Civil Disobedience In The Civil Rights Movement

A free society dictates what they believe is morally right and wrong; the free society constructs a code of acceptable behavior formed around the beliefs of its members. Many people willingly choose to follow the societal rules mapped out before them simply because of their ability to classify right and wrong. Nevertheless, there are the few outliers that set aside the black-and-white good and bad distinction in a free society and pursue their own rules, frequently ending in jail time. Often times, this black-and-white distinction begins to merge, and the beliefs of the people are far to the left and right and everywhere in between. In a society that has no military regiment dictating choice, the people find themselves differing vastly in their
views on their world, society, government, etc. In order for a society to be free, the people accept the right to have their own views and stances, while simultaneously accepting the right for other people to have differing views and stances.
The act of civil disobedience cannot be damaging to the free society if the protest remains peaceful, for peaceful protest is a simple right of the people in our society. The height of civil disobedience was arguably the Civil Rights Era. At this time, peaceful protest demonstrated the right of the people against an injustice. The Montgomery bus boycotts were peaceful economic protest. The marches from Selma to Montgomery were nonviolent demonstrations. Greensboro sit-ins were pacific acts of rebellion. What was the ultimate resolution to this entire passive backlash toward a plaguing injustice? The Civil Rights Act of 1964. The 1960s and the years before displayed a common mindset among the society: a division of intelligence and capability based
on racial distinction. The people followed the rules they set in their free society. The government based its laws around it, finding loopholes in the 15th amendment allowing for the continuation of racial injustice and the encroachment on basic human rights. Just as the free society set these rules, the free society also rid itself of it. When an idea becomes widely accepted by a free society, it does necessarily always mean it is morally right and should be followed. Another example of challenges against the accepted doctrine was the women’s suffrage movement. The Seneca Falls Convention and the document that emerged from it (the Declaration of Rights and Sentiments) began landmark movements toward equality for women in their free society. The women and people of color were able to express their concerns and disdain in a peaceful manner for their state of living because of the free society they lived in. Civil disobedience is often frowned upon because people are expected to follow the laws placed before them; however, without civil disobedience, women would remain without a political voice and people of color would be legally outcast from our society. The connotation of civil disobedience is largely negative for society maintains its code of conduct to ensure justice where it is needed.
When people refuse to follow a law or order, it seems fairly threatening to societal stability. Today, civil disobedience remains. It is simply a corner stone of free society, for a truly liberated society acknowledges the human right to opinion, views, and protest. When our current government in the United States proposes a law or a change of some sort (such as newly elected Donald Trump’s plans of an executive action to defund Planned Parenthood) the people have a right to exert their rights and protest, so long as it remains peaceful. Violent protests are not a right; violence upon others has never been a human right save for cases of self-defense. If people do not agree with Trump’s plans to cut funds to Planned Parenthood, they deserve a chance to be heard. The very recent women’s rights marches largely focused on this matter. The Keystone Pipeline controversy serves as a modern example of civil disobedience by passive protesting. In no way did the people’s camping on the site of this pipeline harm our society. This protest may harm business or government plans, although it will never negatively affect our culture. There are countless acts of civil disobedience that have no moral purpose; nonetheless, we acknowledge the good the civil disobedience does for our humanity, often righting the vigorous wrongs that were merely accepted
among a blind group (such as the Civil Rights Era.) While a blatant disregard for laws seems like a terrible plan of action it often results in more equality. We should not rule out civil disobedience as a free society because it appears detrimental; we should accept it (ONLY if it remains peaceful) for all of the progress it has made in our country in hindering injustice from seeping its way into our day-to-day lives.