Civil Disobedience and It's Effects on Our Society

A detailed Summary of Civil Disobedience and It's Effects on Our Society

Civil Disobedience and It's Effects on Our Society

To uphold the standards of living in our culture, we as citizens are asked to make laws and decisions to better our society. However, often times the laws and decision that we make limit one group in our society thus making us a culture that has several different types of laws. According to Martin Luther King, in his piece, Letter From Birmingham Jail, written on April 16, 1963, there are two types of laws that exist today in our society. There is a just law, one that is a code that a majority compels a minority to follow and that it is willing to follow itself. This law seems fair to many in our society, and many believe that it is the code under which we should live by. However, while many hold this view, few still side with the unjust law, one that is a numerical code or power majority group compels and minority group to obey but does not make it binding on itself.

During the time that Dr. King wrote this piece, our country was in chaos as the south was suppressing it's black community by placing these sorts of unjust laws on their citizens. This time saw blacks being forced to sit in the back of buses, drink from their own water fountains, be

King was right in fighting to bridge the differences between just and unjust laws in our society. Almost 40 years have passed since King reached out to the citizens of America and asked them to end segregation in our society. While many changes have occurred over the years to help in ending this type of segregation and unfairness in our society, it is clear that we have several more hurdles to clear before we are, in fact, a society in which it's citizens are all created equal. In my opinion, one of the first places to begin to bridge this gap of segregation to make all laws just in our society, thus giving people the chance to uplift their human personality and have a say in what affects their behaviors in every day life. By lifting the restrictions that been imposed on many people of our society, it will become easier for individuals to make choices on their own thus finally ending the ideas of segregation because no longer will rules be imposed on whole minority groups, but on individuals alone.

While to many, these laws seem fair to protect children and give them the opportunity to grow into fine adults that are capable of making decisions for themselves, I believe that these laws, too, are unjust in our culture. These laws can be unjust by King's standard that says "a law is unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law." This applies directly to minors under the age of 18, because they aren't allowed to vote until they reach this age. This law, thus, enables teens to have a choice in what laws are set forth to protect them and create a culture in which they live in.

ing publicly humiliated in front of citizens as they were turned away from restaurants and other facilities that clearly stated no color people would be allowed to enter their premises. While many of the adults unde

Some common words found in the essay are:
Dr King, Birmingham Jail, Effects Society, unjust laws, age 18, Luther King, civil disobedience, types laws, laws society, set forth protect, laws set forth, laws exist society, exist society, minors age 18, laws unjust, laws set, forth protect, majority compels minority, minors age,

Approximate Word count = 1278
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History