The Significant Role of Civil Disobedience in Shaping Society

Martin Luther King Jr once stated, “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” In this quote, he was invoking the principle of civil disobedience. He wasn't justifying breaking laws just because, but instead, meant that the law is broken in hopes that people will come to see that the law is unethical. Civil disobedience plays an important role in how our society has been shaped up until this point. This speech is going to define civil disobedience, describe civil disobedience in the united states, and in other countries.

To start, civil disobedience is the act of defying a law by ethics. It involves an attempt of influencing people to admit a rebel point of view. Despite the fact that civil disobedience uses non violence tactics, it is greater than an ordinary passive confrontation because it often takes active forms such as illegal street protests or harmonious occupations of properties. The aspect causes for infinite protests, numerous rebellions, uprisings and revolutions. These challenges arise as a result of the unjust ruling regime.

Now that you know what civil disobedience is I will inform you on civil disobedience in America. All over history, civil disobedience played a crucial role in most of the recent social reforms in the United States. Most notable, the Boston Tea Party was a non-violent protest against British tax rule in 1773 that involved the inhabitants of Massachusetts colony and British cargo ships. The cargo contained tea from England that in which the colonist decided that they weren’t going to pay the outlandish taxes on the tea, thus they threw it overboard and into the Boston Harbor. As a result, the British government imposed onerous to the USA citizens. They protested against this act leading to the War for independence. Subsequently, the United States of America became an independent state.

Furthermore, In London riots against payment of taxes to all citizens regardless of their means of income led to civil disobedience in 1990. Presence of this act enabled the demonstrations to express their ideas against unjust laws and taxes. As a result, the government substituted that rule with the congress tax imposing the tax on the worth of a house. In addition, in countries such as India, citizens protested against oppression from their ruling regime. Some of the individuals such as Mahatma Gandhi from India adopted civil disobedience and applied it to their principles and lives. He was often taken to jail, but he retained the same fighting spirit. Gandhi’s civil disobedience helped India gain its freedom which lead to India becoming a democratic country.

In conclusion, civil disobedience is not a means to wrongfully challenge the law, but to challenge the status quo in order stimulate social change. Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr are two individuals who struggled for social changes in their communities. These individuals enabled other citizens to have better lives because they fought against oppression and recognized the essence of civil disobedience in a country. In short, Civil disobedience is a driving force that pushes our government to reevaluate itself for the greater good.