...Lloyd Wyse Melissa Hull EN 209-014 April 18, 2012 Critical Essay: Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience is the active refusal to comply with certain laws or demands of a government, such as paying fines or taxes. Although it is not necessarily on-violent, it has classically been attributed to nonviolent resistance. The etymological origin of the term is from Henry David Thoreau’s essay Resistance to Government, written in 1849, which was eventually renamed to Essay on Civil Disobedience. Since its republication in 1866, Thoreau’s essay has inspired many important activists over the course of history. Its messages have resonated within countless people unsatisfied or disgusted with the law of the land; one of the most prominent lessons it teaches is that an unjust government can only be corrected by the defiance of its people. As long as there is an imperfect government, there will be a need for civil disobedience. Citizens of nations from all over the globe still read and learn from Civil Disobedience because even in modern times a perfect government does not exist. In Civil Disobedience, Thoreau prompts the reader to take direct action against injustice. He argues that the government is a representative of corruption and injustice that, like a machine, fuels the enabling of its wrongdoings through enforcement of law. He states that an individual’s silent compliance with the law is essentially the same as cooperation with injustices that the lawmaker commits. In particular...
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...representation. Peaceful resistance has often been the source of social and political change and has historically represented people who feel that their voice is not being heard. Therefore, civil disobedience positively impacts a free society because...
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...- 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-...
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...The Civil Rights Movement The civil rights movement is a very diverse subject. There are many different opinions on this subject and many political changing events follow this movement. Some of the struggles during the civil rights movement were covered through the media in such a fashion that it could have gone either way. I found an article stating, and I quote “Majority Queried In Times Survey Say, Negro Movement Has Gone Too Far, But Few Intend To Change Votes.” –New York Times (Sept. 21st 1964). Now another person questioned in this poll, and I quote “That many neighborhoods have always been known as ‘tough’, but they were white tough neighborhoods, if you know what I mean.” He added, “It was tough to a point, and no more. Now with colored it is a different kind of toughness, it is fear I guess.” I feel like with this last comment that this man had said, it is absolutely true of how the public viewed the civil rights movement, it was a fear, a fear of uncertainty of how to live with each other after being segregated for so long. In during this time the term ‘white backlash’ was used as a term used to give an indication that their voting habits were affected by the changes that has occurred in the civil rights act. Martin Luther King Jr. displayed a method of non violent protests which he referred to as a method of peaceful protest by oppressed people. From the article I read I quote “In a classical non violent situation the oppressed engage in mass demonstrations or in...
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...Ryan (howard@netwood.net) Preface 2 Part I 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Problems of Nonviolent Theory Nonviolent Philosophy 6 Moral View: Violence Itself Is Wrong 9 Practical View: Violence Begets Violence 13 Nonviolent Theory of Power 21 Voluntary Suffering 24 Common Nonviolent Arguments 34 A Class Perspective 49 Part II 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Gandhi: A Critical History Father of Nonviolence 56 Satyagraha in South Africa 59 Textile Strike 66 Noncooperation Movement 1919-22 70 Religious Conflicts 80 Salt Satyagraha 87 Congress Ministries 97 The War Years 101 Independence and Bloodshed 111 Part III 17 18 19 20 Nonviolence in the Anti-Nuclear Movement Nonviolent Direct Action 120 Consensus Decision Making 123 Open, Friendly, and Respectful 136 Civil Disobedience 142 Epilogue 151 Notes 154 ©2002 by Howard Ryan. All rights reserved. Readers have my permission to use and distribute for non-profit and educational purposes. Critique of Nonviolent Politics 2 Preface (2002) Critique of Nonviolent Politics may be the only comprehensive critique of nonviolent theory that has been written. I wrote it between 1980 and 1984, while living in Berkeley, California. Since 1977, I had been active in the movement against nuclear power and weapons which, in California, focused its protests at the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant near San Luis Obispo, and at the University of California's Lawrence Livermore Labs where nuclear weapons are designed. Nonviolence was the prevailing political theory in the movement...
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...Jinnah I am glad that I am afforded the opportunity to speak to you directly through this radio from Delhi. It is the first time, I believe, that a non-official has been afforded an opportunity to address the people through the medium of this powerful instrument, direct, to the people on political matters. I hope that in the future I shall have greater facilities to enable me to voice my views and opinions, which will reach directly (to) you, life warm rather than in the cold print of the newspapers. The statement of Government, embodying the plan for the transfer of power to the peoples of India, has already been broadcast and will be released to the press and will be published here and abroad tomorrow morning. It gives the outline of the plan for us to give it our most earnest consideration. We have to examine it coolly, calmly and dispassionately. We must remember that we have to take the most momentous decisions and handle grave issues facing us in the solution of the complex political problem of this great sub-continent inhabited by 400,000,000 people.(Holdningbeabejdende) The world has no parallel of the most onerous and difficult task which His Excellency had to perform. Grave responsibility lies particularly on the shoulders of Indian leaders. Therefore we must galvanise and concentrate all our energies to see that the transfer of power is assisted in a peaceful and orderly manner. I most earnestly appeal to every community and particularly to Moslems in India to maintain...
