Can Breaking the Law Ever Be Justified?

“If you make laws to keep us suppressed in a wrongful manner and without taking us into confidence, these laws will merely adorn the statue books. We will never obey them”(1). Mohandas Gandhi expressed this in his writing “On Nonviolent Resistance”. “Civil disobedience” is when people use their voice by protesting, non-violently, to stick up against unjust laws and unjust movements. The truths and values are proven and brought to attention in the writings of Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, and Henry David Thoreau. Civil disobedience can be the solution to unjust laws and violence around the world.

When your human rights are being stripped, it is a great way to change society, as we see in Gandhi’s peaceful revolt. However, in many cases it is not necessary. It would do even more damage, especially if there are other, safer and more human ways for addressing concerns. Laws would be threatened as well as American infrastructure and economy. Through this, civil disobedience requires us to examine the situation. It requires intelligent people to sacrifice something for the greater good, and when it is necessary. The people thinking about disobeying must ask the question “is the law I am being pushed under unjust?” before performing the act. As Gandhi once said “An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so. Now the law of nonviolence says that violence should be resisted not by counter-violence but by nonviolence. This I do by breaking the law and by peacefully submitting to arrest and

Violation of laws was the first ingredient in making non-violence work because it showed how the people who were victimized by the laws really felt about the laws. Gandhi had to rebel against the laws when he wanted the Salt Laws to change; he wrote a letter saying “ if my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of this month I shall proceed….. To disregard the Salt Laws.”(Doc.1) While, Dr.King violated laws when he sat at a lunch counter, he claimed his purpose for doing it was “to bring the whole issue of racial injustice under the scrutiny of the conscience of Atlanta.”(Doc. 2) Lastly, Mandela broke some laws as well when he told his supporters “that volunteering (for the Defiance of Unjust Laws campaign) was a difficult

If we take a closer look at civil disobedience, we can better understand what it means, its goals, and its outcomes. Civil disobedience predominantly exists as direct and non-violent government defiance. Instead of voicing an opinion with a vote or a simple conversation, civil disobedience stands up for what is right using an individual’s whole influence. Therefore, some sacrifices regarding the legality of actions are made in order to preserve the integrity of the mission. In other words, why should a protester follow the law that they are trying to alter? That doesn’t make much sense, therefore civil disobedience allows unjust laws to be broken for the greater good. This method is very effective if, for example, a minority is attempting to

Typically, when civil disobedience comes up, we look to the long line of heroes who put their lives on the line to help define what civil disobedience meant and how it could be successfully used in order to effect change. Gandhi, Susan B. Anthony, M.L. King and Mandela, are among the many men and women who fought great injustices in the past by taking a stand and calling attention to an unjust law. They used civil disobedience against the established order of things as a tool to not only

Envision if everyone in the world decided to go around breaking laws because they did not agree with them. There would be a bunch of unnecessary arrests, great amount of violence, and the world would be a terrible place to live. As citizens of this country we have the commitment to adhere to the rules, laws, and submit to any consequences we may receive. In the great words of Socrates, “One should never do wrong in return, nor do any man harm, no matter what he may have done to you.” Breaking laws is never morally justifiable.

Breaking the law is morally justifiable and acceptable when the law in itself is iniquitous and if that law violates human rights and conscience; Certainly, rules are established for us to follow but we as human beings should be able to differentiate the right and the wrong and incase laws need to be violated for the right cause even with hard consequences, breaking the law can be justified; considering the situations and the purposes.

The human race doesn’t take injustice lying down. Over the past hundred years, there has been many examples of people taking a stand for their own rights and freedoms through acts of civil disobedience, defined as “the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest”. While a quick glance at today’s society does show a much more accepting and proper view of people of every race, religion and sexuality, our world does not come without its injustices. I believe that these major injustices keep civil disobedience extremely relevant in our current, modern world.

"Anyone in a free society where the laws are unjust has an obligation to break the law." -Henry David Thoreau

Dr. Martin Luther King in his letter from a Birmingham Jail.  " We can never

One reason to support that is that civil disobedience has no violence. For instance, people who used civil disobedience held legal and peaceful protests to solve the issue and to get what they want. Gandhi is one man who used civil disobedience against the British government to get rights for him and other Indians. In August 1906, the Black Act was issued by the Transvaal Government, making Indians have a record and get a fingerprint. One effective way that he protested was when he burnt the Indians’ passes that were given by the government. At that time, the Indians were forced to carry IDs or certificates with them wherever they go. If they were caught without the pass or ID, they were automatically arrested. On August 16, 1908, the Indian community held a meeting on the grounds of the Hamidia Mosque in Johannesburg. They all brought their passes with them to burn (“Gandhi and the Burning of Passes” 1). This meeting was to protest against the vicious and criminal-like treatment the British were giving to the Indians in South Africa. Gandhi encouraged others to eradicate all of the passes given by the British government. At the meeting, there was a pot that was full of passes getting ready to be burnt. The British police were there, too. Gandhi didn’t let them affect him. He got hit by a policeman for every pass he dropped in the pot. He kept on pushing

Martin Luther King jr. justified rebellion and civil disobedience in one statement. The statements King makes can be thought of as being contradictory. He rationalized this by answering this question,““How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not

From the time we are children and throughout the duration of our lives, we are told to abide by certain sets of rules. In most situations this is a perfectly acceptable expectation; speed limits, remaining quiet in libraries, and waiting until the age of twenty-one to drink are all reasonable things to ask of people. After all, these rules and laws are put in place to ensure a peaceful and safe society. However, when these rules begin to infringe upon the rights of certain groups, some citizens turn to civil disobedience as a form of protest. While some may argue that civil disobedience is nothing more than a violation of the law, it has also proven to have a positive impact on society, in more ways than one. Used by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin

‘Must we only obey a just law; should we obey a law because it is just to do so; or else can we not obey at all?'

The fine line between obeying the law and not obeying it. Obeying the law kind of makes the world safer. When you don't obey a law and therefore caught doing the crime; you will be charged and possibly sentenced to a place where you are no longer free to do as you please. When you obey the law you get to do as you please with your life as long as you follow the laws. Laws are put into motion to create a safe environment for everyone to live in. No one should have to be worried about their lives everyday; but there are accidents everyday in which lives are lost.