Maria Bonilla
Philosophy 10200
Professor Weissman
5/19/2016
Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail
1. King said individual civil rights are rights that every individual has no matter their race, color, religion, or gender. These rights are just and allow for the equal treatment of everyone in the society. King believed the government in Birmingham was hypocritical because it chose certain laws to obey and other laws to disobey such as "the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 which outlawed segregation in public schools” (King, 1963). By denying civil rights to African Americans, the city of Birmingham was violating the principal founding documents—the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. It’s unjust to only …show more content…
The claim of King is definitely stronger than the claim of the ministers. King claims that justice is more important than order in society and he is absolutely right. He wants justice for the people who have been deprived of it such as the African Americans in Birmingham. A society without justice is not a moral society at all. Segregation is wrong because it makes one group of people superior to another for the simple fact that it has been the ‘tradition’. King believes in the fair treatment of all people. If everyone is treated equally, the society as a whole will be in harmony and everyone will have the opportunity to pursue their greatest good. If the individual needs of everyone in the society is met, that will lead to an overall ‘corporate effect’ of goodness in the society as stated by Mill. Although the ministers have a point with wanting to have order, it is important to understand that it is wrong to discriminate against a group of people. Change had to be made in Birmingham and it was something the ministers were going to have to accept eventually because the oppressed will always find an opportunity to express their resentment. The claim of the ministers is morally wrong and unjust. Their claims are automatically invalidated for the simple fact that there is no equality amongst everyone in the
Philosophy 10200
Professor Weissman
5/19/2016
Martin Luther King’s Letter from Birmingham Jail
1. King said individual civil rights are rights that every individual has no matter their race, color, religion, or gender. These rights are just and allow for the equal treatment of everyone in the society. King believed the government in Birmingham was hypocritical because it chose certain laws to obey and other laws to disobey such as "the Supreme Court’s decision of 1954 which outlawed segregation in public schools” (King, 1963). By denying civil rights to African Americans, the city of Birmingham was violating the principal founding documents—the Bible, the Declaration of Independence, and the Constitution. It’s unjust to only …show more content…
The claim of King is definitely stronger than the claim of the ministers. King claims that justice is more important than order in society and he is absolutely right. He wants justice for the people who have been deprived of it such as the African Americans in Birmingham. A society without justice is not a moral society at all. Segregation is wrong because it makes one group of people superior to another for the simple fact that it has been the ‘tradition’. King believes in the fair treatment of all people. If everyone is treated equally, the society as a whole will be in harmony and everyone will have the opportunity to pursue their greatest good. If the individual needs of everyone in the society is met, that will lead to an overall ‘corporate effect’ of goodness in the society as stated by Mill. Although the ministers have a point with wanting to have order, it is important to understand that it is wrong to discriminate against a group of people. Change had to be made in Birmingham and it was something the ministers were going to have to accept eventually because the oppressed will always find an opportunity to express their resentment. The claim of the ministers is morally wrong and unjust. Their claims are automatically invalidated for the simple fact that there is no equality amongst everyone in the