...Mandela a good amount of his political career reversing the effects of this system. He did so prior to his position in office by peaceful, some not peaceful, protests. These protests are an example of civil disobedience. “Civil disobedience is the active, professed refusal to obey certain laws, demands, and commands of a government, or of an occupying international power. Civil disobedience is a symbolic or ritualistic violation of the law, rather than a rejection of the system as a whole.” - Henry David Thoreau. One of the oldest examples of civil disobedience is the Ancient Greek play Antigone by Sophocles. Nelson Mandela used many different...
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...Civil disobedience has been used throughout history, sometimes with the outcome of desired change, and others with no outcome. This protest makes an impact. It makes people think about why, and causes them to understand magnitude of ones peaceful actions. This form of protest is positive for our society. It is not harming anyone physically, and shows that people want change. Civil Disobedience directly aligns with freedom of speech and our American freedoms to have unique thoughts and opinions. In the constitution it is stated that Americans have the right to protest something that goes against their personal values, or they feel goes against the constitution. In addition, it is a major enlightenment ideal. During the formation of our country, and our Constitution, there was a time of enlightenment. France and Haiti were also going through revolutions. Many thinkers such as Adam Smith, John Locke, and even Thomas Jefferson were encouraging revolution, and governments for the people. All were backed by the ideals of protest when necessary....
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...I believe that peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society. It allows conscience and morals to govern a free society and allows for a country to positively evolve. The founding fathers created the United States through a revolution, standing against the injustice of the British towards them. The birth of our nation serves as an example of why peaceful resistance is important maintaining an effective and moral government. Civil disobedience allows conscience and morals to govern a free society, not the ideals of the majority. As Thoreau stated in his essay, Civil Disobedience, “a majority are permitted…to rule…not because they are most likely to be right, nor because this seems fairest to the minority, but because they are...
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...Thoreau wrote “Civil Disobedience” in 1849 in response to issues that resulted from, what he saw as, an unjust government. Civil disobedience is a peaceful form of protest to achieve changes in political policies. James K. Polk was president at the time. He initiated war on Mexico and supported slavery. Issues that caused Thoreau to want a change in government, among others, were the Mexican-American war and the topic of slavery. Throughout his essay, Thoreau pokes holes in the system of democracy and states how a lack of conviction in one’s conscience can lead to an unjust and intrusive government. Thoreau does not want an absence of government, but a revised, less involved one. Civil Disobedience provides thought provoking ideas and the basis for how to achieve political reform in a passive, but effective, mechanism. Thoreau takes a laissez-faire view on the...
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...- 2 – The LD File Civil Disobedience Index Topic Overview 3-7 Definitions 8-10 Affirmative Cases 11-19 Negative Cases 20-25 Affirmative Extensions 26-34 Civil disobedience worked to free India. 26 Civil disobedience overthrew the communists in Poland. 26 The tradition of civil disobedience in America goes all the way back to the founders. 26 Civil disobedience can serve to prevent situations from escalating into violence. 27 Civil Disobedience has been used to promote peace. 27 Civil disobedience was used to promote racial equality. 27 Civil disobedience is used to try to prevent the destruction of the environment. 27 Civil disobedience is effective at changing the law. 28 Legal channels can take too long. 28 Consent to obey just laws does not imply consent to obey unjust ones. 28 Distinguishing between just and unjust laws to disobey can be universalized. 28 Civil disobedience can be stabilizing to a community by spreading a shared sense of justice. 29 Sometimes it is only the unjustified response to civil disobedience that has harmful consequence. 29 Civil disobedience is traditionally non-violent. 29 Civil disobedience is a form of exercising free speech- which is essential in a democracy. 30 Civil disobedience has been used to fight slave laws 30 Civil disobedience played a role in ending the Vietnam war. 30 Civil disobedience shouldn’t be punished-...