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...How important was Martin Luther King to the passing of the civil rights and voting acts 1964-65 The role of Martin Luther King Jr. in the passing of the Civil Rights/Voting Acts has been greatly disputed within the historical community. Some historians such as Anthony Badger argue that there was 'no person more important' than King, whilst others, such as Clayborne Carson believe the opposite: that even without King the civil rights movement would have 'followed a course of development similar to the one it did'. Differing from both these beliefs, there were factors more important than King in the passing of these acts, however, King was far from an inefficacious factor as Carson suggests. Rather he was an important political giant who was (along with his Southern Christian Leadership Conference) an instrumental aid to a number of vital incidents that massively helped catalyse the passage of the acts. Incidents such as the Selma march and the subsequent "Bloody Sunday" a well as his role in the Birmingham and Washington marches. His role as a prominent activist and talented orator added to King's importance as it allowed him to proliferate ideas of peaceful protest and civil disobedience to the masses. However, despite King's distribution of ideas to the masses, it is the masses themselves, or rather the local leaders of them, with whom the greatest credit for the passing of these acts must be placed due to the pressure they placed on the presidency to enact legislation. What's...
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...Running head: CIVIL RIGHTS IN THE SIXTIES 1 Civil Rights in the sixties Michael Crawford HIS/145 December 1, 2011 Amy Linimon Civil Rights in the sixties Civil Rights Movement: An Introduction America was a country borne out of a group of people's desire for Freedom from oppression, under the Lockean belief of human equality. Despite this however, discrimination & racism coloured American history. Indeed, it wasn't until the early part of the 20th century when the American Legal System formally recognized African Americans as 'citizens'. In America then, how are minorities seen? Remember that America was born out of the former New England Colonies that were once under the British. Therefore, America is predominantly made up of Anglo-Europeans who can trace their roots back to Europe & the Colonial Period. In the 1950's, any group that are not equally represented & enjoying the same rights & privileges under the protection of the American constitution or could but due to ethnicity & other factors are discriminated against is considered a minority. Women since the birth of the nation have struggled for gender equality, hence back then they were also considered a 'minority'. Even in the There were of course the African-Americans who were big players in the Civil Rights movement. The American Indians are also considered minorities although they were not as politically visible as pushing for the civil rights movement as the feminists & the African Americans (Rosa Parks, Martin Luther...
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...Occupy movement From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Jump to: navigation, search This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (June 2013) Occupy movement Part of response to the late-2000s financial crisis and subprime mortgage crisis and the impact of the Arab Spring Combination of October 2011 global protests.jpg Worldwide Occupy movement protests on 15 October 2011 Location Worldwide (List of locations) Methods Occupation Non violent protest Civil disobedience Picketing Demonstrations Internet activism General strikes Direct action Arrests/Injuries/Deaths Arrests: 7,700+,[1] Injuries: 400+,[2] Deaths: 32[3][4][5][6][7] The Occupy movement is an international protest movement against social and economic inequality, its primary goal being to make the economic and political relations in all societies less vertically hierarchical and more flatly distributed. Local groups often have different foci, but among the movement's prime concerns is the belief that large corporations and the global financial system control the world in a way that disproportionately benefits a minority, undermines democracy and is unstable.[8][9][10][11] The first Occupy protest to receive wide coverage was Occupy Wall Street in New...
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...In the essay “Letter from Birmingham jail”, written by Martin Luther King Jr., was written to eight clergy men, doing a non-violent protest ,encourage those against segregation, trying to convince that he is right and change needed to occur. Throughout the letter Martin Luther King Jr. appeal to reason, emotion, and character. When he starts his letter he says, “MY DEAR FELLOW CLERGYMEN” (72). He starts his letter right away, appealing to character. With this being said, he sounds like he wants to do a nonviolent protest against them, but he wants his voice to be heard, but not violently. He used clever words to start off the letter. He doesn’t separate blacks from whites, showing that they both are the same, no discrimination, and no segregation. He wanted everyone to be treated equally. He was against the fact that everyone was racist in Birmingham. Another quote to support his character is when he said “I have the honor of serving as president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, an organization operating in every southern state, with headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia. We have some eighty-five affiliated organizations across the South, and one of them is the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights.” In this quote he is describing the role he plays in the religious community. With this being said, it shows that he is equal with the eight clergymen and can share of sort of relationship with them. His desire is to stop injustice, showing credibility with the white...
