Nonviolent Tension Definition

The foundation of a free society, as stated in the Declaration of Independence, is the understanding that all humans are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights.” This idea is the only true motivation for a society in which the government operates for the protection of its citizens’ freedoms; by protecting and valuing freedom, one admits that man has innate rights and freedoms to protect. This understanding also admits to the existence of a system of justice outside human law, since man’s natural rights, rather than law, ensure him his freedoms. Therefore, in a free society in which laws can be unjust, it is a natural consequence that its citizens should act in the role of, as Thoreau states in Civil Disobedience, “men first and subjects afterward,” meaning that they follow their conscience in judging what is just, and, if a law unjustly denies man what he deserves as a human being, then he must disobey that law. Despite this clear theoretical case of civil disobedience, many argue its detrimental effects on society for two reasons: it is unnecessary when protestors could simply negotiate legally, and it encourages disrespect …show more content…
termed “constructive, nonviolent tension” in “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” When one citizen or a group of citizens peacefully disobeys the law and accepts punishment without resistance, it brings to public attention the injustice of certain laws. This civil disobedience makes the average person aware of the unjust laws within their government and creates a tension that moves society towards social and legal change away from injustice. Although many argue that this change would be more effectively accomplished through legal negotiation, often negotiation is not enough. In the case of the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, for example, the legal successes could not have happened without the pressure put on the legislators by public