WE THE STUDENTS ESSAY “The Art Of Civil Disobedience”
In April of 2016, members of the Sioux Native American tribe began protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. After being funded $3.7 billion dollars, the 1,172-mile-long oil-based project announced its plans to be positioned through the Bakken oil fields in northwest North Dakota and travel south-east through South Dakota and Iowa, and end at the oil tank farm near Patoka, Illinois. The controversy surrounding the entire construction is that it will, according to tribe members, invade on sacred land and periodically harm the environment. As a result, national headlines are being crammed with reports of protest from the neighboring tribes that intend to protect their land despite military interference. The entire event …show more content…
Civil disobedience follows a sophisticated set of principles that ensure mutual benefit. In his report “THREE PRINCIPLES OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE:THOREAU, GANDHI, AND KING” , Nick Gier reminds the reader that, “ The first principle is that you maintain respect for the rule of law even while disobeying the specific law that you perceive as unjust….Non-violent activists do not seek to undermine the rule of law…” The infamous Martin Luther King Jr. constantly invigorated the idea of civil disobedience with quotes like, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Statements like these question the American psyche as to what a true Democracy requires of its citizens. We are blessed to have been granted the freedom of speech, but when we fail to execute it in America’s most crucial moments we deprive ourselves of a fair
In April of 2016, members of the Sioux Native American tribe began protesting the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline. After being funded $3.7 billion dollars, the 1,172-mile-long oil-based project announced its plans to be positioned through the Bakken oil fields in northwest North Dakota and travel south-east through South Dakota and Iowa, and end at the oil tank farm near Patoka, Illinois. The controversy surrounding the entire construction is that it will, according to tribe members, invade on sacred land and periodically harm the environment. As a result, national headlines are being crammed with reports of protest from the neighboring tribes that intend to protect their land despite military interference. The entire event …show more content…
Civil disobedience follows a sophisticated set of principles that ensure mutual benefit. In his report “THREE PRINCIPLES OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE:THOREAU, GANDHI, AND KING” , Nick Gier reminds the reader that, “ The first principle is that you maintain respect for the rule of law even while disobeying the specific law that you perceive as unjust….Non-violent activists do not seek to undermine the rule of law…” The infamous Martin Luther King Jr. constantly invigorated the idea of civil disobedience with quotes like, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” Statements like these question the American psyche as to what a true Democracy requires of its citizens. We are blessed to have been granted the freedom of speech, but when we fail to execute it in America’s most crucial moments we deprive ourselves of a fair