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The Fight for Social Justice Essay

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It has been proven that often, the fight for social justice and the common good comes at a great cost to those involved. Through writings such as Dr. Martin Luther King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” and Sophocles’ “Antigone”, as well as, lectures such as Dr.Colbourn’s lecture “Confronting History and the Good Life: Life after Rosewood” it is demonstrated how life, freedom, and a normal everyday life suffer as a cost of fighting for social justice and the common good. To begin with, Dr. Martin Luther King as well as many other African- Americans fought for equality, social justice, and a better life for African- American resulting in a great cost. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was ridiculed and was the target of many attacks simply for …show more content…

In the end, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. paid the ultimate cost when fighting for social justice and the common good, with his life. On April 4th, 1963, he was assassinated by someone who didn’t like him and the cause he was fighting for. Although Dr. King lost his life, his actions resulted in a better life for African-Americans in terms of equality and social justice. Moreover, Sophocles’ “Antigone” shows how freedom, life, and a normal everyday life was the cost of fighting for social justice and the common good. In attempt to give her brother Polyneices the appropriate burial, chaos erupts in the kingdom of Thebes. Antigone wanted to honor her brother and the gods by burying her brother even though it was against the wishes of King Creon. Antigone knew her punishment would be death, but she did not care. Antigone was willing to risk her life in order to do what she felt was right. In regards to freedom, Antigone’s arrest and exile were both costs of her fight for social justice and the common good. Antigone’s fight for the common good affected her life as well as the lives of those around her. Her fiancé Haimon tried to fight for a good life for himself and Antigone by going against his father’s word. In the end, Haimon took his life as a result of Antigone’s death and his mother Eurydike committed suicide as a result of Haimon’s death.

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