He explains the difference between unjust and just laws saying a just law is one that is made by man but parallels the code and laws of God. And thus, he can rightfully tell people to disobey the unjust segregation ordinances because they are not morally correct. [627] He then point out the distinction between his arrest for not having a permit to parade, and that he was really arrested because he was promoting desegregation. He then points out the First amendments right of peaceful assembly and protest. He says that if you are going to disobey the law you must do it so with a willingness to admit it and acceptance of the appropriate punishment- that in turn is an example of respecting the
King and Gandhi saw the laws that where passed against their people as unjust laws because they only affected the minority rather than the majority. King showed an example how laws are not always just by saying that “everything that Hitler did in Germany was “legal” and everything that Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was “illegal”. He was trying to show how even the government made the law legal it was still unjust as a moral law and civil disobedience would have been justified as the right thing to do. Gandhi just like King felt that not everything that was legal was
Thoreau implies that people should not begin to act unless they are ready to face the consequences of their action. DR. King , with a different perspective, explains how one decides which laws to break or observe. He claims that there are two type of laws: just and unjust law. People have not only legal but also moral responsibility to obey just laws: A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.
The quote by Martin Luther King “…freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed” is saying that a ruler will not willing give freedoms to those he is oppressing, unless a large enough disturbance is caused throughout his victims. I find this quote compelling because it not only was true during the time Martin Luther and his companions were facing, but still have meaning today. Martin Luther King uses two main topics that stood out to me in his explanation of the oppressors, over the oppressed; the fact that the people who are not being victimized do not notice anything else around them, making them voiceless, and concern free for the torment surrounding their neighbor, and secondly, the fact that
Unfair Goverments Some laws just really don’t seem fair. In The Letter from Burmingham Jail punctuate all titles written by Martin Luther King, Jr., and the play Antigone written by Sophocles only Antigone should be italicized both share similarities of just and unjust laws. Dr. King and Antigone, from the play Antigone, both believed in their own way, Dr. King that just because they are of different nationality doesn’t mean they should be treated any differently, and Antigone that there was no reason why her brother could not be buried, that the laws their government set in place were unjust. They felt morally obligated to follow what they felt their gods would want and willingly disobeyed their government in doing so. Dr. King ended up in jail for disobeying the law, as where Antigone ended up being sentenced to death by King Creon for disobeying his law.
Both speeches done by the two were very influential and both had the same goal. King was a more non-violent type of leader, he wanted everyone to gather in song and come together and unite. Malcolm X thought of non-violent acts and singing songs would not get anyone anywhere. He thought that singing songs and protesting peacefully was not going to work. In Malcolm X the “Ballot or the Bullet”, and Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream”, they both felt that they have been cheated by the American System.
John Locked firmly believed in the division of civil government and religion because they have separate functions, and should therefore act as independent institutions. Another argument made in A Letter Concerning Toleration is that it is ineffective to gain converts through violence because although it can coerce temporary obedience, it does not truly change one's beliefs. Voltaire explains an idea similar to Locke's in his essay, Of Universal Tolerance. He maintains that no religion is more divine than the rest, and thus no religion has the right to determine what is right and wrong for others. David Brooks's article, Kicking the Secularist Habit, outlines six steps for the modern secularist to realize that religious fervor never declined
Martin Luther King once stated in his book, “Stride Toward Freedom”, “Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people”. In his mind he was certain we wouldn’t get anywhere with violence. “The whites were colonized. They were fed up with this taxation without representation” (Digital History, Malcolm X). In this quote Malcolm X expresses how he was aware of why the American Revolution was fought.
If his father had not been a minister, Martin Luther King’s critical thinking process would have been different from the Dr. King that we know today. Dr. King’s visions of a society where black and white live side by side without segregation and racism. This idea however has many problems a majority of conservative or liberal white oppose the end segregation. The government made many attempt to dissuade Martin Luther King through threatening letters, allegation of adultery, and many other tactics. He was accused of having ties to the communist government and was under federal
Kelly Mammen English 101 September 16, 2009 Professor Jay Judgment Day Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses logos to show his readers how their judgments and actions are wrong. He states “In your statement you assert that our actions even though peaceful, must be condemned because they precipitate violence” (60). He goes on to give examples on situations where innocent people’s actions precipitate violence and how they should be protected and not condemned. One of his examples was someone who has money that is robbed, they would never be condemned because they had the money, and the same consideration should be given to Negroes because they were just exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and protest. King