Merriam-Webster defines civil disobedience as “refusal to obey governmental demands or commands especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing concessions from the government.” While this definition may have slightly changed from Henry David Thoreau’s coined term in the mid 1800s, the idea of peaceful protest is still central. The people have a right to protest as stated in the first amendment to the Constitution, so why does the term civil disobedience have a negative connotation? The actions that follow unsuccessful, nonviolent protests are the reason for the ignorance of this term.
How can the current police shootings in Texas and the deadly prison riots in Brazil positively impact free society? Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Junior explore this topic by describing some of the more historic civil disobedience cases in the United States. After all, both of these men were imprisoned for their own peaceful resistance and dedicated their lives to changing unjust laws.
Possibly the most well known piece of literature written by Martin Luther King Junior is his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” In this composition, King describes his and …show more content…
It is necessary for a free society to experience the bad in order to know what good can happen. Henry David Thoreau explores these topics in his “Civil Disobedience.” He explains that a majority rule “cannot be based on justice” because a majority rule leaves out the people who may need just laws the most: the minorities. Like King, Thoreau recognizes that “an unjust law is no law at all” (St. Augustine). Both of these civil rights leaders have had to break the rules in order to gain proper freedoms. When following the correct path does not work there is only one option left: to forge another. Thoreau states that “all men recognize the right of revolution,” but it is how the revolution is developed that determines the justness of a
How can the current police shootings in Texas and the deadly prison riots in Brazil positively impact free society? Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Junior explore this topic by describing some of the more historic civil disobedience cases in the United States. After all, both of these men were imprisoned for their own peaceful resistance and dedicated their lives to changing unjust laws.
Possibly the most well known piece of literature written by Martin Luther King Junior is his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” In this composition, King describes his and …show more content…
It is necessary for a free society to experience the bad in order to know what good can happen. Henry David Thoreau explores these topics in his “Civil Disobedience.” He explains that a majority rule “cannot be based on justice” because a majority rule leaves out the people who may need just laws the most: the minorities. Like King, Thoreau recognizes that “an unjust law is no law at all” (St. Augustine). Both of these civil rights leaders have had to break the rules in order to gain proper freedoms. When following the correct path does not work there is only one option left: to forge another. Thoreau states that “all men recognize the right of revolution,” but it is how the revolution is developed that determines the justness of a