Peaceful resistance to laws has positively impacted a free society and will continue to in the future. Although there will always be minor issues involving group assemblies and beliefs, the positive impacts that they have outweigh the negatives. As in the past with Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., and others, even though there were a few negative contributions to society, their positive contributions were able to help shape society for the better. Therefore, peaceful resistance to laws believed to be unjust does have a positive impact on a free society. Throughout the years numerous stories of peaceful resistance has been documented and shared with other. One very influential story of peaceful protest is of Rosa Parks. Rosa Parks refused …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr.. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested while participating in an anti-segregation march. While jailed, he responded to "A Call for Unity" by several white churches and their leaders. They criticized King Jr. for numerous reasons including interfering with the city of Birmingham as an "outsider," that it was inappropriate for him to stage public protest and that protestors should have tried negotiating and waiting until the country gradually moved towards civil rights because they were breaking laws in the process. He responded to them with several well-organized thoughts such as how injustice anywhere threatened justice everywhere, that the white justice system allowed no other way to be heard than to protest, and that oppressors were not just going to hand over rights especially when there were laws, just and unjust, that said otherwise. Through all of these hardships and cruel letters, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. persevered and continued on in his journey of peaceful protest until the day he died. This shows that even when attacked, peaceful protests can still work and that one did, giving rights to all Blacks. This may have never happened had people not protested the way that they
King, Jr. was a strong believer in the fact that every race should be treated equally to one another. As Edward Berry stated in his own Rhetorical Analysis, “Doing Time: King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail””, King dreamed of a time where whites and blacks could be equal (111). Some of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s largest achievements through this movement where the March on Washington, the Montgomery Bus Boycott, and obviously the Birmingham Campaign. He gave his all into this movement and on April 4, 1969, at the young age of 39, was assassinated because of his belief in racial equality and gave his life for the Civil Rights Campaign. Like Martin Luther King said in his piece, “Letter from Birmingham Jail”, “I am compelled to carry the gospel of freedom far beyond my own hometown (1). And that he did. Which is one of the biggest reasons that he is so widely remembered in the United States of America and
Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King was a prominent voice on behalf of African-Americans in the fight for racial equality during the mid- 20th century. In one particular situation, Dr. King was jailed in Montgomery, Alabama, for protesting the unfair treatment of Blacks in the area. While in jail, King penned a letter to fellow civil rights leaders that were critical of his rebellious tactics. In the letter, Dr. King states that “the purpose of direct action is to create a situation so crisis-packed that it will inevitably open the door to negotiation.” Dr. King believed that the only remaining option in advocating for racial equality was to peacefully violate the law in order to bring about negotiations with lawmakers. Without Dr. King’s peaceful disregard for the law, African Americans would have had to continuously endure unfair treatment and persecution while drawing little relevant attention to their issues. This serves as significant evidence to suggest that Civil Disobedience is sometimes necessary in a society, as the non-violent actions of racial equality supporters led to civil rights negotiations in
In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and put in jail for protesting the treatment of blacks in Alabama. While confined in the Birmingham City Jail, Dr. King came across an ad in the newspaper that condemned his activities. He felt the need to answer to the criticism, and wrote a letter of response. His main point was that the blacks were suffering severely in Birmingham and the court system was not an effective means for change. He did not take the decision to protest lightly, and was willing to stand up for his beliefs and the rights of his fellow-man, regardless of color.
One of the distinguishing principles that has separated American Democracy from the rest of the world is the right to enjoy immense and unprecedented freedoms, whilst still enjoying protections from government. American government has protected, and continues to protect, our unalienable rights, while many other governments have historically, tried to strip their people’s rights. Many of the rights we enjoy are used to keep our own government in check. The government cannot infringe upon our right to speak out against it, protest it in the streets, or write literature against it. All of these rights are important to maintaining, and controlling, our democratic system. The right to peacefully
Does peaceful resistance to laws positively or negatively impact a free society? I think that peaceful resistance positively impacts a free society. Many people used civil disobedience to prove a point in a situation that they believe needs to be changed. There are people such as Henry Throeau, Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. Many people say that Henry Thoreau is the backbone to civil disobedience. Thoreau was arrested in 1846 for refusing to pay six years of poll taxes in protest of slavery and the Mexican American War. Thoreau believed that individuals could be free only if their actions were true to their own beliefs, with or without the support or approval of the community. Thoreau inspired Gandhi first and then MLK to follow, but these two leaders are responding to more pressing circumstances and responding as members of subjugated classes of people sharply defined by the social markers of race and ethnicity. Another important person who used civil disobedience is the same person who said "You must be the change you wish to see in this world" -Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhi used nonviolent civil disobedience to protest racial pass laws in South Africa and in India's Independence struggle, including the famous Salt
In the 1950s till present day we still use nonviolent resistance to stand up for what we believe is right. Nonviolent resistant protests were one way for Civil Rights leaders used to advance their cause in the 1950s and 1960s. These protests lead to the Civil Rights act of 1964. This act outlawed discrimination based on color, race, religion, sex, or national origin. It starts with civil disobedience, which is the act of opposing a law one considers unjust and peacefully disobeying it while accepting the consequences. This was the case in some protests where they felt laws were unfair, unjust, and unconstitutional. I believe that peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society using the Montgomery Bus Boycott, The March on Washington, and the Salt March as my three examples of nonviolent resistance protests that positively impacted a free society.
