“Letter from Birmingham City Jail”‚ King talks about how to know the difference between just and unjust laws. He states‚ “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust”(Shafer-Landau 408). King believed that unjust laws promote disharmony and that these laws essentially destroy human personality‚ while just laws uplift personality. In his opinion‚ he believed that laws were characterized as just laws if they were helping to make an individual better
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One of the most provocative claims that Plato makes through the voice of Socrates in The Republic is that a democracy is an unjust form of government. This view is illustrated in the quote above. This quote can be found in Book VIII in the passage in which Socrates describes how a democracy comes to be. He is claiming that‚ although a democracy gives voice to the voiceless‚ this is not a just form of government because some people should not be given a voice in government. In modern society‚ this
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World. Dr. King agreed with Saint Augustine‚ “An unjust law is no law at all.” I think you can all agree that any law that is created to hinder a person‚ keep them bond‚ and make them feel inferiority is unjust. Any law that allows certain people the right to rape‚ abuse‚ humiliate‚ and belittle someone is unjust. Any time people that are in trusted in the fair distribution of the law‚ abuses‚ demean‚ deride‚ and depreciate for any reason is also unjust. There has been too much innocent blood spilled
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between a just law and an unjust law? To me the answer is evident‚ and I have a hard time believing that anyone couldn’t easily know the distinction or disagree with the distinction that Martin Luther King Jr. makes during his “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” That “a just law is a man-made code that’s squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law” (533). At its very basic definition‚ just laws protect the people and unjust laws hurt the people
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2004 Just and Unjust Laws The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines unjust as "characterized by injustice: Unfair." At the same time it defines a law as "a binding custom or practice of a community." With both definitions in mind an unjust law can be described as "a binding custom or practice of a community characterized by injustice and unfairness." Today one can see unjust laws across the globe‚ many of which are overlooked by much of the world. At the same time‚ just laws are often enforced
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In order to decide whether a law is just or unjust‚ we must first delve into the logic of laws established in the past. Since the United States came into existence‚ laws have come and gone‚ sometimes addressing very specific circumstances which no longer apply to the modern rules of our government. In today’s society‚ these outdated laws may seem bizarre‚ but at some point in time they were believed to be important. A numerous amount of these laws have fallen off the books years ago or perhaps were
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Is it considered okay to disobey some laws? Does committing civil disobedience actually do any good? Martin Luther King Jr. believed that it was moral to obey just laws and disobey unjust law. “One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just law. Conversely‚ one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” (Jacobus 382). Henry David Thoreau also conveyed this same idea when he said “If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government‚ let it
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Just and Unjust Laws Dr.Martin Luther King’s Jr "Letter from Birmingham Jail‚(1963)" was his response to the public statement of concern and caution issued by eight religious leaders of the south. This concern addressed the controversial issues of segregation between black and white people living in Birmingham .Dr.King included numerous points with his response. One of the main points he explained was about the difference between just and unjust laws."A just law is a man-made code that squares with
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Civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to obey certain laws or government demands for the sole purpose of influencing legislation or government policy‚ generally characterized by the use of nonviolent techniques such as boycotting‚ picketing‚ and nonpayment of taxes. The use of nonviolent disobedience has run throughout world history; however‚ a major question posed is: are we morally obligated to obey even the unjust laws? In order to properly discuss that of civil disobedience and whether
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Individual follows his own set of rules While Emerson and Thoreau certainly have difference of opinions‚ they recognize the need for public discussion and discourse. a.“Self-Reliance” and “Civil Disobedience” supports individuality and personal expression. b. Views of society and government c. Passionate belief in the necessity of rights http://thoreau.eserver.org/wendy.html The two authors Ralph Waldo Emerson‚ and Henry David Thoreau‚ are similar in many ways. A first example would be
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