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...Ivyanne London Dr. Bryan English 2010 7 December 2012 The Bhagavad- Gita: Influence on Civil Disobedience Advocates Civil disobedience can be described as the nonviolent means of bringing about social change. The Bhagavad- Gita is a philosophical poem that attempts to ask difficult questions of universal issues that deal with the topic of civil disobedience. The messages that are told throughout the poem have had major influences on civil disobedience advocates such as Henry David Thoreau, Mahatma Gandhi, and Martin Luther King. This work offers explanations that can be applied to dilemmas that can’t be resolved with a simple form of action. According to the Theosophical Society of America, The Bhagavad- Gita, commonly known as the “Gita” has been passed back and forth between America and India through these civil disobedience activists. They each had influences on each other along with the Gita. Some reoccurring themes that may have influenced Thoreau, Gandhi, and King include questions about the right way to live, seeking higher knowledge, and how no action is still a form of action. The version of The Bhagavad- Gita that is told in The Norton Anthology of World Literature, 3rd edition, begins with the moment of crisis in Arjuna’s mind. Arjuna is the middle son of his five brothers who are apart of the Pandavas. He is apart of the warrior caste and is the most skilled and feared archer of his time. They are about to engage in war with their cousins, the Kauravas, because...
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...benefit of the greater good have a positive impact on free society. Even in a democracy, when necessary, peaceful resistance holds the government accountable. Sometimes laws are legally right but morally wrong. Yet, the government appears stronger than individuals, and peaceful resistance is the only way to restore the balance of power to achieve social justice. While it is a not always successful in accomplishing its initial goal, peaceful resistance draws attention to the issue, changes the hearts and minds of others, and potentially creates a real change in the long-term. Civil disobedience is a not a recent concept, since it has been used throughout history, from the Plebeians protest at the Sacred...
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...After over two years of living in the tree, Pacific Lumber Co. agreed to preserve the redwood if Hill would vacate it. Julia Hill’s protest is a good example of why it is necessary to violate the law and adhere to one’s own principles. Body Section 2 (Counterclaim and refutation) Socrates’ version of the social contract states that one should never break the social contract, without exception. One must accept any punishment his or her state orders, and must follow his or her governing body’s actions whether in law or war. “And when we are punished by her… the punishment is to be endured in silence; and if she leads us to wounds in death or battle, thither we follow as is right; neither may any one yield or retreat…“...whether in battle or in a court of law, or any other place, he must do what his city and his country order him; or he must change their view of what is just: and if he may do no violence...
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...of segregation and inequality between the blacks and whites. One man did everything in his power to get equal rights for the races until it eventually killed him, literally. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a man who dedicated his entire life striving towards African American equality. Without using violence, King fought hard and strong for what he believed in, and was passionate about, which was civil disobedience, that is defined as a peaceful form of protest. Practicing civil disobedience addressing his demands for racial equality landed Martin Luther King, Jr. a spot in Birmingham Jail. The incarceration resulted in a large amount of free time which he used to complete a lengthy letter addressing the clergymen who criticized his actions, calling them untimely and unwise. These criticisms did not sit well with King and therefore, he formulated “Letter From a Birmingham Jail.” Although long winded, Martin Luther King, Jr. uses repetition, in “Letter From Birmingham Jail” to his benefit, in addition with ethos and pathos to sway his audience and develop his reasons for his civil disobedience. Ending at an astounding eleven pages, Martin Luther King, Jr. covers a great amount of information throughout “Letter From Birmingham Jail”. The length of this letter most likely was due to the fact he was locked in a cell with nothing better to occupy himself with, King admitted himself, in the last page of the letter, “Never before have I written so long a letter” followed by, “...
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...OUTLINE CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION A. Introductory Statement B. Statement of the Problem C. Significance of the Study D. Theoretical Framework E. Scope and Limitation F. Review of Related Literature CHAPTER TWO: JOHN RAWLS PHILOSOPHY A. Biography of John Rawls CHAPTER THREE: PHILIPPINE TAXATION A. Concept of Taxation B. Nature of Taxation and Its purpose C. Concept of Income Taxation D. Purpose of Taxation E. Current Uses of Taxation CHAPTER FOUR: SOCIAL JUSTICE IN TAXATION A. Social Justice B. Principles of Justice C. Well Ordered Society D. Original Position E. Veil of Ignorance F. Civil Disobedience CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION A. INTRODUCTORY STATEMENT The works of John Rawls was basically centered on justice as depicted on his work “Theory of Justice” and “Political Liberalism. John Rawls is considered to be one of the most influential philosophers during his time as he specialized in the concept of justice and fairness as a tool for attaining social justice in the society. His works received various criticisms since it may be viewed as unrealistic but though it may be criticized, his works are one of the influential and most bought book and already translated in various language to be used as curriculum in philosophy classes. Rawls differentiate the concept of justice and fairness as he tried to show that the idea of justice is fairness and...
