Civil Disobedience: A Positive Force In Free Society

The free world has deep roots in civil disobedience. From Nelson Mandela in South Africa to the Keystone Pipeline in North Dakota, the planet as a whole has its heart in civil disobedience. The world is consistently changing, being pushed forward constantly. Governments change all the time, as do their country’s cultures and laws. Some may find themselves in opposition to a law deciding it is undeserving of their compliance. Civil disobedience is part of the process and progression of our world and continues to be a strong positive force in free society. A law is created when it is introduced and passed through the several checks and balances of the government in question (whether it is parliamentary democracy or a republic). Some of the public may object to its passage or might discover that a pre-existing law is unacceptable. The powers that be could not know of the law’s effect on the populace or be unwilling to challenge the law in question. Civil disobedience acts as a catalyst in this type of situation, bringing the issue to the politician’s attention and persuading them to support the civil disobedient’s point of view. Where the typical lawmaking process fails, expressing the views of a few representatives, civil disobedience picks up the slack. It expresses the concerns of the minority whose plight …show more content…
To this, I must differ. Those who take part in civil disobedience are doing so knowing that they are breaking the law. These people accept the legal consequences of their actions, they do not oppose the entire system but rather, a specific piece. The majority of the public do not think themselves above the law but find that specific law to be immoral and thus undeserving of their obedience. The definition of a free society is one in which the people in it can make their own decisions. If they cannot dissent to a law in place, then how can that society be