Peaceful Resistance Impact On Society

The clang of iron doors, bleak concrete walls, windows blocked by bars, these attributes of prison are the universal signs of freedom lost. For leaders of peaceful resistance, these are the signs of freedom won. The most influential guides of civil disobedience, including Henry David Thoreau, Mohandas Gandhi, and Martin Luther King Jr., have all spent time in prison for their resistance. These unrepentant men return from jail only more motivated for their cause. These just mentors have found that peaceful resistance is an effective and positive influence on their societies. Peaceful resistance has a positive impact on society, and is absolutely necessary for any society to be truly free. First it must be established that peaceful resistance does in fact have a major impact on society. In a book titled “Why Civil Resistance Works,” Dr. Maria J. Stephan and Professor Erica Chenoweth state that “major …show more content…
In January of that year, French youth protested the First Employment Contract, which gave employers the right to dismiss any worker under the age of twenty-six, “without cause or explanation” during the first two years of the original employment. Over the course of four months, the youth of the nation participated in strikes, protests, marches, and occupations, eventually leading Prime Minister de Villepin to nullify the law. The peaceful resistance was considered a conclusive success. According to the Global Nonviolent Action Database, “It is possible that the largest protests in French history occurred during this campaign, with union leaders estimating turnouts of over three million protestors on two separate occasions. The protesters also achieved their demand of fully repealing the First Employment Contract (CPE) law.” The nonviolent protests of the youth of France are a perfect example of the power of peaceful resistance to effectively increase stability and quality of