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...1. Namethe French artist who made a series of paintings visualizing his dreams of democracy republic? Ans. Frederic Sorrieu 2. What had the French artist visualized as world made of democratic social republics? Ans. In 1848, Frederic Sorrieu, a French artist, prepared a series of four prints visualizing his dream of a world made up of ‘democratic and social Republics’, as he called them. In Sorrieu’s utopian vision, the peoples of the world are grouped as distinct nations, identified through their flags and national costume. Leading the procession, way past the statue of Liberty, are the United States and Switzerland, which by this time were already nation-states. France, identifiable by the revolutionary tricolour, has just reached the statue. She is followed by the peoples of Germany. Following the German peoples are the peoples of Austria, the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, Lombardy, Poland, England, Ireland, Hungary and Russia. 3. What are absolutist’s regimes? Ans. Literally, a government or system of rule that has no restraints on the power exercised is known as an absolutist regime. In history, the term refers to a form of monarchical government that was centralized, militarized and repressive. 4. What is a utopian society? Ans. A vision of a society that is so ideal that it is unlikely to actually exist 5. What is a plebiscite? Ans. A direct vote by which all the people of a region are asked to accept or reject a proposal 6. What was the concept of European...
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...Sometimes in life there are things we disagree on and were silent about it and we don't give into it and we forget about it, but sometimes we fight back to it and we don't give in to these things and we disagree this is called being disobedient and we do that a lot as kids but if we don't like that as adults and we get tons of people to join in and fight back, we call that civil disobedience. Now in the writings of Henry David Thoreau specifically in his writing of civil disobedience he persuades many people to do the things he did if you want change, he used ethos, logos and pathos to convince people to join him and what he says is very effective in people looking into the government and have second thoughts on it. First, in the story how...
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...Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: Letter from Birmingham Jail It is necessary for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to make the distinction between just and unjust laws to justify their actions of civil disobedience at the time. King describes to the clergymen that there are two types of laws; those that are just and those that are unjust. Dr. King begins by stating that he does not advocate the disobedience of just laws simply because “One has not only a legal but moral responsibility to obey just laws,” meaning that when a citizen knows that a law is in effect, they have to either follow it or face the punishments that come with breaking the law. Martin Luther King describes a just law as “a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of...
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...UNIVERSITY SAN ANTONIO CAMPUS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE AND CHRISTIAN ETHICS A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED TO DR. JOHN M. ANDREWARTHA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR BASIC CHRISTIAN ETHICS RLGN 5323 SUBMITTED BY ROBERT L. JOHNSON April 14, 2008 Table of Contents Introduction…………………………………………………………………….……....1 Part I: Definition of Civil Disobedience………………………………………..….…..1 Part II: Definition of Christian Ethics…………..……………………………….……..1 Part III: Biblical and Historical Practice of Civic Responsibility.……………………..2 Part IV: The Rise of Political Power in the Church and the Struggles Associated…….7 Part V: The Necessity for Civil Disobedience..………………………………………..9 Part VI: What Difference Did the Civil Rights Struggle Make? ..................................12 Conclusion…....................................................................................................................16 Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….18 INTRODUCTION This research will focus on the topic of “Civil Disobedience and its Relativity to Christian Ethics.” The research will address whether it is ever justifiable to disobey the laws of secular governments. In doing so, it will discuss the Doctrine of Civic Responsibility as it relates to Christian Ethics. Furthermore, Romans 13:1-7 will be referenced to provide additional insight into how the Church has historically responded to civil government’s demands on society...
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...Synthesis Essay Behind every idea there is a leader. Leaders like Sojourner Truth, Henry Thoreau, and Gandhi, gave birth and influence to the public’s thinkings. Through their speeches and papers, they emphasized their thinking and make the reader feel something and support their side of the argument. We need more people like this in our society, where they make a reader feel emotion. Every reader will have a different response about a passage, but the author’s writing will lean the reader towards their opinion. Sojourner Truth was Illiterate all her life. This makes her feits even greater with this disability. She was effective even with hostile audiences. Speaking for women, Truth was able to touch hearts and bring the community of women....
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