Arguments Against Civil Disobedience

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One day in my Honors World History class sophomore year we began to learn about the start of rapid, aggressive imperialism along with the rise of fascism and totalitarian governments. As we delved deeper into this era of history, we began to cover the rise of Hitler and the extermination of the Jews. Like any other person, I could not begin to comprehend how the masses of people, a whole country, would approve of such hate and racist rhetoric. As I continued to try and realize how such actions could be justified, I looked at other examples in history of hate being the norm. I realized this was a pattern in history, exploring slavery, the rule of Stalin, the Armenian Genocide, and other injustices through time. I then asked myself where were …show more content…

I believe that peaceful resistance is detrimental for a free society to be even considered a free society. For one to be free there should be fundamental rights to protest something that you feel is …show more content…

The first thing that goes through our head when someone breaks a law is that that person is morally corrupt. But what if it is not the person that is corrupt but the law? In cases like these, it is in fact the law and it is up to the person, in this case Rosa Parks, to practice the necessary civil disobedience and stand for what is right. Parks states, "You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right" (Rosa Parks and Civil Disobedience). This same disobedience that broke the infamous Jim Crow laws is what led to 381 days of boycotts and reformation. Again, the question that comes is what took so long for change and how people could allow this to happen and most importantly, would it have changed if it was not for this civil disobedience? So to answer the question of whether peaceful protest positively impacts a free society, the answer is yes. Civil disobedience can be the match that ignites protest for what is right. It can be the masses, or the few, that decide to disobey what they feel is not right but the right to disobey should be protected in order to ensure that a society is obeying and working for the

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