civil disobedience
IS CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE JUSTIFIED?
“The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment". 1
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. Indeed, it 's the only thing that ever has."2 History has shown us through the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. who went against the greater power of their time to fight for injustice. These few respectable men made that difference that the world needed at that time and upheld the very principle of democracy to its roots. It goes without saying that citizen participation to make a country’s democracy as legitimate and true is of paramount importance. With reference to United States’ Bill of Rights, it asserts that the government derives authority from the consent of its people, and with the dysfunctionality of the government, it falls upon the people as their right and duty to change the government,3 as it is believed that with the dysfunctionality, the government has failed its fundamental duties to its people.4 When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty, 5and our duty as people leads us to civil disobedience.
Civil disobedience is perhaps the most indefinite act of resistance, with a long history that could be traced from the time of Socrates,6 without a clearly established common definition regarding its form and scope throughout any academia. This could stem from the very nature of the act of the resistance which is seems to lie between regular legal protest and the act of revolution. However for the purpose of arguing the justification of civil disobedience, a rather aspirational definition is adopted with adaption of the definition given by John Rawls, whereby civil disobedience is considered to be a breach of law which is public, non-violent and conscientious which is aimed upon changing laws or policies made by the government. 7
The major
“The death of democracy is not likely to be an assassination from ambush. It will be a slow extinction from apathy, indifference, and undernourishment". 1
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. Indeed, it 's the only thing that ever has."2 History has shown us through the likes of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr. who went against the greater power of their time to fight for injustice. These few respectable men made that difference that the world needed at that time and upheld the very principle of democracy to its roots. It goes without saying that citizen participation to make a country’s democracy as legitimate and true is of paramount importance. With reference to United States’ Bill of Rights, it asserts that the government derives authority from the consent of its people, and with the dysfunctionality of the government, it falls upon the people as their right and duty to change the government,3 as it is believed that with the dysfunctionality, the government has failed its fundamental duties to its people.4 When injustice becomes law, resistance becomes duty, 5and our duty as people leads us to civil disobedience.
Civil disobedience is perhaps the most indefinite act of resistance, with a long history that could be traced from the time of Socrates,6 without a clearly established common definition regarding its form and scope throughout any academia. This could stem from the very nature of the act of the resistance which is seems to lie between regular legal protest and the act of revolution. However for the purpose of arguing the justification of civil disobedience, a rather aspirational definition is adopted with adaption of the definition given by John Rawls, whereby civil disobedience is considered to be a breach of law which is public, non-violent and conscientious which is aimed upon changing laws or policies made by the government. 7
The major