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...Kevin Eberle Professor Cox English Comp October 17, 2011 Occupy Wall Street Movement: There is a growing movement in the United States that started in New York City and is now spreading out to many other cities It is the Occupy Wall Street Movement. The first people that came to this movement were some punks, liberals, artists and socialists. They did not just come for a one day protest they came again and again. Then other people began to take notice and the movement has been doubling in size every three days since mid September. Now there are young people, middle age and retirees, the employed and the unemployed just to name a few. How this movement has differed from other protests in the past for example, those against the Vietnam War in the 1960’s, the protestors are not just unruly mobs of young people fighting for one cause. Instead it is people with several different yet similar grievances. Contrary to the idea of Occupy Wall Street just being comprised of young people we now see that the younger element has sometimes been the majority. In this movement we see a diversity of people, varying ages, life situations, and grievances. Some are first time protestors. There are a few common denominators of the protestors but the most outstanding seems to be about economic injustice and the corporate influence on our government. Because the middle class are tired of the corporate injustices they have now come to rally for justice. It is interesting how this movement...
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...Amanda Lomas English 99 January 24, 2013 Effective Persuasion In the letter, “Letter from Birmingham Jail,” written by Martin Luther King, Jr., was written while king was in jail for being a part of the Birmingham Campaign, which was a non-violent protest to end segregation in the U.S. In the letter, King explain that he is disappointed in the clergy for attacking the members of the African American non-violent civil rights movement and that direct action is the only thing left for them to do. He goes on to say that he hopes “the dark clouds of racial prejudice will soon pass away.” In this letter, King has a very effective argument by using several different persuasive appeals. One persuasive appeal that King uses is called ethos. Ethos refers to the credibility and trustworthiness of the writer or speaker and can often be supported through style of the message and tone. Throughout the whole letter, King has a very even tone. At the beginning of the letter, he calmly explains why he is in jail and is not angry or mad and goes on to explain the four steps to his direct action. Having a calm approach like King shows in this letter makes the reader more inclined to listen rather than having a threatening or aggressive tone. Although he calmly explains himself at the beginning of the letter, King also has the right amount of firmness towards the middle of letter to make the reader believe that what he is saying to true. Towards the end of the letter King apologizes for...
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...05/13/ 2013 If I had a dream…. There would not only be peace in the Middle East, but around the world as well. America would no longer have to battle terrorist cells and other such evils in or outside of America. It would be like every day on the news we would hear only about the positive, and not news we're hearing how rampant violence is in our communities, both here in America and around the world. There is so much going on for a better world all around us that the mainstream media never shares with us. What actions can we take as a nation to make this dream come true? We can create harmonious relationships with our family, friends, coworkers and community members. We all can learn how to forgive people who have harmed you in the past. Everyone can learn how to forgive yourself for harm you have inflicted on others. Also we can heal painful wounds within you, family, community and nation. We can work on always being honest. We all can help protect the earth and teach peace to children. We can teach non-violence by example. We all can be leaders in the struggle for human decency. We all can respect the dignity of each person. We can express your views on peace to government officials. We can change a potential enemy into a friend. Everyone can help someone and be more loving and fair. Everyone can commit themselves to nonviolence, support nonviolent solutions to global issues. Everyone can speak out for a nuclear-free world. What actions can...
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...Violence is the only effective weapon available to the people who are oppressed. How far do you agree or disagree? I personally do not agree that violence is the only effective weapon available to the oppressed people. It is not the only way for people to get their view across or secure their rights and justice. However, throughout the history of mankind, violence has been widely used as a method to gain control over a person or a group of people or a nation. Unfortunately, the present day media is also filled with news of violence. What exactly is violence? Violence can be described as an act of intentional harm to some individual or group. Violence can be physical, mental or sometimes even emotional. It disturbs peace and harmony in the society and slows down the overall development. Securing ownership over land and resources, power hungry leadership, extremism, racism, sociocultural differences, ethnic and caste conflicts are causes of violence. For example, the violence between the Indians and the Pakistanis over the land of Kashmir is motivated by the desire of securing land and resources. The conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians is driven by religious differences and extremism. There are constant fights between different tribes in many parts of Africa. These African tribal conflicts are usually motivated by ethnic and caste differences. Centuries prolonged conflicts between the "blacks" and the "whites" were the results of racism. There are still residues...
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...TomMendez Hacktivism and Civil Disobedience Hacktivism, though preferred by hackers and hacktivists to be kept without a definition, is generally thought of as hacking for a political cause. Hackers, those who have deep knowledge and understanding of the Internet and computer systems and networks, thrive on the openness and freedom the internet provides. Steven Levy’s “Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution” published nearly three decades ago outlines the hacker’s creeds: 1. Access to computers should be unlimited and total. 2. All information should be free. 3. Mistrust authority – promote decentralization. 4. Hackers should be judged by their hacking not bogus criteria such as degrees, age, race, or position. 5. You create art and beauty on a computer. 6. Computers can change your life for the better. The operating system Linux, still widely used today, was created to conform to this ethical code. Linux pioneer Richard Stallman with the help of Linus Torvalds developed the GNU/Linux operating system. The software was made available under the General Public License, nicknamed “copyleft” (as opposed to copyright), meaning that the software was free to have and modify for anyone so long as users make the source freely available to others. This has created an open global community that “thrives on the free flow and sharing of information” (metac0m 1). Metac0m, the editor of The Hacktivist Magazine tells us “Hackers abhor censorship. Censorship...
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