“Who says life is fair, where is that written?” William Goldman. Life is never fair, but the solution never stems from bringing the ones more powerful down as well. This is what violence reaps. Whenever life is unfair violence tears everything down and those who fought so hard to be equal are left with nothing but brooding hatred on both sides. On the contrary, if the disenfranchised ones solve their issues through nonviolence, the ruling party has no one else to blame for what they’ve done but themselves. Reform through nonviolence, although it is an arduous method, provides the best and most effective results in the aftermath. This nonviolent tactic is effective because of the large number of followers, accepting the consequences without …show more content…
The sheer number of people shows how much the cause means to the people. Nelson Mandela and the Defiance of Unjust Laws Campaign is a fantastic example of this aspect. At one point, Mandela was talking to several hundred volunteers to this campaign who were all dedicated to the cause (Doc 6). This group and the power in numbers they had, caused change before a ballot was cast. In 1960, Martin Luther King Jr. along with two hundred eighty students were arrested at a diner sit in (Doc 2). All of theses people were crammed into one diner, and they did nothing but sit and be ridiculed by the white people opposing them and they took the ridicule without fighting back to enhance their …show more content…
The strategy is to get everyone else to see that the oppressors have been wrong the entire time. Gandhi, in a letter he wrote to the English governor of India, Lord Irwin, stated his goal was to get the British people to notice what they’d done wrong to India (Doc 1). By doing so, the British lost whatever moral ground they had and were forced to either continue their rule of India and be perceived as evil or give India its independence. During the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King Jr., by knowing they were right, expressed the moral high ground upon the U.S, which, according to Dr. King, was their “most formidable weapon of all” (Doc 5). This is powerful because although the U.S. didn’t realize it at the time, the fact that they had no doubt that their movement was wrong was the U.S.’s downfall. Finally, Nelson Mandela, when discussing with other leaders of the Defiance of Unjust Laws campaign, saw that nonviolence was morally superior for them and was strictly a necessity (Doc 3). Although the state under Apartheid was much more powerful, the moral high ground gave Mandela an effective tool that was impossible to account
Gandhi would later be successful in his protest. Here citizens show their power against the government and are the main role players the the civil disobedience game. Even though the true involvement of the government and citizens is different at times in their games they still work hand and hand to each other to keep the amount of power
Violation of laws was the first ingredient in making non-violence work because it showed how the people who were victimized by the laws really felt about the laws. Gandhi had to rebel against the laws when he wanted the Salt Laws to change; he wrote a letter saying “ if my letter makes no appeal to your heart, on the eleventh day of this month I shall proceed….. To disregard the Salt Laws.”(Doc.1) While, Dr.King violated laws when he sat at a lunch counter, he claimed his purpose for doing it was “to bring the whole issue of racial injustice under the scrutiny of the conscience of Atlanta.”(Doc. 2) Lastly, Mandela broke some laws as well when he told his supporters “that volunteering (for the Defiance of Unjust Laws campaign) was a difficult
Their first president said “Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. Indeed, it is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the man who wields it.” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.). Many looked up to him and followed in his footsteps. Schools had workshops in which they would practice nonviolence to their students.
Martin Luther King Jr. is looked up as a hero and a role model because of his use of nonviolence. Around the world, many people were using violence to solve their problems, but King, inspired by Mahatma Gandhi, decided that the problem around segregation in the United States would not be solved with guns but with words of harmony. This article, published by Cesar Chavez conveys the powerful effect nonviolence has in resolving conflicts by using comparisons, historical evidence, and powerful vocabulary.
It is not out for the conversion of the wicked to the ideas of the good, but for the healing and reconciliation of man with himself, man the person and man the human family” (209). The “strength and weakness of nonviolence” rests upon the fact that it is a commitment not to one’s beliefs or conscience,
In the novel 'To kill a mockingbird', the author Harper Lee bases the story on her childhood experience. She explores the Maycomb county through a child's eyes, where the girl is exposed to discriminative minds of adults. The ignorance of Scout, the child and her brother Jem creates dramatic irony for the readers - this is intended by Harper Lee. The victims of social discrimination in this book remind the readers of a mockingbird. Its harmlessness relates to many characters of the novel in different ways, but commonly links to the theme of killing it eventually; in other words, the citizens of Macomb shape the victims into what they believe about them.
