Civil Disobedience: Breaking The Law

No government in the world as well as throughout history has been able to avoid the scrutiny of its citizens. In many cases, rebellions have occurred in order to overthrow an unwanted government in favor of a better suited one. However, civil disobedience has allowed the world an effective method of protest that has allowed significant change to occur without war or mass bloodshed. What used to take a war to resolve can now be accomplished with a mass protest where the voices of those who are discontented can be heard. Some however, would argue that civil disobedience is detrimental to society, as it is technically breaking the law. However, these people neglect to understand that we, as Americans have a right to break the laws that impose …show more content…
While some may assert that our voting rights are what give us a voice in government, Thoreau explains why this may not always be the case, “The character of the voters is not staked. I cast my vote, perchance, as I think right; but I am not vitally concerned that that right should prevail” (Civil Disobedience). Those elected into office will not always reflect the values that got them elected. Civil disobedience allows us to show our discontent with the government without resorting to violence or chaos. In fact, our most treasured icons are those who utilized civil disobedience. There is a reason that one of these figures, Mahatma Gandhi, is greatly revered around the world for his protests that promoted equality and fair treatment for all. For Gandhi, it was not enough to work for the good, but also to oppose the evil, “In my humble opinion, non-cooperation with evil is as much a duty as is cooperation with good” (Gandhi and Civil Disobedience). With Gandhi’s non-violent protests in both South Africa and India, he was able to accomplish much for the betterment of all in the face of oppression with limited …show more content…
Martin Luther King Jr., a man commonly hailed for his peaceful civil rights movement in America. Greatly influenced by Gandhi, Dr. King encouraged peaceful protest through civil disobedience, rather than violence, and he too changed the world with his efforts. Even today we still experience the effects of civil disobedience, most recently in the scandal surround Edward Snowden, a whistle-blower in the U.S. government. While working in the government Snowden believed the government’s surveillance habits to be unjust and thought that the American people should know to what extent their privacy was being invaded. Although Snowden has since been branded a criminal due to his betrayal of classified information, was he really wrong for doing so seeing how many American’s oppose the government’s invasion of privacy? While Snowden may be a traitor to the government, it is debatable to whether he is a traitor to the American people as well, since his actions were to persevere free society. Snowden’s actions in protest of government surveillance is a great example of civil disobedience today and how it has been used for the benefit of the