The Transcendentalism movement raised self-confidence; it made you believe in what you thought was right, and to not conform with the things around you. It is the spiritual unit of all forms of being, with God, Man, and Nature all sharing a universal soul. The movement developed in New England around 1836, Henry David Thoreau was a leading figure. He wrote “Civil Disobedience” in 1848, it embraces the need to emphasize one's conscience over the command of laws. From the government, the men, a man’s duty, the wrongs of majority, to the unjust system. He strictly states that a nonviolent rebellion is the best way to revolt. The Transcendentalists ideal in Civil Disobedience in nonviolence, three ways Thoreau clearly demonstrates these ideals are through Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.
From Cherokee Indians refusing to abandon their homes in 1838 to the Sit-ins of the civil rIghts movement in the early 1960s, people have been using acts of civil disobedience to stand against injustice they saw in their communities. Although there are many examples of people abusing this benefit and causing more grief and shame than progress, many have used it to their advantage to bring about positive change for the greater good of society, therefore acts of civil disobedience can positively impact a free society if they remain peaceful, respectful, and justified.
Civil disobedience can be thought of by many as a movement for the better good or, by others, as even an act of terrorism. Throughout history we have seen many examples of civil disobedience, that in the future, ended up changing people's lives forever. So that brings up the question. Does peaceful resistance to laws positively or negatively impact a free society? My answer to this question is that, without resistance against the unjust, America itself would not even exist.
up the docks of Boston to make the ultimate act of defiance against the newly established laws and taxes implemented by the tyrannous British. The British sought to tighten their tyrannical control on the colonies with unfair laws and taxes, however the sons of liberty weren't so willing to be forced to follow these limitations. In revenge, they dumped 92,000 pounds of British tea into the ocean. This was an active representation of civil disobedience. The sons of liberty refused to follow these unjust laws and protested by dumping the tea into the harbor. This act of defiance occurs in the character Antigone. Antigone believes she must do what is right and must bury her brother no matter what Creon and his law says. In Sophocles, Antigone
Civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws as a peaceful form of political protest. In Antigone, civil disobedience is evident in Antigone’s actions towards Creon. Creon’s decision to leave Polynices’ body in a state of unrest angers Antigone, and she decides to take action against Creon’s decision. Antigone’s rebellion most closely resembles Ghandi’s idea of civil disobedience, in which one disobeys laws through peaceful protest. Antigone’s actions are almost in contrast to the beliefs of Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau believes that people should not participate in injustice, but they also do not need to reject injustice. Antigone’s decision to act against Creon’s decree directly refutes Thoreau’s thoughts.
Civil Disobedience is an organized way to protest the laws of society that people don’t approve of. Starting with Henry David Thoreau civil disobedience has spread to major movements like those of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. The ancient Greek tragedy, Antigone by Sophocles, has a large basis in Civil disobedience and splits people into groups throughout the play on the sides of obeying or protesting the law. Disobeying the law, when you disagree, with it for good reasons, makes civil disobedience obligatory for citizens of a country to defend their rights, beliefs, and actions in the face of the law.
I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for law. […] Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was evidenced sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, on the ground that a higher moral law was at stake. It was practiced superbly by the early Christians, who were willing to face hungry lions and the excruciating pain of chopping blocks rather than submit to certain unjust laws of the Roman Empire. To a degree, academic freedom is a reality today
Actions speak louder than words in the case of civil disobedience just actions speak louder than unjust written law. When it comes to civil disobedience there are many examples of it throughout history. There are times when it has made things better and times when it had made things worse. However what exactly is civil disobedience and when is the appropriate time to use it. It is an act by someone in order to get the message out of something they believe is wrong. In most situations civil disobedience is used to fight an institutionalized law that is unfair to a certain group. However some people miss use civil disobedience or just have poor timing or no plan for how to enact it. Some may say that these act of defiance against the government
“Why is [the government] not more apt to anticipate and provide for reform? Why does it not cherish its wise minority? Why does it cry and resist before it is hurt? Why does it not encourage its citizens to be on the alert to point out its faults, and do better than it would have them?” (Henry David Thoreau). Until the world reaches a point where the governing authorities can accept and consider criticisms, the people must use civil disobedience to help themselves. Civil disobedience can be something as small as not getting up when you are told to or a multi-million-woman march on Washington, D.C. The peoples’ passion for reform is shown when they act on something they care about. Peaceful resistance positively impacts free society because
Both of the writers or speakers you could call them have similar styles in how they address a problem or how they see the problem. They use different kinds of emotions to set the mood of the writing itself to get you thinking about civil disobedience because it is a problem but there is not much you can do about it because it naturally just kind of happens. There might be ways to make it less of a problem but people need to know those to actually make the change. I learned that civil disobedience is something almost everyone has a problem with but there a things that can help with it. Their audiences are just about the same it’s just the time period because they were born years apart which means the language can be different but still give
Civil disobedience is not follow the rules of government or laws of the city and i agree with not follow the rules that want us to do, why because i think some laws the government make is not fair and mostly taxes are a big problem in the world at this time. Most people have to do a lot because they don’t have money or disagree with the government, these mostly start with strikes on like more money for most jobs, taxes, what we think could be better at a time like this. There was just some protesting going on about Donald Trump being the new president, protests can also be civil disobedience they mean the same thing. But a lot of people don’t say Civil disobedience, they mostly say we are going to protests and which is the common thing to
Civil disobedience is the refusal to obey laws, in hopes to get them changed for the better of humanity/ civilization of that specific or general community. Malala Yousafzai is a great example of civil disobedience. The whole reason she was shot in 2012 was because she dared to ‘fight’ back against the taliban by going to school and trying to make other countries aware of the harm that the taliban was causing to the homes and lives of her people.
"It's a free country." This is a phrase we often hear spoken ironically, rebelliously, or even sarcastically. Rarely, though, is it spoken with any real air of gratitude or sincerity. This becomes a problem when one examines the deeper connotations and history of this seemingly innocent phrase. Wars were fought, blood was shed over this handful of words, and yet they are taken for granted. The initial fight for liberty culminated more than 200 years ago, but since then, many amendments to the constitution have been put into place. And that means somebody fought to put them there. The initial constitutional rights were very broad and basic, so during ratification it was pivotal to many states that a Bill of Rights be included before the constitution
The active and professed disobedience of some laws is what is referred to as the Civil disobedience in the present past. However, Socrates in the Crito was categorical that it is still breaking the law. Civil disobedience has been linked with non-violent demands by the majority of the people against any form of oppression or denial of what the majority feel is their right. Civil disobedience is a classic symbol of violation of the law and not objection f the system in its entirety but rather by certain laws. It is an issue that Socrates in the Crito refuses to submit to since he believes that one should never break the laws regardless whether the law is right or bad. It is an issue that also presented increased controversy with other philosophers
An individual's determination drives them to achieve their goal; this characteristic is important for leaders as its shows that the leader believes in themselves. Mandela demonstrates this characteristic when elected for the president of South Africa, and his main goal is to end apartheid. His determination is shown in the film, as he made a plan to end apartheid; he took the sport, rugby, to bring everyone together, which ultimately worked. Mandela struggled with his plan, as the Black South Africaners hated the game rugby, but instead of giving up, he took the integrity to talk to the team captain to win the championship; championship victory will bring the people together because everyone worked together to win or at least cause the people root for their home team. One that has determination can achieve anything they want, this is shown in Mandela’s and Yousafzai. Yousafzai’s determination made a difference