Civil disobedience is an active refusal to adhere to the set of rules established by the government. There are copious amounts of people who believe that civil disobedience negatively impacts our now free society. However, on the other hand there are many people that consider civil disobedience has a way of change for the greater good in a community and acknowledge the positive impact of it throughout a society. Civil disobedience actions clearly demonstrate the positive impact in our free society.
The positive impacts of civil obedience is even believed by a notable philosopher, known as Henry David Thoreau. An essay, titled Civil Disobedience composed by Thoreau has principles explaining how a person’s moral sense and conscience should always overcome the dictatorship of the government along with the laws imposed by them. In Section 1 of his essay, it is stated that, “That government is best which governs least. That government is best
…show more content…
According to the Constitutional Rights Foundation, when the Boer legislature passed a law requiring that all Indians have to register with police with fingerprints Gandhi and other Indians had refused to obey the law. For the disobedience, Gandhi was arrested and imprisoned for years because he did not believe in those unjust laws. Though, after he got released, he still continued to protest the registration law and help non-violent marches. Eventually, this caused the Boer government to end the “objectionable parts” of the law. Even though Gandhi had been in jail for an abundance amount of times, he came out every time to start new peaceful protests. At the end, with the help of Gandhi and his satyagraha (peaceful revolt), India had finally gained independence from Britain. Consequently, this again demonstrates how civil disobedience can have positive impact and can change a society for its greater
I believe civil disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws, usually without violence, but only if it’s to make a point. In Thoreau’s essay about civil disobedience, there were points made which I agreed with, but there were things that I disagreed with. Some points he made that I agreed with was that if someone wants something to change, they should do something and do it wholeheartedly. An additional point he made which I agreed with was to depend and think for one’s self. While he’s made points which I agreed with, there’s one I didn’t which was when he said that the military was programmed to do whatever the government says.
He compares the government to a machine and says that if the machine “…requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine.” Standing against what he considers to be unjust acts of the government, slavery and war, he protests in a way that is according to his point of view. I see a correspondence between Thoreau’s call for independence of thought to the call that the colonies did for independence from a King that was unjust to them. Moreover, the title itself Civil Disobedience, is a straightforward appeal to behave this way. I am a true believer in democracy as the best system to grant a voice to most people, however, like Thoreau, I believe that one cannot support a government that acts against what is right, he says “ Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them, and obey them until we have succeeded, or shall we transgress them at once?” Thoreau notes that democracy may not be the final stage in the process, and at the end of the essay he emphasises that there will never be a "really free and enlightened State" until the state recognizes the pre-eminence of the
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.
What is civil disobedience? Civil disobedience is the opposing of a law one finds unjust by refusing to follow it and accepting the consequences. So many people have performed acts of civil disobedience from Martin Luther King Jr. to everyday people. But what people did as civil disobedience a hundred years ago is completely different today. It is such an important part of a free society because it helps to define what a free society is, shows the true meaning of freedom of speech, and shows the government that citizens are not willing to follow an unjust law without violence.
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.
Civil Disobedience is the peaceful act of protesting a law between the civilians and government. Henry Thoreau explains it like this "… honest men to rebel and revolutionize" (page 392). In civil disobedience by Henry Thoreau he is explaining how the government of his time is abusing its power and people and how the people should do as he did and be a civil disobedient when the laws and government are unjust and go against a man's conscience. Thoreau wants the readers to peacefully protest the laws they feel are unjust, be aware of his own conscience, not be a puppet of the government, and not support anything that is of wrong-doing. He tells the readers to act and not just stand by passively or at least stop supporting what they feel is wrong, and I do believe he presents an effective argument for his point, and as accordingly it appeals to the common man.
I have read Thoreau’s essay on civil disobedience and the obligation that your conscience mind follows and in reading this it states that people should not let the governments overrule or atrophy their consciences and that we as people are obligated to not allow the government to make them agents of any type of injustice. (Thoreau, 1849)
Eye catcher… Civil disobedience is an active refusal to obey (laws, demands, and commands). It can be from disagreeing with your parents to breaking a law. Civil disobedience is a negative force when the public is misinformed, breaking laws, punishments way out of hand for the situation, and misinterpret what is or is not civil.
The core of civil disobedience is an active refusal of certain government demands - whether they be laws, rulings, or mindsets. In practice, people violate unjust laws and accept consequences in order to demonstrate the injustice of said legislation. Often construed as rejection of the legal system, civil disobedience actually the opposite; the belief that government
Civil disobedience is the refusal to conform to certain laws as a form of harmless political protest, while being aware of the consequences that could result because of it. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because actions are taken due to people letting their voice be heard. While some may argue that the main reasons of this are the five basic rights mentioned in the first amendment (freedom of speech, religion, press, assembly, and petition), this issue goes far beyond that. Without civil disobedience, many historical events might have not played such an important role as they did to the point that they changed America in numerous ways; not to mention the courageous people who still take part in protests today to claim the rights they should have.
Civil disobedience is the active refusal to comply with laws that is thought to be unfair or inequitable. Civil disobedience typically is a peaceful form of protest by the people, to force concessions from the government. Throughout the United States history, civil disobedience has played a significant role in many of the social reforms that helped frame our country today. Several famous American activists such as Martin Luther King Jr. risked punishment, such as violent retaliatory acts or imprisonment, to attempt to bring about changes in the law. Civil disobedience has forced our government to recognize and talk through social problems to find solutions that worked for everyone, although in some instances it has deemed illegal, resulting in prosecution.
Civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest. Various groups of people have been using civil disobedience for centuries, including the colonists when they refused to pay British taxes, Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement in the Unites States during the mid-1900s, Mohandas Gandhi, and David Thoreau. Civil disobedience is still a practice used to this day and is an effective way of protesting but like all other things it does have its flaws. I think civil disobedience does better than it does bad.
Civil disobedience (or peaceful protest) has a very positive impact on a free society when protesting against an unjust law. Peaceful protests have a positive impact on society because it has shown to have a successful outcome in the past, and Civil disobedience also helps defend the public. Historically speaking, Civil Disobedience has been a very successful outcome when protesting against a law. Mohandas Gandhi was a very important figure who used Civil Disobedience.
The refusal to obey an unjust demand for a moral belief and the refusing of the violence that may occur, are fundamental for civil disobedience. As civil disobedience is to peacefully reject a law, strong set of opinion, or something not fair. Civil disobedience can be found any where from a fictional greek story, to a real life actor who cares about the safety of the environment, to an ordinary person living their life.