Civil Disobedience: Thomas Jefferson And Martin Luther King

Thomas Jefferson, the third president and author of the declaration of independence, once exclaimed, “If a law is unjust a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so.” Jefferson declares that at any cost if one finds a law wrong than it is his duty to stand against it for the common good. He implies that people should never stand idly by or blindly follow a law that is immoral only because it is the easiest way. Knowing when a protest against government is needed was also what the writers Martin Luther King, Henry David Thoreau, and Arthur Miller wanted to instruct to their readers. King was a significant activist and leader of the civil rights movement who was the cause of many amendments and progress for the rights of African Americans. His A Letter From
King portrays what would happen if people followed a corrupt leader and allow power to grow uncontrollably; it would result in a tragedy like the Holocaust. In addition, he also acknowledges that, like the Hungarian Freedom Fighters, if you do what you believe is right then you will accomplish a positive improvement in society. Furthermore, Thoreau accentuates the importance of using your moral sense to determine whether the laws you are FOLLOWING follow your values because the first priority is to be a righteous man and then a subject to authority. Miller also contributes to this argument by disciplining his readers to never fear the cost of rebelling against the dominant opinion because that cost is worth the change their rebellion would achieve. The ability of civil disobedience is important to have because it ensures the protection of being manipulated easily by a higher power. If you do have the strength to question authority than your rights will always be