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Essay On Civil Disobedience

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Essay On Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience is a mechanism of amendment in the United States, in which peaceful resistance fosters social amelioration and promotes political involvement, ultimately enhancing the democratic values of a free society. Under the Social Contract Theory, free nations are designed to employ governments that protect the natural rights of citizens: life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Thus, these nations are called to create “government[s] of the people, by the people, for the people,” as Abraham Lincoln stated in his Gettysburg Address. A government “by the people” is one in which the citizens decide the fate and future of a nation, a paramount quality of democratic states. In fact, governments should be challenged so to provoke …show more content…
Dr. Martin Luther King led an entire movement through peaceful means, and he is now regarded as one of the most successful and benevolent figures in American history. The procurement of civil equality that Dr. King achieved has contributed to a freer society which was intended by the Declaration of Independence. The Civil Rights Movement held to the notion that “all men are created equal,” and the men and women of the movement practiced civil disobedience until they were endowed the “unalienable rights” of “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” Similarly, Gandhi's peaceful work in South Africa led to the the deliverance of men of color within the Boer region and inspired the amendment of the Boers’ registration law. Both Dr. King and Gandhi accepted the ramifications of resisting ordinances; however, their willingness to endure the consequences prompted social campaigns that may not have been otherwise effectuated if not through civil resistance. As written by Thoreau in Civil Disobedience, “A very few serve the state with their consciences also, and so necessarily resist it for the most part; and they are commonly treated as enemies by it.” Dr. King and Gandhi are paragon models of the resolution Thoreau’s description, and their sacrifices ultimately allowed progress to be achieved at the legal

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