...Civil Disobedience is a tradition carried on by those willing to accept the consequences. Muhammad Ali is one example, he firmly stood up and opposed joining the military draft. That soon caused him to be stripped of his boxing title and was sentenced to five years in prison, but was appealed and avoided his prison sentence. Another example is Henry David Thoreau, who spent a night in jail for not paying his taxes, in protest of the Mexican American War. The influence of Henry Thoreau's writing has been read by civil rights leaders in the United States and around the world over the years. He believes when the government is doing wrong that the people should refuse to follow the law, like he did due to the practice of slavery in some territories. And the only purpose of the government was to ensure individual freedom and not misuse...
Words: 501 - Pages: 3
...Nelson Mandela a good amount of his political career reversing the effects of this system. He did so prior to his position in office by peaceful, some not peaceful, protests. These protests are an example of civil disobedience. “Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is a symbolic or ritualistic violation of the law, rather than a rejection of the system as a whole.” - Henry David Thoreau. One of the oldest examples of civil disobedience is the Ancient Greek play Antigone by Sophocles. Nelson Mandela used many different...
Words: 760 - Pages: 4
...Civil disobedience occurs when people feel the need to oppose an unjust law and feel the need for a change. It can be labeled as a form of protest whether it's peaceful or violent. Protest itself is a form of freedom of speech which is a given right to the people. People protest because they feel there is a need in change within the government or society. Peaceful protest is the best form of protest because it shows that the people are willing to negotiate to come to and understanding with the government so that a change can be made. Civl disobedience can be bad if your breaking a law that is immorally wrong such as murder or assault. If that happens it will look bad on the people and the government will punish the individual who caused the harm. An example of civil disobedience is the Black Lives Matter...
Words: 503 - Pages: 3
...Civil disobedience is a positive outlook obeying laws and orders. Civil disobedience can be used during everyday life; but can be negative when the public is misinformed, punishments are taken way out of hand causing other issues, and misinterpret what civil disobedience really is. Civil disobedience can be taken and viewed from everyday live if it's positive or negative in the view of others. Civil disobedience can be misinformed by the public; meaning that people use assumptions to assume what a person's intentions really are. An example can be in Antigone a king named Creon is misinformed about who buried his nephew. He felt one of his nephews should not get a correct burial because he felt the intentions of him for fighting his brother were wrong. Going in to be king, Creon stated a speech (1.40-45) saying that Polonesis should not be buried that he should lay in the field to rot. Another good example is from an article about a football player taking a knee during the national anthem. People did not like his way of protesting saying that “not standing during the national anthem is a signal of allegiance to one's nation”. When in the end the football player did it to show...
Words: 522 - Pages: 3
...There are always concepts and civil disobedience, with someone's action, nor that it is good or bad: there are always some sort of comments. Either if it was after death or post death some sort of civil disobedience that comes with it. In Sophocles Heartbroken Tragic drama Antigone, he examines an unbroken loyalty for family and for respect or a family member. The main character that we fellow throughout the novel, tell her death: Antigone begins to get more worried not about her death but of what the people will say. At the beginning of the play, Antigone is self confident because of how she feels for what she did by burying her brother. Antigone says, “My own brother and yours I will!! IF you will not, I will; I shall not provide disloyal.”...
Words: 358 - Pages: 2
...In Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau argues that moral issues stem from governmental involvement in society. He advises that one must “let [their] life be a counter friction to stop the machine” in order for there to be any change (Thoreau). This view does not serve well in the current democratic society because the current system relies on a majority, while Thoreau’s model promotes that “any man with more right than his neighbor constitutes a majority of one already” (Thoreau). These views do not bode well for society as a whole and specifically the American view of freedom because it negates that ideas that no one man has more power, specifically the checks and balances system. Through this view of civil disobedience, everyone who perceives a moral issue takes power and can thus exercise whatever he/she pleases....
Words: 649 - Pages: 3
...- 2 – The LD File Civil Disobedience Index Topic Overview 3-7 Definitions 8-10 Affirmative Cases 11-19 Negative Cases 20-25 Affirmative Extensions 26-34 Civil disobedience worked to free India. 26 Civil disobedience overthrew the communists in Poland. 26 The tradition of civil disobedience in America goes all the way back to the founders. 26 Civil disobedience can serve to prevent situations from escalating into violence. 27 Civil Disobedience has been used to promote peace. 27 Civil disobedience was used to promote racial equality. 27 Civil disobedience is used to try to prevent the destruction of the environment. 27 Civil disobedience is effective at changing the law. 28 Legal channels can take too long. 28 Consent to obey just laws does not imply consent to obey unjust ones. 28 Distinguishing between just and unjust laws to disobey can be universalized. 28 Civil disobedience can be stabilizing to a community by spreading a shared sense of justice. 29 Sometimes it is only the unjustified response to civil disobedience that has harmful consequence. 29 Civil disobedience is traditionally non-violent. 29 Civil disobedience is a form of exercising free speech- which is essential in a democracy. 30 Civil disobedience has been used to fight slave laws 30 Civil disobedience played a role in ending the Vietnam war. 30 Civil disobedience shouldn’t be punished-...
