Martin Luther King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” attempts to justify the need for nonviolent direct action, and how both King and the Clergymen should work together to find a solution. King wanted to find common ground with the clergymen. King tried to convince the clergymen to see his point of view, and realized and attempt the problem as a problem, not just a disturbance. He found common ground through beliefs in which they all believed and feelings that they all felt. King used a very strong quote that stated, “ An unjust law is no law at all.” This quote was from a great Christian philosopher and king knew the clergymen couldn’t ignore the words of such a wise man.
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
His speech was extremely persuasive in nature. The use of Biblical references was powerful. One of those powerful references included “Are we disposed to be of the number of those who, having eyes, see not, and having ears, hear not, the things which so nearly concern their temporal salvation?” (1) This quickly appealed to the audience’s faith. During this time period individuals took their faith and religious beliefs very seriously. With Henry appealing to something like faith that the audience members held so dearly he was able to not only capture their attention, but keep their attention and ultimately persuaded them to his sentiments.
Though there were two times where he was a little loud and brought his tone back down to a comfortable level when needed. He gave good break pauses and slight pauses to allow us to think about what he had just said. He stressed words that added a kick to his sermon to help show his passion in what he was saying. His eye contact to those in the audience was very good and facial expressions showed his passion as well. His body language was positive and upright.
There is a moral difference between Shelton’s killing of his attackers and that of his other victims. Darby and Ames caused personal harm to Shelton and thus gave him the moral right to try and prevent any other future pain that could be caused by these men, but the other victims were combatants in the war that Shelton waged against the “system”. When looking at Darby and Ames, Shelton takes a more utilitarian approach when dealing with their killings. The government “system” is supposed to punish those who are wrong. But in the trial of Darby and Ames, only Ames was punished severely while Darby was allowed to go free.
Jefferson explains that the government should only interfere with religious freedom when it inferences with someone else’s natural right; thusly making the separation of church and state not absolute. Kennedy misinterpretation is unethical because it causes citizens to falsely believe that their religious freedom cannot be taken away. Romney misuses his information when he argues “[w]e should acknowledge the Creator as did the Founders –in ceremony and word. Romney is correct that a one of the Founders, such as Jefferson states [w]ell aware that Almighty God hath created the mind free...”. Jefferson does acknowledge that there is a God or Creator that gave human beings the freedom of thought.
Martin Luther King exposes a dignified and immaculate way of sharing and transferring his views onto others. His analysis of history, his tactics of relating others that seemingly don’t think the same way, and referring back to what is defined or what is meant when an individual is categorized as an American. His text was written with an understandable sense of persuasion. By understandable, the text incorporated valid arguments that needed to be brought into the minds of the clergymen he was writing to. The mood that the reader feels is an empathetic, yet understanding of what he feels needs to be accomplished.
King balances the twin appeals to religion and patriotism throughout the letter by linking them together side by side. For an instance, when Martin Luther King justifies himself when he is called an extremist. His comeback is, “Was not Jesus an extremist for love…Was not Amos an extremist for justice…And Thomas Jefferson: ‘We hold these things to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal...” He also appeals to
From in a cell, he jots down almost rebel like ideas, which is to be free from having a religion forced upon any single being. In this initial strategy of steering the emotions of the readers, Pane tells the readers “I believe in one God, and no more” (100), he exposes his stance but does not overly enforce his beliefs so the readers will not be subjected to them. I think that this is very important because if Pane did over insert his views then he would be going against his own teachings. Pane then goes on to talk about a few religions, discussing the problems he finds with them. I found this to be his main strategy of grabbing the reader’s attention and expressing his purpose to them.
Sometimes people feel the defendant has too many rights and has more benefits, which could help them get away with criminal activity. All these points are valid, but they are forgetting about the rights of people and what they stand for. I would think people would want defendants to be punished fairly and not have an opening, where they could possible get their case dropped because of something illegal done on the prosecution or law enforcement