Civil Disobedience In The Culture

Henry Thoreau wrote an essay about it in the 19th century. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached it in the South. Mahatma Gandhi encouraged it in India. Nelson Mandela went to jail for promoting it. The Bible says that Paul, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were all guilty of it.

Throughout history protesters have said that civil disobience is the peaceful resistance of conscience. Civil disobedience was once the route to the democratic ways of our founding fathers of the United States of America. Van Dusen views civil disobedience as a physical attack to our democracy. I believe civil disobience is a negative force in our democracy that may lead to the destruction of our government because laws are disobeyed, causing new laws to come to order that follow the protester’s actions. I too have completed acts of civil disobedience, and I think my actions contribute to the negative force in a democracy. Civil disobedience began as a revolution for many rebels but eventually allowed ordinary citizens to damage the government

If the government passes a law there will be many different opinions. When same-sex marriage was legalized in all states, some rejoiced while others protested. This shows that America is so diverse in every aspect, from religion to opinion. Each person has their own opinions and beliefs, they may be the same as their friends and family members or completely different. And each opinion is a powerful thing. Opinions are what people act upon when performing acts of civil disobedience. One may not do much by itself but when hundreds, even thousands, of people acting upon the same opinion do so peacefully, it shows how united yet diverse a country can be. This is why civil disobedience creates a positive impact on society. It helps to define a free society, shows the true meaning of freedom of speech, peacefully shows the government that its people are not willing to follow an immoral law, and helps to unify a diverse

Civil Disobedience is classified as the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. This idea was brought into focus in the essay “Resistance to Civil Government (Civil Disobedience)” by American transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau’s opinion on the subject was that the government was involved in everyone’s business, trying to make the country better yet they had the opposite effect. His opinion was that there is a need to prioritize one’s conscious over the dictates of law. Though there are many things that Thoreau touches on, the three main issues that he discussed were The Mexican war, slavery, and the taxes that he was protesting against.

While growing up, our parents taught us what was right and what was wrong based on their beliefs and views. When we were younger, we were taught to follow and obey those who were older than us and possessed a higher authoritative status. One’s reasoning for being obedient includes: religious beliefs, background, and work ethics. Civil disobedience played a large role in America. Creating protests, riots, and sit-ins, America had many examples of disobedience. In America, we value our rights as citizens and individuals. We have the right to protest as stated in the first amendment of the United States Constitution, which is called Freedom of Speech. According to the Webster Dictionary, civil disobedience is said to be “the refusal to obey government demands or commands and nonresistance to consequent arrest and punishment.” Citizens are willing to accept the legal consequences associated with their disobedient actions. How does the law respond to people who engage in civil disobedience? Fining and jail time are the legal consequences enforced by authority but also there is a trend of change. I believe civil disobedience is justified simply by your own personal beliefs and the rights you attain as a citizen. The law is the law, if you disobey; the authoritative figure is responsible for giving a consequence.

America was founded on a principle of civil disobedience. With the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the Founding Fathers set forth a powerful precedent. The Declaration said in part, that when institutions of government becomes destructive or abusive of unalienable rights, it is the right of the people to alter it or to abolish it. The history of our nation tells us that civil disobedience is a civic responsibility, and in the alleged words of Thomas Jefferson, “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism”. From the Boston Tea Party to the Stonewall Riots, the United States Constitution and advances in racial, social, and gender equality support the idea that peaceful resistance positively contributes to a freer society, and a more equitable America.

Civil disobedience has been used by the people to get the attention of their government and to hopefully inspire change. Civil disobedience is an act of refusal by a large group of people against certain laws. From Ghandi to Martin Luther King Jr, people have used civil disobedience to enact change. While the concept of civil disobedience has been around for centuries, it hasn’t been called civil disobedience until recently. Protest, rallies, boycotting and worker strikes are forms of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience has been used for social change too. For example, the suffragettes, Rosa Parks and marches to legalize gay marriage have had social ramifications. Civil disobedience can be used to change laws, it publicizes important changes but it can be overshadowed by violence. Civil disobedience is a good way to change laws because it’s usually peaceful, brings attention to controversial laws and brings about social change.

Civil disobedience is often not the most effective, safe, or the most viable option, but what happens if it is the only option. Should people be punished for speaking their voice and correcting an injustice against them even though it is illegal? According to harvard professor Johns Rawls most acts of true civil disobedience are morally justified. Although civil disobedience being illegal, it is morally justified in a democracy because it protects the legitimacy of a democracy, gets rid of unregulated unjust rule of majority, and sometimes is the only way for a group to be heard.

“The concept of righteous civil disobedience is incompatible with the concept of the American legal system.”

In 21st century United States, the American society has continue to push the idea of social acceptance. From the mid-1900s to now, anti-racist and and anti-sexist agendas (among other things) have advocated for equal rights and representation through protesting. But now, with their ability to make an equal impact on American society, I am led to conclude that civil disobedience in the form of protesting is unacceptable due to the basic principles of the social contract and legislative representation.

The world has been driven by a force of civil disobedience by many different well known leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. , Rosa Parks, Alice Paul, and Mahatma Ghandi. Civil disobedience, the act of disobeying the law in a peaceful manner for one’s own rights and thoughts, has been used for the greater good for centuries past and will most likely continue to do this through the many centuries to come. The Constitution itself states that congress can make no law prohibiting religion, media, speech, the right to petition the government for a redress of grievances and the right to peacefully assemble. Civil disobedience is also shown vividly through the Civil

Most individuals all throughout the world turn to civil disobedience when trying to stand up for an symbol worthy of protest. In the grand majority of the cases, this sort of rebellion is in defiance of an authoritative persona or a law that has been set in place that individuals do not necessarily agree with.

Disobedience can be seen in many forms, but the most astonishing form of disobedience is when one goes against the rules and comes out being more spectacular subsequently to when one follows the rules and allows the system of society to define their true purpose and potential for the sake of good for all. Looking at the past, we know that disobedience has always been seen as a behavior in which “non-civil” humans act, those who are less thought of and have no meaning in society, but for most part disobedience has had a positive effect on us and our country all we have to do is take a glance at history. Reminiscing about our history we can recall iconic figures who defined the rules and showed civil disobedience by standing up against the odds,

Civil disobedience, being that it is a peaceful resistance to unjust laws, positively impacts society. Civil disobedience has been the refugee of many minorities and victims of racism throughout the years. Without humanity having someone practice civil disobedience throughout the years, society would have an abundance of unjust laws that discriminate certain individuals. Of course, a larger amount than there is today.

All throughout world history, human beings have participated in acts of civil disobedience. However, in the last two centuries the belief and practice of it has been in full swing and has even brought on major historical events, especially concerning equal rights and just laws. Three major firm believers and activists in civil disobedience were Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr., and Gandhi. All three of these men participated in acts of civil disobedience but each in his own way and for different reasons. Henry David Thoreau believed that a certain war tax was unjust during the Mexican War and he refused to pay it. This then lead to his arrest and one day in jail where he wrote the essay "Civil Disobedience." Martin