Why Is Civil Disobedience Effective

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Civil Disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.” Civil Disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes. Many people argue that civil disobedience is an effective way, but the strongest evidence around proves that opinion wrong. Civil disobedience is an ineffective way to change unjust laws and make social change because it takes a very long time, can spiral out of control, and can cause violence. One reason why civil disobedience is an ineffective way to make change is because it takes a very long time. The Salt March started from an act in 1882 prohibiting Indians from collecting and selling salt. Gandhi on March 12, 1930, started a march of 240 miles where they would get their own salt from the saltwater. He gained a crowd of
A monk in Vietnam to protest to the persecution of Buddhists in South Vietnam set himself on fire and sat perfectly still. He burned to death and caused the group that was persecuting Buddhists to reconsider their actions. Images circulating the web of the Monk burning are still very powerful (Weaver 2). This shows how Civil Disobedience can spiral out of control because these people died for this cause of wanting the persecutions to stop. They went over the top to get what they wanted. Now, people are continuing to burn themselves alive as different civil disobedience acts. Two set themselves on fire to protest Chinese rule (“Tibet”s Man on Fire” 2). This shows civil disobedience spiraling out of control because people keep dying for these causes, and it is becoming a regular thing. These examples of people burning alive are how civil disobedience is spiraling out of