Civil Disobedience

From the beginning of time people have always challenged order, rules, and norms when these three things happened to interfere with the lives of the majority in a negative way.  We can see this happening as early as Socrates, who disobeyed an unjust decree against teaching his ideas, which led to his being condemned to death; Mahatma Gandhi’s fight against British rule over India; and Rosa Park’s refusal to give up her seat on the city bus to make room for more white people, which led to her arrest. Many philosophers such as Henry David Thoreau have written about the importance of civil disobedience as well. The most famous of all cases, however, was the leader of the Civil Rights Movement, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and his fight for civil rights for all people.  Civil disobedience, though purposefully violates one or more of society’s laws, has been and continues to be  used successfully to communicate, as well as change, the unfair, unjust treatment of groups of people within a society in a non-violent way.

            Martin Luther King, Jr. was one of the twentieth century’s best-known advocates for nonviolent social change. He believed that there were two types of laws, “just and unjust laws”, (MLK JR.). In 1963 in, Alabama, King guided peaceful mass demonstrations that the white police force countered with police dogs and fire hoses, creating a controversy which created newspaper headlines throughout the world. Subsequently mass demonstrations in many communities culminated in a march that attracted more than 250,000 protestors to Washington, DC, where King delivered his famous “I have a dream” speech in which he envisioned a world where people were no longer divided by race. So powerful was the movement he inspired, that Congress enacted the Civil Rights Act in 1964, the same year King himself was honored with the Nobel Peace Prize. Posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, King is an icon of the civil rights movement. His life and work symbolize the quest for equality and nondiscrimination that lies at the heart of the American and human dream.

            Other important figures of Civil Disobedience include Mohandas K. Gandhi. Mahatmas Gandhi was the primary leader of India's independence movement and also the architect of a form of civil disobedience that would influence the world. He showed the world that there are two ways to fight injustice, the first way is through violence and aggression the second way is through non-violent resistance. Gandhi believed, “If you make laws to keep us suppressed in a wrongful manner and without taking us into confidence, these laws will merely adorn the statute books”(Gandhi). You see, he fought injustice in a far more discreet way. He chose to disobey the unfair laws even if it meant being beaten, or thrown in jail. In 1914, Gandhi returned to India, where he supported the Home Rule movement, and became leader of the Indian National Congress, advocating a policy of non-violent non-co-operation to achieve independence. His goal was to help poor farmers and laborers protest oppressive taxation and discrimination. He struggled to alleviate poverty, liberate women and put an end to caste discrimination, with the ultimate objective being self-rule for India. By gaining many loyal followers the small forms of protest such as refusing to work, boycotting, or sitting in the street became big enough to move a country and drive change within its society. Though this isn’t exactly the same as the civil rights movement of the 1960’s, Gandhi’s cause was similar in that he was fighting for the rights of his people and his country to gain independence rather than be discriminated and treated unjustly in their own home.

            Civil rights activist Rosa Parks was born on February 4, 1913, in Tuskegee, Alabama. Her refusal to surrender her seat to a white passenger on a Montgomery, Alabama bus acted as a catalyst for a city-wide boycott. The city of Montgomery had no choice but to lift the law requiring segregation on public buses. Rosa Parks received many accolades during her lifetime, including the NAACP's highest award. She didn’t have to fight or hurt anyone in order to have her voice heard or to have her opinions have an impact on the world. She simply sat where she wasn’t supposed to, and challenged the forbidden which in turn lifted a law that had once caused so much separation and hurt among a group of people that regardless of skin color were just as human as everyone else.

Of course there are instances where Civil Disobedience does not work. Occupy Wall Street (2011) protested the crimes against the 99%, caused by Wall Street businessman and banks, including the loss of homes and jobs of thousands of people and families. Many people protested by sleeping in tents or rallying together on the streets, and even though they couldn’t hide from the physical brutality of the police they still struck a chord within the 99% to come together to try to fight this injustice peacefully. “Then, on September 17, 2011, a group of (mostly) young adults decided to take direct action. And this action struck a raw nerve, sending a shock wave throughout the United States, because what these kids were doing was what tens of millions of people wished they could do. The people who have lost their jobs, their homes, their “American dream”—they cathartically cheered on this ragtag bunch who got right in the face of Wall Street and said, “We’re not leaving until you give us our country back!”(www.thenation.com). Even though at the end of the day this was a failed movement in the sense that the people and banks responsible for the loss of thousands of jobs and homes did not get held responsible for their actions nor was there any consequence for them, this protest, this movement, of people who were either directly or indirectly affected in 2007 showed the human spirit and capabilities of a group of people when they come together to fight for what they believe in and to protest injustice to bring awareness to issues that affect everyone.

Through the many historical acts of Civil Disobedience whether old or new, accomplished or unaccomplished, we can see that civil disobedience is a successful way to communicate issues and fight injustice in a non-violent way. This is shown through the actions of Martin Luther King Jr., Mohandas Gandhi, Rosa Parks, and the ninety-nine percent. We have learned through these acts that it is always worth it to fight for what is right, and that every voice and every action has the power to motivate masses of the oppressed to come together and raise awareness as well as find a way to solve the problem. It is always harder to fight injustice without violence rather than with it, especially when the suppressed, the discriminated, the robbed, and the violated have suffered from their adversities through the piercing of a bullet, the pressure of a hand, or any other form of physical violence. However when we fight fire with fire not only do we create more fire but we validate the action of burning bridges, and perpetuate the idea that the only way to be heard or to get what you want is by physically hurting others which as history has proven, is not always true.