Another recent peaceful resistance cases is the protest that happened shortly after Michael Brown was killed by a(n) officer for robbing a store, he was an unarmed man and had his hands up signaling that he "surrendered". Many people
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because when violence is involved, people fight one another and they don't listen to each other's voices, which leads to nothing getting solved.
King had a vision that one day all races would be treated equally. Being the educated man that he was, receiving his Doctorate from Boston University, Dr. King never saw failure as an option. King was a third generation Baptist Minister and was the Leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Dr. King was from the South and was very familiar with the city of Birmingham which was known as the most violently segregated city in the United States. An affiliate of Dr. King’s invited him to Birmingham to engage in a nonviolent protest to which he agreed. During the nonviolent protest Dr. King was arrested for protesting without a permit. While in a Birmingham County jail cell Martin Luther King explains issues within the past day’s society that needed to be addressed including the church, the white moderates, and how he had been labeled an extremist.
The art of peaceful protest has been used all throughout human history which brought about the concept of Civil Disobedience; which says that it is okay to for people to go against the law while peacefully protesting. Many protest have followed in
Peaceful resistance is a successful means of initiating positive social change and transformation. It can be argued that any action that invites discourse, or any action that causes individuals to pause and reflect on the truths that they hold to be self-evident, serves to advance humanity and stimulate the world’s continued evolution towards a more humane and just society. In the context of a free society, peaceful resistance to unjust laws almost exclusively yields a positive impact that often manifests as the successful repeal of oppressive legislation, the enhancement of human social interaction, and the dismantling of the restrictive and socially constructed institutions that govern people’s lives. If individuals
Peaceful resistance is very negative to our society today. This is because all the protests, and civil disobedience that goes in our society have somewhat ended in violence. We can see this when they talk about Black Lives Matter. People who protest this some of it end in violence and someone getting hurt or killed. Tons of people end up hurt or dead and cops get blamed for it. People get all offensive when cops do their jobs and what they need to do to keep everyone safe. So if a cop has to shoot an African American cause he is hurting someone or resisting or something that is awful and the cop has to do what he needs to do to keep everyone safe. If a cop shoots a Caucasian person, everything is fine in the society. All of this is because back in time, black lives were treated awfully cause of
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society, because one it leaves a good impression for the future. It can show that the world can be a better place one day. Some of the good people leading society will take it into consideration and make it a trend for others to follow. Men happen to follow higher representative men in society. One man that changed the world was Martin Luther King Jr. He proved the point of how it should be no reason for a man to hate on another regardless of the color of their skin. He preached that all men should be treated the same whether it is all people going to the same bathroom, eating together and putting up with one another. At this time alot of people ignored this accusation. He stressed this through a letter where he was placed in a Birmingham Jail for segration in public areas. It brings out in how Martin
I believe that a peaceful resistance to a law will always positively impact a free society. Rosa Parks did not agree with having to give her seat up to a white person on the bus. She refused to get up and was arrested. She didn't turn violent and hurt people, nor did she damage the bus. She said no, and remained sitting. After her arrest, she demonstrated peacefully by boycotting the Montgomery public buses. Although, it took time, the law was overturned. As an American you have the right to protest. You do not have the right to hurt other people and damage public and private property.
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society. Rather than having violent movements and harming citizens, it is better to peacefully resist. Once a violence is used, the resistance to the law becomes nulled. People tend to not follow a violence protester. Once a violent riot starts, chaos is everywhere. People forget what they are truly fighting for. They unconsciously run away with the fear of getting harmed and dare not to go back. A peaceful resistance on the other hand leads citizens to join and support. People are able to see what they are fighting for and their real intentions. They are able to stand and cause no problem to people passing by as they are showing their support through silent voices. Many famous activists and leaders are for nonviolence. Mahatma Gandhi, a primary leader of India’s independence