Words: 18413 - Pages: 74
...Fifty-three years ago, the events of what became known as “Bloody Sunday” unfolded. “Bloody Sunday” was one of the hundreds of marches that occurred during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. This movement was also characterized by other acts of nonviolent civil disobedience, such as sit-ins, boycotts, and rallies. The civil rights movement was a human rights movement established in the hopes of ending legalized racial segregation and discrimination laws in the United States. One objective of this movement was to push for legislation to enforce the fifteenth amendment. The fifteenth amendment states that no one could be denied the right to vote because of race, color, or previous condition of servitude. However, this amendment was...
Words: 1769 - Pages: 8
...What does civil disobedience mean exactly? Civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain, as a peaceful form of political protest. Civil disobedience is good because it makes changes with to violent moves. The passages that will be talked about as good examples of civil disobedience are “On Nonviolent Resistance,”, Mohandas K. Gandhi. The next passage is called “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” by the one and only, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. For the third and last passage, it is called “Civil Disobedience,” by Henry David Thoreau. These passages will make you think differently about what people are capable of. In “On Nonviolent Resistance,” Mohandas K. Gandhi writes about how violence isn’t always key to making changes. It can only...
Words: 473 - Pages: 2
...Civil disobedience is the act of refusing to obey the law; it is rebelling against the government. This is a highly sensitive subject when it comes to questioning whether it is justified or not. When the government legalizes a law that is too harsh or goes against religion, it stirs a protest among many. In addition, the act of rebellion wouldn’t be commendable if the act strengthens justice or remains passive-aggressive. A number of times, people believe it is never justifiable under the circumstances that it is normally dangerous and may cause other problems. However, Civil Disobedience is justified only when the law is threatening, the act is passive aggressive, and it strengthens justice. "Unjust Laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?" (Thoreau). At what point does the law no longer become what the people need? When the law itself causes more harm then obedience. Also, when it contradicts religion and moral standards."What we've learned is that our government is doing things worldwide that definitely directly affect our privacy as Americans but affect the privacy of other people globally as well" ("Why One Expert"). It is not a rare occurrence that we see unjust actions....
Words: 778 - Pages: 4
...destiny is shaped.” A people’s response to the edicts of their government determines the destiny of their nation. Civil disobedience is a veraciously debated topic, with most individuals choosing the position of for or against. However, they fail to recognize the arguments true nucleus, and therefore cannot properly interpret the effect of civil disobedience on a free society. The impact of civil disobedience on a free society does not lie in the act of peaceful protest itself, but rather in the law an individual chooses to defy. The right to civil disobedience is mandatory for a freestanding democratic republic to survive, but...
Words: 793 - Pages: 4
...Civil disobedience is the idea that people should respectfully and peacefully resist laws they find immoral. The idea Began in The Mexican American War when the abolitionist Henry David Thoreau refused to pay taxes. He thought that the war would help expand slavery as most of the land won in the war would become slave states. Many would use This idea throughout U.S. history. Civil disobedience has been a positive way to impact a free society. One example of this was the walk out movement in East Los Angeles. The movement began when Mexican American students left Homeroom before roll call. As school funding was determined by attendance rate. The students did this because the school board would not hear their demands. After a week of protests...
Words: 789 - Pages: 4
...the Consititution. By doing so, we are practicing the rights to protect, assemble peaceably, and oppose laws, as stated in the First Amendment. While to some, civil disobedience may seem as an idea that destroys a society, to others (including myself) is just another way to bring about awareness and change to a society. In Martin Luther King's "Letter from Birmingham Jail", civil disobedience is shown throughout King's actions. King's peaceful protest movements showed resistance to several negative impacts of injustice. In the essay, King states that although Alabama clergymen were criticizing his actions, his argument was...
Words: 515 - Pages: 3
...Throughout “Letter from a Birmingham Jail”, King makes a similar statement about civil disobedience and the law. He states that civil disobedience must occur after four steps are taken. Collection of facts to determine whether there are injustices, negotiation, self purification, and direct action must occur before civil disobedience transpires. He argues that “there is nothing wrong in having an ordinance which requires a permit for a parade. But such an ordinance becomes an injustice when it is used to maintain segregation” (5). Ultimately, a law becomes unjust when it promotes injustice. This is when civil disobedience can occur as laws that promote segregation and inequality are unjust. King appeals to a higher law whenever a command of the state conflicts with his moral principles. Natural law can be described as King’s guide to civil disobedience. When the state does not conform with natural law, civil...
Words: 1609 - Pages: 7
...While it is true that disobedience often causes social progress, it is not always the most practical method with which we can protest unjust laws. In situations where other methods of protest have proved to be ineffective, civil disobedience can sometimes be the only way with which we can change unjust laws. A quintessential example of this is how Rosa Parks refused to move to the back of the bus, even though African Americans had to give up their seat to white Americans during that time period. During this act of civil disobedience on December 1, 1955, Parks refused to move to the “colored section” on the back of the bus when the whites-only section of the bus was filled. By refusing to give up her seat, Parks protested against the segregation laws during this time. Because other forms of protest against the...
Words: 495 - Pages: 2
