Civil Disobedience In Schools

Children sit in schools all across America and are urged to standing up to bullies – told how one person, no matter how small, can benefit the present and the future with his or her actions or words. Children return home at night all across America to hear snippets of the news from the kitchen table: a racial protest on yet another college campus, a terrorist attack overseas, and a new report delineating the disadvantages women face in the workplace. Children all across America stage a class walk-out, just to be met by stern-faced officials pointing fingers, scolding them, and telling them they cannot disobey – can never disobey.

Those children across the United States are told two juxtaposing convictions: (1) they must always stand up for
what is right, and (2) they must never break the laws set in place, as those rules are there for protection. And, for the most part, everyone listens, thrusting their teenage angst and rebellious thoughts into the dark corners of their minds. However, the occasional case of advantageous civil disobedience appears on the news, and some can barely contain a smile.

Yes, laws and rules have a purpose.
The United States wouldn’t be the thriving global superpower it is without commissions like the FDIC, CFTC, and OCC. And, yes, civilians should follow the rules governing our existence meticulously. However, there are cases in which civil disobedience is, in fact, important – and necessary. In the words of our own Declaration of Independence, whenever there becomes “a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it is [the people’s] right, it is their duty, to throw off such Government.” For all of the effective guidance and leadership the laws of the land provide – and our Founding Fathers acknowledged this and condemned any “transience” whenever laws and governments were considered simply hassles – there is also reason to doubt the integrity of those leading the country, to break the laws or, in the case of the Revolutionary War, to usurp the government and supplant it. Therefore, civil disobedience, depending on the inspiration for its occurrence, can be either advantageous or pejorative to
society.

There is an extent to which our Founding Fathers and contemporary America should tolerate – and possibly advocate for – civil disobedience. Whenever news anchors glumly speak about civil disobedience – the baneful and unlawful acts – with no hint of pride lacing their words, that’s the limit. Whenever adults gather and march in protest of an individual’s action, that’s the limit. Whenever civil disobedience is not meant with beneficial intent, but is instead executed to prove a point or set an example, that’s the limit.

The line between this improper disobedience and the magnanimous kind that moves society forward is distinct – typically, extreme violence is on the side of unwanted disobedience.
However, not all violent efforts are deleterious. For instance, just this past year, a custodian at Yale University smashed a stained glass window depicting slavery on the campus. The act was, of course, violent and illegal and categorized as civil disobedience. But, the act also exemplifies the category of rebellion that pushes society forward and past those roadblocks in our past that weigh us down and prevent us from reaching our future goal – equality for all. Another violent protest occurred last year in Charlotte, North Carolina, after the fatal shooting of an African-American man. However, the group grew quickly to angry unrest, injuring police officers and committing arson on the
streets.

While the former act of disobedience was a more placated, meditated act, causing no harm to others and making a statement against society’s display of African-American past discrimination, the latter act quickly evolved into an anger-filled crime with the intent to destroy and make an impact in a destructive manner. And that latter kind of disobedience is the baneful kind that should not be tolerated in America and was not tolerated by our Founding Fathers – it’s the kind of disobedience that encourages “transience” in the laws and encourages others to break the law out of anger, not out of motivation to make the world a better place for all.

There’s no doubt civil disobedience plays a huge part in society. The most celebrated celebrities from George Clooney to Shailene Woodley make the headlines after their arrests for standing on the site of an oil pipeline or protesting the treatment of war-torn countries. And while some cases of civil disobedience are, in fact, beneficial to society and important to ameliorating its condition, the cases in which individuals break the laws holding our society together in the name of destruction are not appropriate and should not be tolerated.