In The Cask of Amontillado, by Edgar Allen Poe, Montressor is able to successfully manipulate Fortunato 's arrogance and pride and use it against him as revenge. Montressor knows that Fortunato has a love for wine. Montressor tells Fortunato that he may have acquired Amontillado, a very nice wine. Montressor is not quite sure if the wine is Amontillado, but since Fotunato appears to be occupied Montressor says he will ask Luchesi instead. Fortunato believes his taste for wine is far superior than Luchesi 's, thus does not pass up the opportunity. Another way Montressor successfully manipulates Fortunato 's arrogance and pride against him is when Montressor brings up Fortunato 's health. Fortunato has a bad cough and Montressor believes the catacombs are making it worse. Montressor says they can leave the catacombs and he will have Luchesi taste the wine instead. Again, since Fotunato believes his taste for wine is superior to Luchesi 's, he does not pass up the opportunity. This arrogance and pride later results in Fortunato 's death.
Mankind has long accepted violence as a fair means to achieve equality. In human history, the most thorough changes are brought in by the most radical overthrow of the old structure, knocking down the walls that separated the silent majority from the minority, sweeping aside the commands of the oppressors, tearing down the chains of oppression that once trapped them away from their inherent rights of freedom, in an effort to achieve justice for themselves and their countries. Revolutions in particular illustrated that the groups that desire reform but are willing to compromise for stability, take longer to implement changes, while the groups that are more devoted to revolutionary change and are often unafraid to use violence, could implement
These three movements are a big part of our history and each of the three show that when many people with a common goal work together, especially when a leader takes charge, that sometimes non-violent acts such as speeches and protests are more powerful than fighting and they successfully create big changes.
As you can see, with all these examples, people with a goal can get what they want. Through the use of standing up for what you believe any man or woman can build a better future for themselves or their country. With the famous words of Abraham Lincoln, “Be sure to put your feet in the right place, then stand
“Don’t even use fists to counter attack,” Gandhi said, all of these three men said to some degree along these lines multiple times. If you are going to be trampled to a pulp, still do not raise a fist, do not defend yourself, take in the agony. In Mandela’s case, he saw that nonresistance was the only way to bring equality to every person in South Africa since the government was much more influential than the movement against the apartheid altogether (Document C). If Mandela had used fierceness, his supporters could have been demolished by the government and would still oppressed and being treated in horrifying awful ways. Martin Luther King on the other hand, influenced all volunteers to turn over all imaginable weapons before going to protest (Document E). Martin Luther King Jr. did this so the law enforcement agencies and other residents do not have a reason to harm his followers and other individuals who believed in this
What's the best approach to take when trying to make a change? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. believed that the most effective way is through nonviolent actions. Of course, there are people who disagree with his beliefs. However, nonviolence is an effective strategy for social change because violence leads to violence, compromise is better achieved without the expense of harming others, and at the end of the day, the people have to live with the choices they make. One reason that nonviolence is an effective strategy when trying to make a change is because violence leads to more violence.
When two peoples fight for the good life are contradictory. Leading to one achieving the good life while the others is sacrificed, power structures are formed and positions of privilege are created. This can lead to generations of individuals never achieving the good life. All while other individuals reap the benefits. This will cause the disadvantaged group to eventually take action against their oppressors by disrupting the system of subjugation, or perhaps find peace with them habilitating the relationship between the two parties.
Propaganda has been around for many years and it has influenced us many times. Propaganda is defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “ideas, statements, or beliefs that are usually false or exaggerated and that are spread around in order to help a cause, a political leader, or a government.” You might remember hearing about propaganda back in history class were the word started showing up during World War 1 but that is not were propaganda started. Propaganda has been around for hundreds of years going back as far as the Greeks, it wasn’t until World War 1 that propaganda became popular and easier to spread around.
While when discussing the history of the world’s power forces, violence makes for stimulating discussion, other tactics were put to good use, one of these alternatives being non-violence. With the guidance of three worldwide heroes - Mohandas Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela - with contagious optimism and high spirits, it became apparent just how much of a difference could be made carried out through non-violent terms. Mankind was introduced to another way to resolve major problems just as effectively, if not more, than violence could.