The Civil Disobedience of Antigone and the Teachings of Martin Luther King Jr.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a key figure in the civil rights movements that took place in the 1950s and 1960s. The “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is an open letter written by King defending nonviolent resistance against racism. The letter argued that people have a moral responsibility to break unjust and unethical laws. The letter also stresses themes of unity among brothers in order to overcome racism. I will argue in support of King’s stance that citizens are morally justified in breaking unjust laws and that openly and responsibly opposing unjust laws is itself a duty of every citizen.

Injustice is a big problem in today’s society. Martin Luther King wrote the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which he addressed many forms of injustices that was present then and continue to be present in today’s world. Martin Luther King did a lot of things that still effect today. He got in trouble for some things as well; such as like protesting how blacks were treated. He was arrested and was sent to Birmingham City Jail. He wrote a letter to defend the strategies of nonviolent resistance to racism. He employs the use of pathos, ethos, and logos to support his argument that nonviolence resistance is definitive. Based on the pathos, ethos, and logos present in this letter, the article is overall effective to this argument.

Martin Luther King, Jr. defines “civil disobedience” as a way to show others what to do when a law is unjust and unreasonable. As King stated in the letter from Birmingham, “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” When Negros were being treated unfairly, Martin Luther King, Jr. stepped in to show people how to peacefully protest and not be violent. The dictionary definition of civil disobedience is the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest (Webster Dictionary). That is what Martin Luther King, Jr. did when nothing was changing in the town after the law for public school to be non-segregated. In

Many great people have argued about civil disobediences and social injustices. Furthermore, not many realize the purpose of the system and what it means to its people and its country. Both Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr attempted to fight against the law if there is social injustices. Civil disobedience is as old as Prometheus’ disobedience of Zeus in order to give fire to mankind and Antigone’s defiance of Creon’s edict denying proper burial to her brother Polynices (Bedau). In other words, disobeying the law in a good cause.

At times laws are made that contradict the moral convictions of the governed. Of course some acts of civil disobedience cannot be justified, but when specific religious and moral rights are violated, a response is necessary. It is wise for the public to take action to change laws which they believe to be unjust and morally crippling. As Carl Cohen stated in his Seven Arguments Against Civil Disobedience, most acts show respect for the concept of laws and because of this they are urged to correct them.

Civil disobedience is best defined as the act to peacefully protest actions that may seem unlawful, detrimental to society, or morally wrong. Both Antigone and Martin Luther King Jr. express civil disobedience in similar ways, but differ in that Dr. King utilizes his first amendment right and creates more planned, organized, and methodical ways to create a peaceful protest in which he does not defy the law, meanwhile, Antigone is very irrational in her methods and ultimately defies man’s law. We can also see that their intentions differ as well, King uses civil disobedience to improve the welfare of a racial group, while Antigone tries to do what she believes to be morally right. Because of this, I support King’s methods of civil

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 becomes a sacred duty when the state becomes lawless or corrupt.¨ This was once stated by Mahatma Gandhi one of the leaders of civil disobedience. Civil disobedience is a refusal to obey the law as a way of peaceful protest and be alright with serving the consequences. Civil disobedience a hotly debated topic some believing that it is affective and some believing it is not. I believe civil disobedience is effective, because it makes opponents look bad, also civil disobedience gets results, and last but not least uses less violence than regular war.

The act of violating the laws and authority of the state is justified only when the measures taken by the state are contrary to the morals, ethics, and public opinion of the governed. On the occasion that truly “unjust” rule is forced upon a citizenry, violating that authority can be validated. The factors which contribute to an unjust governance are the states’ adherence to common morality, the power structure of the government, how closely it follows the public will, and the ethical consideration taken by the power. Civil disobedience, however, must be exercised cautiously and with extreme restraint, because if the private individual has the power to neglect the law due to personal interest, the society will deteriorate into chaos. Although Sophocles’ Antigone and Plato’s Crito do not exhibit a shared interpretation of when it is justified to disobey the state, considering both pieces will strengthen an understanding of when it is appropriate to practice a degree of law breaking.

A man once said, “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. ” And in order to make any necessary changes to the unjust law, you must use civil disobedience. Due to the fact that civil disobedience might be the only way one can express how one feels about the situation, while gathering public’s approval, in order to make the adjustments. As first demonstrated in Sophocles’ Antigone, the concept of civil disobedience can be defined as defying a law that is unjust with one’s morals. Along with evidence from a variety of other sources on civil disobedience, such as The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery, Analysis of Plato’s Crito on Sparknotes, BBC News’ Ukraine marks Orange Revolution, and David Thoreau’s

Civil disobedience is not a new development of politics; though it’s gained traction in the past couple centuries, it appears as far back as biblical times. In the book of Acts, Peter proclaims that apostles must follow God’s law before man’s law (Acts 5:29). The idea that some holy morality must come before human law appears also in Sophocles’ Antigone, in which the character of Antigone defies the King out of familial duty. While civil disobedience has morphed in practice over time, its base principles have remained the same. Civil disobedience requires that a law must be seen as unjust, and that those who act in opposition to it must be aware of and assent to any punishment that occurs in retaliation.

Civil disobedience is “the refusal to obey certain laws or governmental demands for the purpose of influencing legislation or government policy, characterized by the employment of such nonviolent techniques as boycotting, picketing, and nonpayment of taxes” (“Civil Disobedience”) and is a technique that is evident throughout history. Commonly, it is seen throughout the world as a means of voicing different opinions and allowing for everyone’s voices to be heard. Peaceful protest to laws and regulations are largely beneficial to the creation of a free society and achievement of equality. Through means of peaceful protest, individuals have the ability to challenge the choices of the government in a manner that is nonthreatening to the safety

Civil disobedience is the refusal to act and comply with the current government in protest and opposition to an act. Thoreau states in Civil Disobedience that he is willing to obey those that “can do better than I” and states that he accepts the motto “That government is best that governs least” (196, 177 Thoreau). In this lies a paradox of how much and how far the government should be in control of people lives and when should citizens step in to assert a communal moral law to the government. Moral law is the unique ethics and rulebook that each person learns from society. On the other hand, civil law is the set of laws that the government sets down. As a result of the uniqueness of moral laws to each individual person, then by nature civil

In this paper I will analyze Martin Luther King Jr.’s approach to resolving conflicts between legal and personal moral obligations, address objections, and support King’s method of civil disobedience as the proper means of upholding the integrity of the legal system and personal moral convictions.

“One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote in his letter from Birmingham Jail in May of 1963. Dr. King, with the rest of his movement, disobeyed unjust laws during the Civil Rights Movement, as have many others, though only two examples of civil disobedience will be focused on here: Antigone’s burial of Polyneices in Sophocles’ Antigone and the protest of “don’t ask, don’t tell” by thirteen war veterans in November of 2010. Civil disobedience has been a common and effective tool used by people to protest the unjust since antiquity to the present day.