On Nonviolent Resistance Gandhi

It’s difficult to imagine a world where citizens follow laws they agree with and disregard those they are against. However, what if the laws they disregard should never have been laws in the first place? Civil disobedience is a method used to fight injustice in society. In the words of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr., “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” If injustice is not confronted, it will continue to seep into every facet of society. This can transform a once free society into one that is trapped under clutches of injustice. Therefore, peaceful resistance, although uncomfortable, positively impacts and preserves a free society.

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

“First they ignore you, then they ridicule you, then they fight you, then you win.” This quote spoken by historical figure Mohandas K. Gandhi tells how civil disobedience works in fifteen words. Gandhi was a man who used civil disobedience to get what he wanted. This quote reflects on how being peaceful while breaking a government’s laws can lead to results. Civil Disobedience is the refusal to obey certain laws and legally protest against the government’s laws by picketing, boycotting and the refusal to pay taxes. Many people have different opinions about civil disobedience. Some people believe that civil disobedience is not effective as a means of social change. For example, some may say that using civil disobedience will take a long

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.

Civil disobedience is a belief that is practiced in which the people disobey the law in a peaceful manner because it does not come to an agreement with their moral values. Over the years this idea of challenging the government has developed into a duty for the people. This concept is explained in the piece “Civil Disobedience” by Henry David Thoreau and “Letter from Birmingham Jail” by Martin Luther King Jr. They both express acts of passive resistance in which the impact is still felt in the modern world. Although, these ideologies were used in Thoreau and King’s time, they need to be updated to fit in today’s world.

In the face of adversity, prejudice, and potential harm, one is left with two options. One must carry on and submit to the wrongdoing, or decide to exercise their power of noncooperation. In order to function, any organization, government, or powerful system thrives off of the conformity of its constituency. Once this unquestionable agreement is taken away, the source of power will undoubtedly crumble. In each obstacle we face, civil disobedience can function as a nonviolent approach of defiance. Throughout history, civil disobedience has been used in order to combat injustice in a peaceful yet effective manner. Two key instances in which this technique was successfully employed include Ghandi’s Salt March and the Civil Rights Movement. In

Civil disobedience is the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences. This peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society and overtime, makes it more “free.” Remonstrating unjust laws also reveals how corrupt our society today is as a whole considering the hatred and retaliation exerted towards protestors. Overall, civil disobedience is necessary for society to adapt to the new norms of the forever-changing world.

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

Peaceful resistance is a major part of American history, from the American Revolution to the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement to the Travel Ban protests of today. These instances of peaceful resistance shape American society for the better, as the voices of minorities are heard and unjust laws are ended. Peaceful resistance does positively impact a free society, as supported by Henry Thoreau, demonstrated by the 1960 Civil Rights Movement, and anticipated by protests of today.

We must do what we can to call out injustices and stand up for those whose rights have been stepped on without violating the rights of others, and civil disobedience is the best way to call attention to an injustice, garner support, and seek change. Peaceful resistance to laws has a positive impact on free societies because without it, the societies aren’t free - if we are unable to protest against what is wrong, can we say we are truly

Civil disobedience is a nonviolent act that allows us to protest against, unjust laws or any policy that people do not tend to agree on. An example of someone that acted on this was, Martin Luther King Junior in “Letter from a Birmingham Jail, was the way that the did protest against human right and oppression, in the lense, Martin shows it and explains that on every act of injusticeness has a negative outcome. The artifact, “Antigone” by Sophocles you can see Antigone fight against the injustice act of burying her brother. In any nonviolent campaign there are four basic steps: collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self purification; and direct action” (King Jr., 1). Both of these two uses four major principles, to fight against the importance of unjust laws.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Civil injustice by definition is the unlawful violation of civil rights and these civil injustices that range from discrimination to racism have been going on for decades now and to this day are still going on. In the event that these civil injustices do occur, the citizens that these injustices affect and even those who it doesn’t have the right to stand up and voice their opinion through the act of civil disobedience. I believe that when done correctly, civil disobedience can positively affect a free society. In this essay, I will briefly discuss why civil disobedience is necessary to affect changes in our society that are deemed unfair to a group

Difficult days still lay ahead. Gandhi and his supporters would launch more protests in the 1930s and 40s and endure even more stints behind bars, and Indian independence would have to wait until 1947—only months before Gandhi was shot dead by a militant Hindu. But while the immediate political results of the Salt March were relatively minor, Gandhi’s satyagraha had nevertheless succeeded in his goal of “shaking the foundations of the British Empire.” The trek to the sea had galvanized Indian resistance to the Raj, and its international coverage had introduced the world to Gandhi and his followers’ astonishing commitment to nonviolence. Among others, Martin Luther King Jr. would later cite the Salt March as a crucial influence on his own philosophy

Following, Gandhi continues to have a profound impact on American culture with his principles of nonviolent resistance. Nonviolence is not seen as a passivity, but rather a call for action. Gandhi believed by disrupting the morale of the antagonist through voluntarily accepting the distress that is imposed, the inflictor would face greater adversary than the inflicted. An example of an act of civil disobedience was led by Gandhi in the infamous Salt March that took place in March 1930 in India. In historical context, “Britain’s Salt Acts prohibited Indians from collecting or selling salt. Citizens were forced to buy the vital mineral from the British...exercising a monopoly over the manufacture and sale of salt” (History.com). With the leadership of Gandhi, he gained support from thousands of Indian citizens, and together they defied British law by marching 240 miles and using seawater to make salt. Consequently, protestors had to face with the violent beatings and imprisonments of British-led Indian policemen. Although this movement was not successful in developing compromises, Gandhi showed that nonviolence can promote change gradually. The Salt March was highly publicized, shining a distaste on the British government. The Salt March turned to be a pivotal force in India’s independence from Britain in 1947. Across the Indian nation and around the world, people felt the genuine works of Gandhi. This was significant in Gandhi’s political appeal, proving he is a man that

The one activist that started this all was Mohandas "Mahatma" Gandhi. According to Google maps, Gandhi was born on October 2nd, 1869 in Porbandar India. He was a Hindu and he believed in nonviolence. An example of Gandhi using nonviolence in his childhood was when in 1882. He stole change from the servants to not get married that year. As he did not use any violence, it is an act of nonviolence. He became a lawyer in England, where he learned about global religions. In 1915, he got a job in South Africa. He became aghast at the discrimination that Indians faced. One event that happened to him, where he faced discrimination. He was on a train and a white man told him to go the back. Gandhi refused to do so, as he had a first-class ticket. As