Civil Disobedience Essay Essay on Civil Disobedience Essay on Civil Disobedience Essay Civil Disobedience Essay on Civil Disobedience

1. Civil Disobedience Essay
Civil Disobedience Civil disobedience: "Refusal to obey civil laws in an effort to induce change in
governmental policy or legislation, characterized by the use of passive resistance or other
non–violent means" (Houghton, 2000). Although this definition seems broad enough to cover any
aspect of a discussion, there is still much to be said about the subject. Martin Luther King wrote a
fifty paragraph letter about the timeliness and wisdom in such an action, while Hannah Arendt
managed to squeeze her definition into six (extra long) paragraphs regarding Denmark and the Jews.
But, regardless of the fact that people relate this topic in...show more content...
Once the conscience has done its work, the process of passive resistance begins. However, passive
resistance, unlike the name suggests, is in actuality very much active. It is active because it requires
a great deal of commitment; with commitment comes time and effort; with time and effort comes
patience; and with patience comes the clear–headed thinking required to bring down the forces of
the oppressor. No effective act of disobedience can be random; it must be carefully planned and
executed accordingly. When the Germans wanted to impose anti–Jewish methods upon German
Jews taking refuge in Denmark, they were met with the most organized of resistance: in one such
instance, Danish officials promised their "immediate resignation" should any anti–Jewish acts occur
in Denmark (Arendt, 2000). Still, in order to offer more consequential protection to the Jews the
Danish government had to employ more strategic means. The use of legal manoeuvrings enabled the
Danish government to prevent the Nazis from imposing anti–Jewish rule in Denmark. In addition,
assistance from a few traitor Nazis who sabotaged orders from Berlin, including a warning of the
impending exportation of the Jews from Denmark, greatly improved the Danes' ability to protect
their Jewish refugees (Arendt, 2000). Similarly, in the case of Martin Luther King Jr., a great deal of
planning and
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2. Essay on Civil Disobedience
All throughout world history, human beings have participated in acts of civil disobedience.
However, in the last two centuries the belief and practice of it has been in full swing and has even
brought on major historical events, especially concerning equal rights and just laws. Three major
firm believers and activists in civil disobedience were Henry David Thoreau, Martin Luther King Jr.,
and Gandhi. All three of these men participated in acts of civil disobedience but each in his own
way and for different reasons. Henry David Thoreau believed that a certain war tax was unjust
during the Mexican War and he refused to pay it. This then lead to his arrest and one day in jail
where he wrote the essay "Civil Disobedience." Martin...show more content...
The person in the passage does not even talk about using negotiations to achieve their goal,
instead they directly refuse to follow a rule which a direct rebellion toward the government. This
passage relates to Thoreau's method of civil disobedience the most. The reason for this is because
Thoreau believed that he had a moral obligation to himself to do what he thought was right,
instead of a government who does what they believe is right for its people and themselves.
Thoreau stated this best when he said, " the only obligation which I have a right to assume is to do
at any time what I think is right." This is exactly what the first quote was stating, that the protester
has an obligation to himself first and can do anything including directly disobey an unjust rule in
order to fulfill that obligation. Martin Luther King Jr. and Gandhi on the other hand believed in
negotiating with the government first before participating in acts of civil disobedience and they
also believed that everyone should still follow the rules and laws, only disobeying them if they
oppressed human beings. Martin Luther King Jr. expresses this belief when he stated that, "
Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community
which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to
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3. Essay on Civil Disobedience
Civil Disobedience
Henry Thoreau wrote an essay about it in the 19th century. Martin Luther King, Jr. preached it in the
South. Mahatma Gandhi encouraged it in India. Nelson Mandela went to jail for promoting it. The
Bible says that Paul, Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were all guilty of it.
According wikipedia.org, "civil disobedience encompasses the active refusal to obey certain laws,
demands and commands of a government or of an occupying power without resorting to physical
violence."
As Christians, the dilemma is to follow the precepts of government to the letter and violate the
commandments of God, or remain faithful to God, and become an enemy of the government. Martin
Luther King fought against government...show more content...
Being a strong man of God, there is no doubt that King saw how his disobedience to the law was in
direct conflict with the word of God.
Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king,
as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and
to commend those who do right. For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the
ignorant talk of foolish men .
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever
is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and to show true humility toward all men
.
So, Dr. King chose to subscribe to and to witness about the commandment to "love your neighbor as
thy self." In keeping with this commandment, he was on the wrong side of laws that were meant to
keep a portion of God's creations as less than rest of the community. But he was also keeping with
the commandment of God.
The Old Testament has various examples of men of God practicing civil disobedience. When
Nebuchadnezzar built huge idols and demanded that every one worship them whenever music played,
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship anything or anyone other than God himself.
Nebuchadnezzar made it clear that they would be tossed into the fiery furnace. They refused, were
put into the furnace, and delivered by God .
King Darius made a decree that there would no praying in his

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5. Essay Civil Disobedience
To Speak or Not to Speak?
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. received a Nobel Prize and was honored by the President of the United
States for his contributions to society. On the other hand, he was prosecuted, convicted, incarcerated,
and had his sentence reaffirmed by the Supreme Court. These explanations seem rather
contradictory. If what he did was noble, why was he jailed for his actions? When we take into
account these manifestations of the government's attitude towards Martin Luther King, we can
safely make the assumption that the government is not always justified in the laws that it creates.
Our government's original purpose was to keep order and ensure freedom to its people. As history
has shown us, as in the case of African...show more content...
He can tell his congressmen that he feels a law is unjust. If the congressman is unwilling or
unable to change the law, he may make a proposition to change the law during the voting periods.
The only problem with propositions is that they are a matter of appealing to the majority. If the
majority feels that there should be a change and enough people sign the proposition, it will
become enacted. However, if the law is only affecting by the minority of people, these two routes
will not create a change of a law. It is clear in such a case that civil disobedience is vital to insure that
the government does not over–extend its role.
Civil disobedience is defined by the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary as "a refusal to obey
governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of
forcing concessions from the government." The most popular example in U.S. history when this was
used was during the Civil Right Movement in the 1960's. The Jim Crow laws at the time restricted
African Americans from being able to attend public schools or use public restrooms that were
designated as "white only." Despite the fact that they had paid taxes like anybody else, these types of
segregation laws targeted minorities and made them second rate citizens. It is evident that the Jim
Crow Laws were imperfect as the humans that created them. Martin Luther King, who was sincere in
exposing the government's wrongdoings,
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6. Essay on Civil Disobedience
Abstract
Civil disobedience is the term assigned to actions taken by individuals to sway public opinion about
laws that individuals deem unfair or unjust. Actions taken are usually nonviolent, and can include
sit–ins, mass demonstrations, picket lines, and marches. Citizens are acting on their consciences,
demonstrating highly advanced moral reasoning skills. Generally, these advanced skills fall into
Kohlberg's Six Stages of Moral Development, Stage Five and Six in particular. Characteristics of
civil disobedience include no expression of anger, no cursing or insults, no retaliation, and
submission to punishment by law enforcement. Historically, there have been many instances of civil
disobedience: women's suffrage, environmental...show more content...
History has recorded the role civil disobedience has played in many social reforms: the civil rights
movement, women's suffrage, abolition of slavery, environmental demonstrations, labor union
strikes, and anti–war movements. In each instance, citizens were motivated by deep–seated,
conscientious beliefs that laws were wrong; all legal means, ie: lobbying, court appearances,
petitioning, and legal protests, but were often ignored by political machinations and powerful
individuals. Such was their moral convictions regarding what they experienced or believed to be
injustices, individuals were willing to give up personal comfort and safety in order to effect change.
Generally, citizens taking part in civil disobedience employed noncompliance. Noncompliance is not
considered as an act of hostility toward police; it is a form of resistance wherein those involved in the
protest go "limp", or become passive. Citizens simply refuse to comply with officer direction, since
the foundation for nonviolence is to undergo a risk to one's self without causing harm to others
(actupny.org, nd, para 15). Noncompliance, as a technique, was influenced by Ghandi and the
passive resistance techniques used to end British rule of South Africa (Infoplease.com, nd). Ghandi's
directives for those engaged in civil disobedience included: not to express anger, never retaliate,
submit to orders, submit to
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