Probably no American is more celebrated for his views of law, tyranny and the right to engage in civil dissobedience than Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King, Jr. said, You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. One may well ask: “How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?” The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: just and unjust. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws.
Analysis of “I Have a Dream” and “Letter to Birmingham Jail” In the “Letter to Birmingham Jail” Martin Luther King addresses the criticisms and objections that the white clergymen had made towards his and his affiliated organization’s efforts in trying to end segregation and achieve his and his people’s birth right: the right to be free through nonviolent means. Through the “I Have a Dream Speech” King speaks to his supporters and as well as to the entire nation to make them be fully aware of the injustices they are facing and through this make them stand up to those injustices. Both “Letter to Birmingham Jail” and “I Have a Dream Speech” have the same underlying meaning however. That way too long have the black community been treated wrongly. That way too long have the black nation been “judged by the color of their skin rather than the content of their character (King 815)” and therefore it is time for them to rise and stand up for their rights.
This essay will explain and analyze two essays by individuals who express entirely different opinions of civil disobedience. In his essay, “Civil Disobedience: Destroyer of Democracy”, Lewis H. Van Dusen strongly discourages the use of civil disobedience as a means for change. He feels that this act of disobedience directly contradicts our democratic system. The other individual being compared in this essay is Henry David Thoreau; who in his essay, “Civil Disobedience”, supports the act of peacefully challenging or protesting unjust laws. He impugns us to do what is morally right, and to not be afraid to take a stand against injustice.
By knowing the definition of these integration models, one can better understand how others approach integration. In doing so, the author also refers to two books of God, the Book of God's Word (the Bible) and the Book of God's Works (His creation). Enemies do not believe integration to be possible. Spies tend to "piece together" information from both psychology and theology to come up with something that they could believe in and helps others in the process. Colonialists place "...the book of God's Word over the book of God's Works, and theology over psychology."
He can truthfully deny what the clergymen said about the police force calmly handling the demonstrators. In opposition and in a somewhat sarcastic tone he stated, “You warmly commended the Birmingham police force for keeping “order” and “preventing violence.” He of all people would really know how colored people were treated. He followed with an excellent use of pathos. “I doubt you would so quickly commend the policemen if you were to observe their ugly and inhumane treatment of Negros here in the city jail; if you were to watch them push and curse old Negro women and young Negro girls…” The clergymen should feel obligated to recant what they had previously said about commending the police
While assuming JIB to be true, Shelton wages war on the government and by extension those who support it. He views this as a last resort, since he watched all the other non-violent options fail him. Thus this war can be justified. Shelton is justified in his actions because he is redressing a wrong suffered, and his intentions are to rid the corruptness from the judicial system. The people that Shelton killed are considered combatants because they support they governmental system and work with it.
Although these efforts resulted in fire hoses being turned on them, police dogs set loose to attack them and even led to King being jailed in Birmingham, glimpses of these events, the harsh and inhumane treatment inflicted captured national attention. (Teacher’s Curriculum Institute, 2004) Responding to Birmingham’s local clergy who criticized king for seeking social justice, his letter from the Birmingham jail became famous (p. 7; King, 1992). More importantly, (Teacher’s Curriculum Institute, 2004) President Kennedy ordered military troops to Birmingham to restore social order and to enforce new desegregation laws (p. 7). Yet, desegregation in Birmingham was a small victory and only a fraction of King’s dream. Rather it began the march to freedom in Washington, D.C., where at the foot of the steps at Lincoln’s memorial in 1963, King delivered his most famous speech, “I Have a Dream.” Detailing a world in which all people could live in peace and a world in which social justice prevailed, King’s 1963 “I have a Dream” reinforced the growing Civil rights movement (King, 2003).
3.05 Hear What I Say! Jared T. Falk The Morality and Justice of Capital Punishment (Speech MLA Format) Why, I ask you should the death penalty be abolished completely from our society? Is capital punishment not justified when the life of an innocent human being is taken by another? Every single one of us grew up under a rule, whether it was administered in schooling, our parents, or church we were all taught to treat others how we wish to be treated. I believe that capital punishment honors life, in the sense that our justice system administers the strongest penalty possible on those convicted of taking the life of another.
Mark Vinogradov Martin Luther King Jr Q1. According to Dr. King, direct action is a non violent protest, or any other type of action that will create tension in the community and dramatize the issue that was disregarded by the community. After a successful direct action, the community (local government) would accept negotiating those issues and both parties would come to a solution which would resolve the conflict. Q2. Just law is the moral law of God, or better yet, humanity.
Summary Response-Letter from the Birmingham Jail In this letter, Martin Luther King Jr. describes the current states of injustice and inequality that plague the Negro community during this time as he is writing from his jail cell. He writes to his fellow supporters and brothers and explains the reasons for being in Birmingham in the first place were because he felt it was necessary to protest injustice everywhere. Communities such as Birmingham were known to observe segregation laws that isolated black people from white people and in his opinion were classified as unjust laws. He claims to be a supporter of just laws and a non-violent protestor of unjust laws in which violate human morals and dignity. By citing references of protest such as Jesus Christ, St. Paul, Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, he justifies his current actions for the Negro community and states that he is willing to face the consequences when it comes to protesting for equal rights amongst all Americans.