December 1st, 1990, a black woman was arrested for refusing to give her seat up to a white passenger on a city bus in Montgomery Alabama. She is prominently known as Rosa Parks. During this time, segregation laws were heavily enforced and she was convicted of civil disobedience for breaking these laws. Parks is famously known for her courageous resistance against a law she did not believe was just. Through her act of defiance, Parks demonstrates what she believes must be done in the presence of an unjust law, deciding based on what she believes is morally right. So how does one decide between their conscience and law? This question being nearly impossible, the average man battles to differentiate between what is morally right and what is right
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King shows his willingness to fight for justice when he is sent to Birmingham Jail in the state of Alabama, as a result of leading non-violent protests against the unjust segregation laws that were in place. While writing his piece, he is able to inflict guilt upon the clergymen, to whom he writes, by reminding them that “a just law is a man-made code that squares with the Law of God” (5). Yet these laws do no such thing and as religious leaders they should be able to see that these actions are not moral or just. In addition to this, they have waited “more than 340 years for our [their] constitutional and God given rights,” of which they are not yet receiving. Thus explaining why the Negro community cannot withstand this treatment any longer and will do anything it takes for their freedom from these unjust laws (4). Through his tenacious actions Martin Luther King is able to spark a revolutionary change for the abuse of blacks, revealing how one must stand up against injustice for change in …show more content…
As a 21 year old man, O’brien lives in Minnesota in 1968. During this time it was the law for men to be drafted into the Vietnam war, however O’brien opposed this law. As an accomplished, educated man he felt that he was too good for war and would have greater success pursuing his aspirations. Although he wrote small articles about his hostile thoughts on this war, he never did anything that would significantly impact the issue. When drafted to war, O’brien ran, unwilling to fight for a cause he didn’t believe in. However this did not last, after time went by O’brien fell into the trap that is conformity and joined the war, angst of how others would view him. O’brien “couldn’t risk the embarrassment” yet “couldn’t make himself brave” enough to oppose the mass majority and not fight in the war. Despite the fact that O’brien knew what was morally right, he could only submit to the pressures of conformity. Through O’Brien’s story he demonstrates the direct effect of submitting to unjust laws. Because he went against his own values, O’Brien now lives a life a regret. He is too embarrassed to even tell anyone about this experience as it is one that he “never told before. Not to anyone. Not to my [his] parents, not to my [his] brother or sister, not even to my [his] wife” (1). Thus proving the toll that it has inflicted upon him. Through
King shows his willingness to fight for justice when he is sent to Birmingham Jail in the state of Alabama, as a result of leading non-violent protests against the unjust segregation laws that were in place. While writing his piece, he is able to inflict guilt upon the clergymen, to whom he writes, by reminding them that “a just law is a man-made code that squares with the Law of God” (5). Yet these laws do no such thing and as religious leaders they should be able to see that these actions are not moral or just. In addition to this, they have waited “more than 340 years for our [their] constitutional and God given rights,” of which they are not yet receiving. Thus explaining why the Negro community cannot withstand this treatment any longer and will do anything it takes for their freedom from these unjust laws (4). Through his tenacious actions Martin Luther King is able to spark a revolutionary change for the abuse of blacks, revealing how one must stand up against injustice for change in …show more content…
As a 21 year old man, O’brien lives in Minnesota in 1968. During this time it was the law for men to be drafted into the Vietnam war, however O’brien opposed this law. As an accomplished, educated man he felt that he was too good for war and would have greater success pursuing his aspirations. Although he wrote small articles about his hostile thoughts on this war, he never did anything that would significantly impact the issue. When drafted to war, O’brien ran, unwilling to fight for a cause he didn’t believe in. However this did not last, after time went by O’brien fell into the trap that is conformity and joined the war, angst of how others would view him. O’brien “couldn’t risk the embarrassment” yet “couldn’t make himself brave” enough to oppose the mass majority and not fight in the war. Despite the fact that O’brien knew what was morally right, he could only submit to the pressures of conformity. Through O’Brien’s story he demonstrates the direct effect of submitting to unjust laws. Because he went against his own values, O’Brien now lives a life a regret. He is too embarrassed to even tell anyone about this experience as it is one that he “never told before. Not to anyone. Not to my [his] parents, not to my [his] brother or sister, not even to my [his] wife” (1). Thus proving the toll that it has inflicted upon him. Through