Civil disobedience is a crucial act of political participation and is the basis on which our nation was founded upon. Historically, our country started as a protest on the unfair acts and enforcement of various laws onto the people of the colonies from the government of Great Britain. From the ashes of a war based on the headline of “no taxation without representation” our country was born with a heart of rebellion and a strong need for representation in all ways. Although created in a violent way, the United States has strived to appease all citizens whose issues are presented in a nonviolent way, where they are protected under the Bill of Rights in the Constitution. Peaceful protesting and civil disobedience toward a law or policy is critical to a healthy and lively democracy and free society that we strive to achieve.
Showing through the diversity of the nation, many citizens feel that they are not as represented in the national, state, nor local governments that they are apart of. Having many different factors connected to this feeling of displacement in a community, many instances occur where people feel a strong need to show their problems to the media and the government for a chance of larger prioritization of
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Violent protests create negative impacts on movements through the vast media coverage which then can hinder that movement’s positive growth and influence on its community. Protest that turn violent cause citizens lose their right to assemble and are injecting negative connotations to their purpose. In the United States, where the idea of advocating for individual rights and representation of a community has pushed it to strive for a proactive democracy, peaceful protests are widely encouraged in order to promote and protect the health, prosperity, and safety of American
Civil Disobedience has been around for hundreds of years. This a practice first put into play by a man by the name of Henry David Thoreau who believed that if you didn’t agree with a rule then you should act against it in a nonviolent way, and be willing to accept any punishment that comes with it. His teachings were followed by famous activists such as Ghandi, and Martin Luther King Jr., and many others.
Throughout history, the citizens of America have led protests and movements against unjust actions by those in power, laws that seemed to violate one’s rights or laws that seemed to hurt or discriminate against others. These protests have been crucial to shaping the nation into what it is today.
Civil disobedience comes in every package under the sun. Whether it be Henry David Thoreau refusing to pay his taxes to protest the Mexican-American War or Mohammed Ali refusing the draft because he believed that they were sending him to fight for rights in another country that he didn’t have in his own. The importance of civil disobedience, particularly in those with influence over the people, is often overshadowed by opposition leaders and naysayers on the other side of the argument. But civil disobedience has kept America moving forward for over 240 years and it won’t be stopping any time soon.
Boycotts. Labor Resistance. Sit-Ins. Protests. Blockades. Debt Refusals. Tax Resistance. Civil disobedience has been a prominent form of influencing governmental policy and law to accept differing perspectives. Since the birth of the nation–beginning with the Boston Tea Party and continuing into modern movements such as the women’s suffrage–the United States relies on civil disobedience in order to keep governmental growth from becoming stagnant and aiding in the optimization of benefits for its citizens. Civil disobedience is an intentional, non-violent act against the state exercised by those banned from exerting power with the purpose of bringing equality, moral conviction, an upright criminal justice system, and extensive action. Although civil disobedience invalidates governmental authority, it is a necessary trade off for the protection of liberty guaranteed by the first amendment. Civil disobedience, as a recognized procedure, is an obligation for all citizens to combat injustice among legislature.
Civil disobedience allows citizens in the free society of the United States to express their opinions in a way that is sure to evoke governmental attention, while enlightening the public
Civil disobedience is a peaceful protest where people refuse to follow certain laws with which they disagree. In the past, these issues included women’s suffrage and racial segregation. More recently, disagreements over the pipeline have led to protests, as well as many different protests about Planned Parenthood. People commit these acts in the hope to fix a part of their society. However, these acts are against the law, which can lead to negative consequences for the protesters.
Brilliantly put by what many deem to be America’s greatest president of all time, Abraham Lincoln, “Let every man remember that to violate the law is to trample on the blood of his father, and to tear the charter of his own and his children’s liberty.” Civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to comply with certain laws as a form of political protest. Although many may argue that this is the sole way to keep the government in check and to make minorities heard, rational people will realize that it is not this disrespect of the law that proves the democracy of our nation.
