In light of the recent presidential election, many people fear for their freedom as restrictions on immigration, religion, and abortion rights have been proposed. As a result of this, on January 20th, countless citizens banded together across America in “Women’s Marches”, the largest of about 400,000 people at Washington, D.C. (10 Actions). At these protests, advocating for people of all genders, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations, zero arrests were made. These peaceful gatherings gained the attention and unification of many people across the country and motivated citizens to continue to organize events. At the Women’s March on San Francisco, it was said by a speaker that we are “on the right side of history”. As people continue to vocalize their disagreements with the government, change will always be made, though it may be
Peaceful resistance to laws is one of the strongest and most important foundations of a free society. Countless peaceful demonstrations have been led in the history of the United States, with positive outcomes that have helped shape the country.
With over five million women, men and children united in all seven continents, the Women’s March was by far the largest and most peaceful protest in history. Washington, Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Sydney and Paris are only a few out of the many cities world-wide that all groups of
Peaceful protest leads to both positive and negative impacts on a free society. The main issue of the society isn't just people making bold moves like these, it has to do with people being able to accept them and not deal with it in a violent way, thinking that, that is acceptable and going to solve anything, when it really make it
Peaceful protests, that is a protest without violence, are a way to try and persuade those in power to enact or not enact a certain law. This is known as acts of civil disobedience. A typical example of this are rallies or protests against something, where people gather peacefully for or against the same thing. People engaging in civil disobedience could also engage in vows of silence, marching, fasting, and many other peaceful ways to stand up against the inequalities or injustices that they are experiencing. The reason that this is done and is important is because the other option is to violently protest or cause more problems. This is not a good way to go about it because even if it comes from a justified place of hurt or anger, it could result in more harm and arrests than are already happening. Even if theses protests or marches get intense, fights breaking out can happen but the goal is always to be nonviolent. The reasons that civil disobedience is seen in such a negative light is because many people equate it to the violent examples. They view it as the people who are violently protesting, getting pepper sprayed and arrested by cops. Even that isn’t a justified opinion because those people getting paper sprayed and arrested often times are
Our right to free speech and to peaceably assemble is protected in the First Amendment, and is something we should take seriously. "Congress shall make no law ... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances" (Amendment I). One area of "peaceful resistance" is petitioning to government leaders and taking a stand on what is true and godly. When this is done, people have the opportunity to give government officials a point of view that perhaps they would have never considered
It’s hard to make people listen. It’s hard to make people want change. And using violence brings a bad reputation to what one is trying to bring attention to. Thus, peaceful protesting and civil disobedience are important tools to positively impact a free society. Accepting the consequences of civil disobedience proves to the world that one will sacrifice whatever is necessary to achieve what they are fighting for, which strengthens their message even more.
Peaceful resistance positively impacts a free society, particularly in a Democracy such as the United States. Abraham Lincoln famously described our national foundation as a “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, and for such a statement to be true, it is necessary that voices of US citizens be heard.
Back in 1791, after years of controversy between the Federalists and Anti-Federalists, the Framers added the Bill of Rights to the United States Constitution. Included in this addition was the First Amendment. More specifically, the right to protest. America is known as “the land of the free,” a democracy that is ever changing to suit its progressive societal needs. Americans have the right to inflict change and address their concerns by resisting. Resistance is defined as “the refusal to accept or comply with something” (Dictionary.com). Americans have the right to confront issues. This “refusal to accept” an issue is an immeasurable energy and freedom that is unique to the American people. Due to the themes of democracy, freedom, and constitutional intentions, peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society.
Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts our free society. It allows us to make our voices heard and spread a message if there is a law that we find is either unfair or goes against our protected freedoms. Peaceful resistance has helped our country grow on multiple occasions. It has always been a part of our countries history and is well protected by our First Amendment rights. Due to this, There is little to know doubt that peaceful resistance has positively effected the lives of many Americans.
"Peaceful resistance" is a very controversial issue in this day in age. Many Americans, if asked, probably have many varying views and opinions on what peaceful resistance is. For some it could be marching down the streets with signs, while for others its shouting their rights without causing any violence.
Peaceful resistance in today's society is counted as just as bad as violent riots. As Americans with our constitutional rights should have the ability to peacefully resist anything that we find unjust but within current events it is seen as being a criminal for showing your opinion. I believe that peaceful resistance should have a positive impact on our country and that it should be seen as powerful rather than as weakness caused by the displeasure of events. As a country it is our job to take into consideration the rights and beliefs of all rather than few. For example within my own community there was a peaceful resistance or peaceful protest at our local university in which around 70 to 100 people were arrested simply for showing their
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.
Peaceful protest can be an effective and beneficial way to make a point about how many in a population feel strongly about an issue, yet many protests do not go as intended. The idea is to calmly make your opinion known, to get noticed and to demonstrate the sheer mass of opposition to a particular topic. Peaceful protest alone is not harmful, it is simply a group of people
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