Yes, it is a legitimate for of civil disobedience. This has been around since the founding fathers and the Boston Tea Party.…
James A. Baldwin, an American novelist and social critic, stated that, “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually.” The right to stand against our country and protest against what’s wrong makes us powerful diverse people. We, the American people, are in charge of our country and we must make her forever progressive and right. Part of this forward motion is civil disobedience. Civil disobedience was used to create our nation, exercise our civilian powers, and is still used today to eradicate benighted ideas and laws.…
To clarify this debate, I will define civil disobedience and democracy. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, civil disobedience is the “refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a non-violent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government”.…
Civil disobedience as a whole acts as a means of positive change in a free society. The First Amendment of the Constitution stands as a protectant to our freedom of speech and expression. In over words, civil disobedience exists as a product of our rights as an American citizen. Without this peaceful resistance to unjust laws, we would be tied down to regulations that serve to endanger and infringe upon the freedom our founding fathers fought for. Though out history, civil heros such as Henry David Thoreau, Rosa Parks, and Martin Luther King Jr serve to reflect the positive impact and enhanced freedom brought to life by civil disobedience.…
Howard Zinn, American historian, playwright, and social activist, once said, “Protest beyond the law is not a departure from democracy; it is absolutely essential to it.” He was talking about civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws or government 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 according to dictionary.com. Two authors write about civil disobedience in their pieces. Martin Luther King Jr., who was a civil rights activist and minister, according to biography.com, wrote Letter to Birmingham Jail. He writes this letter to fellow clergymen while he is in jail about why he is sent to the jail. Henry David Thoreau, who was a philosopher, journalist, and poet, wrote his essay, Civil Disobedience. Thoreau writes this while in jail because he refuses to pay taxes and accepts that he will go to jail for it. At times, civil disobedience is indeed appropriate and justified, given the right circumstances based on morality.…
Yes, it is because of one important point; because it’s the right of the people to do so. If one feels that the government has made laws that are unjust or unconstitutional, they have the right for peacefully resisting that law. The consequences in the short run may be going to jail, but this allows your word to spoken to people who represent you in government, which may lead to that law being removed in the long run. Rosa Parks resisted from sitting in the back of the bus, when she was told to by law. She was jailed, but this cause an uproar in the Civil Rights Movement, which later caused segregation to be abolished. Kim Davis, a county clerk, was jailed in 2015 for refusing to marry gay people because her religious beliefs did not allow her to do so, but this made national news and caused an uproar throughout the country. The country has to realize that this practice is needed to practice the ideals of democracy. Henry David Thoreau in his essay Civil Disobedience states it best, “There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly.” The people are the government’s first priority, and what the people believe, is what should be represented.…
One frigid January morning, hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children gathered together to participate in one of the most influential protest of all time- The Women's March. This event, which took place in a multiplicity of locations across the globe, was subsequently held the day after the inauguration of President Donald Trump. A flurry of lively marchers swarmed the streets with swift legs, bedazzled signs, fuchsia hats, and passionate hearts. They longed for equality, change, and tolerance. With every chant, with every cheer, with every clap, and every step, the protesters marched closer to their goal. Once the dust and confetti had settled and the crowds has dispersed, it was realized that a feminist genie hadn't granted these…
Civil disobedience is a key part of the rights that all Americans now have. Civil disobedience allows for the people to take a stand against rules and regulations that they do not agree with. From movements such as ending slavery, women voting, and racial equality, civil disobedience was a major factor in getting the attention of those who had the position to make a change. Rosa Parks wouldn't give up her seat on a bus, which brought national attention to rising concerns of racial equality in the 1950s and 1960s. Martin Luther King Junior held many rallies and marches to make his point well known, and impossible to ignore by the people who had the power to change the laws of the day. From as far back as Harriet Tubman, who helped slaves…
It becomes a kind of despotism where we seek to silence rather than engage.” Civil disobedience is a necessary part of free society, as it provides an avenue from which all people can make themselves heard, regardless of political power or economic status. Furthermore, it is necessary to keep the spirit of the first amendment alive, as peaceful protest is a way in which people exercise their right to free speech; without peaceful resistance to laws, little progress would be made in a free society, and the views of the majority would be imposed on the rest of the population. Acting as a catalyst for change, peaceful resistance one ingredient of the recipe that drives a free nation towards growth and…
I negate that civil disobedience, or “the refusal to obey certain laws, demands, or commands of a government, or of an occupying international power”, according to the dictionary, should be permissible. The rule of law provides the necessary structure for maintaining justice. Civil Disobedience is not permissible for three reasons: It sabotages democratic process, is self-defeating, and although a part of history, that does not make it morally just. Civil Disobedience is not permissible because it sabotages democratic process. Deliberately breaking the law violates the procedural rules that an operating democracy determines.…
Civil disobedience is a vital and necessary part of life in a democratic system of government. It serves to keep the government from overstepping its bounds. There are times in the history of countries where the governing body has become complacent and has begun to violate the rights of their citizens. Civil disobedience is an effective way of discouraging and preventing such transgressions. Without the threat of dissidence from the public, there is nothing to keep governments honest except for the honor of those governments, which is highly questionable even in the noblest of nations. The role of elected officials in the United States is to represent their constituents, be they from their district, state, or party. If there is nothing to hold these politicians to this purpose, can we truly be sure they are ruling in a representative way and not in self interest?…
A Time capsule was discovered at a dig site near Ashbury Heights, San Francisco California today. Archeologist, Jackie Ness, was called to the scene to uncover what was has been buried for possibly 365 years. It took a few hours extract it from the ground. Once it was safely erected, the canister was opened at 1645 on the 26th of October 2325. The items were enclosed in a paint can manufactured in the year 1969. The encased items inventoried are as follows:…
Our country has been founded upon civil disobedience - just ask the Sons and Daughters of Liberty. Even during a time where our country was controlled by an…
We the people. Three courageous words that set the newly American people on a mission. A mission for life, a mission for liberty, and a mission for happiness. But those noble ideals embodied in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, and Bill of Rights are still far from being achieved, and the mission continues to this day. Freedom for America didn't free the slaves, give women the right to vote, or end religious prejudice. There is nothing about a law that makes it inherently just, and the US is no exception. As a result of this, citizens may at times come to the conclusion that certain laws are in need of changing. The intention of the documents that set up our democracy was to ensure the government would forever be by and for the people. Sometimes legal means for ensuring America stays true to its original purpose prove inadequate. If such is the case in the instance at hand, turning to civil disobedience can have a positive impact on a free society.…
This country has a rich history of civil disobedience. In fact, the men who founded our country used civil disobedience to protest against unjust laws that they felt threatened their future and the future of generations to come. Tim DeChristopher used civil disobedience to stop the auction of oil and gas leases being held by the BLM. Mohandas Gandhi used nonviolent resistance against the British who occupied India. While Henry David Thoreau not only used these methods of nonviolent protest, he actually helped to define criteria of what is to be considered civil disobedience.…