Benefits Of Breaking The Law
In a free society, it is necessary for people to have an outlet to complain about laws. However, if a law is written in a way such that it would be illegal to protest it, in those times, breaking the law might be the only option. For example, during the 1960s, civil rights leaders had to break the law to get attention from the media and rally for change to show how wrong segregation was. Breaking the law peacefully positively affects a free society if the laws restrict the freedom of the country.
In the 1960s, many people such as Martin Luther King Jr. broke the law to show injustice in the system of government. If the protesters protested the law without breaking it, the general public would think that the blacks weren’t too invested in the
protests to care for. As a result, change might have taken much longer than it did to happen. Breaking the law in a peaceful way helped accelerate the time it took for Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers to make the legal changes to the government necessary to become truly free. This is supported by Civil Discourse and Petitioning, which says, "The Civil Rights Movement also points to an often misunderstood component of political action, civil disobedience. Men such as Martin Luther King, Jr. violated unjust laws but willingly accepted the punishment that came with violating the law. That is true civil disobedience." This shows how courage was required to accept punishment for the laws one broke in jail. This principle also prevents people from just breaking laws that they don't like, as the article continues. Anyone who did that wasn't actually following the idea of civil disobedience; they were just criminals who wanted a reason to break the law. Due to the hard work of these people, enough media attention was raised that laws were passed to legalize integration and enforce it.
Another example of positive civil disobedience was Henry David Thoreau's refusal to pay taxes for the Mexican-American War. As a result, similarly to Martin Luther King Jr., he was thrown in jail. However, unlike Martin Luther King Jr., Henry David Thoreau didn't gain much traction for his actions and was unable to stop the war prematurely. Instead, he went to jail and served his time there without any notice until later. Even though he didn't start a movement, Henry David Thoreau was justified in breaking the law to protest since he took the punishment from the government for his civil disobedience. This is evidenced by his words while he was in prison, "'I did not for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar.' Locked in jail, Henry David Thoreau felt free." This quote shows how Henry David Thoreau was free from taxes and felt liberated because he went to jail fighting for something he wanted. Since in jail, he was taking the people's tax dollars and making some of it go to feeding him, by going to jail, Henry David Thoreau was in effect taking money away from the Mexican American War, and in addition, was barely paying any taxes to the country during his time there.
As shown, civil disobedience causes no harm to society, and is usually only used to break laws of questionable origin since the people who break laws in that way are prepared to face the consequences of breaking the law. This makes sure that most of civil disobedience is positive, and since it is more positive than negative, civil disobedience is in general, a positive feature of society necessary to maintain freedom in society. If we opress the ability to break the law for good, we will undermine the work of Martin Luther King Jr., his followers, and Henry David Thoreau's work on following in what they believed in.
In the 1960s, many people such as Martin Luther King Jr. broke the law to show injustice in the system of government. If the protesters protested the law without breaking it, the general public would think that the blacks weren’t too invested in the
protests to care for. As a result, change might have taken much longer than it did to happen. Breaking the law in a peaceful way helped accelerate the time it took for Martin Luther King Jr. and his followers to make the legal changes to the government necessary to become truly free. This is supported by Civil Discourse and Petitioning, which says, "The Civil Rights Movement also points to an often misunderstood component of political action, civil disobedience. Men such as Martin Luther King, Jr. violated unjust laws but willingly accepted the punishment that came with violating the law. That is true civil disobedience." This shows how courage was required to accept punishment for the laws one broke in jail. This principle also prevents people from just breaking laws that they don't like, as the article continues. Anyone who did that wasn't actually following the idea of civil disobedience; they were just criminals who wanted a reason to break the law. Due to the hard work of these people, enough media attention was raised that laws were passed to legalize integration and enforce it.
Another example of positive civil disobedience was Henry David Thoreau's refusal to pay taxes for the Mexican-American War. As a result, similarly to Martin Luther King Jr., he was thrown in jail. However, unlike Martin Luther King Jr., Henry David Thoreau didn't gain much traction for his actions and was unable to stop the war prematurely. Instead, he went to jail and served his time there without any notice until later. Even though he didn't start a movement, Henry David Thoreau was justified in breaking the law to protest since he took the punishment from the government for his civil disobedience. This is evidenced by his words while he was in prison, "'I did not for a moment feel confined, and the walls seemed a great waste of stone and mortar.' Locked in jail, Henry David Thoreau felt free." This quote shows how Henry David Thoreau was free from taxes and felt liberated because he went to jail fighting for something he wanted. Since in jail, he was taking the people's tax dollars and making some of it go to feeding him, by going to jail, Henry David Thoreau was in effect taking money away from the Mexican American War, and in addition, was barely paying any taxes to the country during his time there.
As shown, civil disobedience causes no harm to society, and is usually only used to break laws of questionable origin since the people who break laws in that way are prepared to face the consequences of breaking the law. This makes sure that most of civil disobedience is positive, and since it is more positive than negative, civil disobedience is in general, a positive feature of society necessary to maintain freedom in society. If we opress the ability to break the law for good, we will undermine the work of Martin Luther King Jr., his followers, and Henry David Thoreau's work on following in what they believed in.