Throughout American history are many examples of civil disobedience, and when we analyze the meaning of civil disobedience we realize that without this America would be a very different place. The Boston Tea Party, The Revolutionary War, The Civil Rights Movement are all a few major examples of civil disobedience that have shaped America into the world it is today. Civil disobedience, in a sense, is taking the law into ones own hands when they feel that the laws in place are unjust or unethical and want to change these laws to better ones own life and those of others. Sadly though, there are many lives on this Earth that cannot take the law into their hands, stand up for their rights, and change things for the better, and those lives are the
Civil disobedience is a peaceful form of political protest, it's based off of your opinion and your beliefs. People have used this method to protest for many years to change the government's laws and to bring attention to a situation that they feel is important. In modern time today there are acts of civil disobedience and let me bring your attention to some. After a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, located in Florida. Over a dozen faculty and students were killed in this mass shooting Wednesday Feb. 21, 2018. Some of the surviving teens who survived the shooting mad a young movement of civil disobedience by traveling to Florida's state capitol for protest regarding gun control legislation, in Tallahassee, Fla.
Overall, Civil Disobedience is an important part of the United States and what it is. If America did not have the laws protecting those who had protested against the crimes of the government, it would not have made the progress that it has. Civil Disobedience is a part of the American Dream and must be protected as
If we take a closer look at civil disobedience, we can better understand what it means, its goals, and its outcomes. Civil disobedience predominantly exists as direct and non-violent government defiance. Instead of voicing an opinion with a vote or a simple conversation, civil disobedience stands up for what is right using an individual’s whole influence. Therefore, some sacrifices regarding the legality of actions are made in order to preserve the integrity of the mission. In other words, why should a protester follow the law that they are trying to alter? That doesn’t make much sense, therefore civil disobedience allows unjust laws to be broken for the greater good. This method is very effective if, for example, a minority is attempting to
Civil disobedience is a crucial part of any free society, especially a society that wishes to give its citizens the most liberty possible. Looking back on American history, one can see that the colonists originally protested the laws that Britain had imposed, and had done so peacefully. By not paying taxes and by assembling outside public offices, the colonists disobeyed British laws and the British crown. Their protests not only helped spark the American Revolution, but also made light of the fact that any free society relies on its citizens to disobey the government, especially when it's done peacefully.
It is imperative to understand that the United States of America was born through acts of civil disobedience. And because American freedoms are constantly in danger of being encroached on, it is also important that citizens are aware of the worth that civil disobedience can possess. Civil disobedience is when a person or people refuse to obey a demand or restriction by the state that conflicts with higher law and conscience. The act requires that the disobedient one accept whatever may be the consequence of refusing, whether it be imprisonment, moral condemnation, fines, even perhaps death. It should be done when one’s spiritual searching and sense of rightness permit no other response. (Day 65: Disobedient Friends – Quakers and Civil Disobedience) There have been many instances of civil disobedience throughout American history which have had a powerful influence on the legal system and society as a whole.
Civil disobedience isn’t uncommon in America, but the modern idea of civil disobedience has become flawed and distorted from its original intent. Currently, there are thousands of causes and ideals that are spastically flung around and just as soon forgotten. This is because the guise of civil disobedience is often abused by people simply to attract publicity. These methods of claimed civil disobedience often do little to nothing in working towards the goal that they claim to stand for, or their intensions are vague and unclear. For example, in the news, the most popular recent controversial example of civil disobedience is the kneeling during the national anthem before a football game. At its manifestation, this movement was intended to protest the inequalities in the treatment of races by the police especially in Chicago. This effectively accomplished nothing. It raised awareness but the majority of intelligent civilians were already aware of the inequalities. The flaw of this example is that the form of disobedience
Civil disobedience is a form of political participation because it is a way make others see that change is wanted. In the Constitution it says “the right of the people peaceably to assemble”. The Constitution gives the people the right to protest, assemble peacefully, to oppose a law, and to criticize a law. Civil disobedience is the best way to show that you don’t agree with a law, government, or there is something you would like to protest.