceful affirmative spectacles. Hippies embraced the symbolism by dressing in clothing with embroidered flowers and vibrant colors, wearing flowers in their hair, and distributing flowers to the public, becoming known as flower children. The term later became generalized as a modern reference to the hippie movement and the so-called counterculture of drugs, psychedelic music, psychedelic art and social permissiveness.
In my opinion I think peaceful resistance to laws positively impact a free society, because it can change people’s perspective on unjust laws. It can make a change to society. People will see others making a difference, and they will try to do the same. We should not stay quiet, when our rights are being intimidated.
Our nation’s democracy is protected in a variety of ways. It’s protected by the soldiers who every day risk their lives for us. It’s protected by the checks and balances of the government that prevent one branch from overpowering the others. It’s protected by our freedoms of religion and speech and assembly. But one of the greatest protectors of a free society is peaceful resistance because of its ability to direct government policies to the wants of the people.
The protest is meant to symbolize a peaceful resistance to a decision made by the government in authority over the land. If the protesters choose to become violent and harmful, then it is no longer a peaceful resistance, but a riot. Through this comes senseless violence that will accomplish nothing but an influence of hatred that will spread throughout the society and prompt more to join in the conflict. The act of peaceful resistance is the best route to take, but should still be taken with caution because there are many possibilities that people could still be harmed. However, this can positively impact a society because it shows that citizens are willing to be patient with their government as they await their answer after so many demonstrations have been complete. This can also fuel a better relationship between citizens and their government, bringing about a future where hopefully, less and less protests will be
Peaceful resistance to some of the current laws has been happening throughout our history. From protesting the draft of the Vietnam War to the use of marijuana in protest of the current laws against the legalization of marijuana, civil disobedience has been around us for most of our history. The problem with civil disobedience is that is such resistance to the law is justifiable and what kind of impact does it have on today's society. Although the practice of breaking the law for opposing a law is very hard to justify in democratic society, the act of peaceful resistance to laws can have a tremendous positive impact in our society. Only through PEACEFUL means can citizens protest laws that they do not agree. Acts such as riots due to the shooting