Civil Disobedience: Just Or Unjust?

More than 600 of these marches took place all over the world, the largest being at the nation’s capitol in Washington D.C.. Those who participated did so for a multitude of reasons. Marching for not just equal rights for women, but for equal rights for the LGTBQIA+ community, for Black Lives Matter, for raising awareness about climate change, and much, much more. The hashtag Why I March has garnered up millions of Instagram posts, Tweets, Facebook updates, and articles, all from men and women standing up for their beliefs. The coordinators of the Women’s March on Washington put together a document outlining their guidelines and principles, and illustrate modern day feminism very well. They go over the basic principles that human rights are women’s rights, and women’s rights are human rights. It also demonstrates intersectionalism, calling for an end to police brutality, reformations for the criminal justice system, an end to human trafficking, rights for immigrants and refugees, among many others. Just as the first women’s convention in American history drew up a doctrine, the guiding vision and definition of principles of the Women’s March is eerily similar to the Declaration of Sentiments and Grievances written 169 years

Are we morally obliged to obey even unjust laws? This moral question addresses what we commonly know as civil disobedience. In order to properly discuss civil disobedience and whether or not it is moral to disobey laws, we must first characterize civil disobedience. In Peter Singer's book, Practical Ethics he begins to characterize civil disobedience as arising from "ethical disagreement" and raising the question of whether "to uphold the law, even if the law protects and sanctions things we hold utterly wrong?" (Singer 292).

In order to demand for a change, most people would take action and oppose by resisting. One may peacefully resist while others choose violence over logic. Civil disobedience is defined as “the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences.” Civil disobedience plays a crucial part in peaceful protests. Peaceful resistance to laws mostly cause a negative impact to a free society.

With the advancement of suffrage to equal pay, over the last century, women’s rights have progressed immensely. Through historic marches and demonstrations across the United States, women protested for their equal place in politics and social progress. Despite the fear-mongering components used in achieving these rights, women’s rights are still thoroughly debated within society today. Over the last century, incredible and unreachable goals have been fulfilled for women, such as the right to vote and a sense of equal state in the “Free World,” and can only improve in the years to come.

”Unjust law is no law at all.” In face of unjust laws, merely tolerance and obeying could be detrimental not only to personal rights but also to the well-being of the society. Therefore, it is indeed every people’s responsibility to disobey or even resist them. As we know during the sixties of America a number of citizens decided not to obey the law which itself is unjust and wrong any longer. Without their resistance, there wouldn’t have been the civil rights movement, anti-war

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

Civil disobedience has been an act practiced by free societies across the globe. It has been a highly controversial topic in the Unites States over the years, as some believe the so-called "peaceful resistance" exemplifies too much defiance to the government. However, most believe that performing civil disobedience exercises many rights incorporated in the Constitution. Civil disobedience positively impacts a free society by allowing its citizens to express their opinions in a matter which draws the attention of the government, and heightens public awareness.

Peaceful protests, that is a protest without violence, are a way to try and persuade those in power to enact or not enact a certain law. This is known as acts of civil disobedience. A typical example of this are rallies or protests against something, where people gather peacefully for or against the same thing. People engaging in civil disobedience could also engage in vows of silence, marching, fasting, and many other peaceful ways to stand up against the inequalities or injustices that they are experiencing. The reason that this is done and is important is because the other option is to violently protest or cause more problems. This is not a good way to go about it because even if it comes from a justified place of hurt or anger, it could result in more harm and arrests than are already happening. Even if theses protests or marches get intense, fights breaking out can happen but the goal is always to be nonviolent. The reasons that civil disobedience is seen in such a negative light is because many people equate it to the violent examples. They view it as the people who are violently protesting, getting pepper sprayed and arrested by cops. Even that isn’t a justified opinion because those people getting paper sprayed and arrested often times are

How does the social responsibility of intellectuals to demonstrate civil disobedience differ from Lincoln and MLK’s time and today as demonstrated by Black lives matter and Antifa

Unjust governments have been a part of everyone's lives. Henry David Thoreau, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr. have all written about the unjust governments at that time. Of these texts, ‘Civil Disobedience’ by Thoreau contains the most effective argument. One aspect of Thoreau’s argument that makes ‘Civil Disobedience’ the most convincing text is because the way Thoreau explains his situation, he uses facts and feelings to get his point across. Similarly, Thoreau uses rhetoric to strengthen his argument in favor of civil disobedience in the face of unjust government. Thoreau's ‘Civil Disobedience’ expresses the need to prioritize one's conscience over the dictates of laws.

Peaceful resistance and civil disobedience are acts that can shape a nation. These acts are used to peacefully protest laws or recent events that were unjust or proper justice was not given. Sometimes these acts are required in order for a change to be made to an unjust law or event. Often times these acts can be seen as bad or violent, but they aren't. As long as they are peaceful, these acts are not bad. Peaceful acts of protest invoke thoughtful consideration of the event or law the protest is calling attention to. In the end, civil disobedience and peaceful resistance can positively impact the nation in which they are being demonstrated in.

Mahatma Gandhi says, “Civil disobedience becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless and corrupt.” He was a Indian nationalist leader that against British-rule in Indian and also led India to independence; in addition, he inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world. There is a question that everyone has been asking from wartime to recently is, when is civil disobedience justified? We all know that there are a lot of civil disobedience movements around the world; everyone is willing to against his or her government; they fight for freedom and equal rights. In David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell, he expresses his opinion about “The Limits of Power” through section three in this book. He gives us many examples to

Nothing is handed over immediately, someone must desire a certain thing to be given. Civil responsibilities have always painted a refined timeline in history. It is no doubt revolutions are constructed, rebellion will trample down a government, and words can produce an insurrection. During his stay at Birmingham Jail, Dr.King writes an ironic letter━Letter from Birmingham Jail━with a message, “freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed.”(King, 3) The words of King creates a powerful statement for a civil responsibility, in which is completely agreeable and correct that it is seen in today’s society, the Declaration of Independence, and Henry David Thoreau’s On the Duty of Civil Disobedience.

Peaceful protests are part of the foundation of democracy: the right to voice your own opinion and thought. When peaceful protests turn into riots they no longer become simple protests defended by free speech, but become mobs that break laws because they are frustrated or angry. Another form of protest is civil disobedience. Civil disobedience occurs when citizens feel that laws are incorrect, and refuse to abide by those laws as a form of protest while accepting the consequences of breaking those laws. Civil disobedience is only necessary when the laws being broken and protested are unjust, immoral and unconstitutional. Peaceful protests, an example of civil disobedience, are a benefit to a free society as they can spur change to unjust laws. Those who have used this form of protest successfully, like Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr. and Edward Snowden, were willing to both accept the consequences of their actions and remain peaceful in the face of violence or arrests.

Civil disobedience is a form of political participation because it is a way make others see that change is wanted. In the Constitution it says “the right of the people peaceably to assemble”. The Constitution gives the people the right to protest, assemble peacefully, to oppose a law, and to criticize a law. Civil disobedience is the best way to show that you don’t agree with a law, government, or there is something you would like to protest.