Henry David Thoreau asks‚ in his essay‚ “Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them‚ or shall we endeavor to amend them and obey them until we have succeeded‚ or shall we transgress them at once?” (184) The answer will depend on which side of the law or the laws you are on‚ minority or majority. When the laws are made by the majority the laws can’t all be just‚ expect for the majority that wanted it. Should the wise minority be able to disobey laws that were created by the majority? Obeying
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morally obliged to obey even unjust laws? Think about what this means. This means that laws‚ regardless of how unfair‚ unjust‚ or immoral they may be‚ must be followed with no better reason that they are the law. To the thesis that we are obliged to obey even unjust laws‚ I will argue that the standard objections to Civil Disobedience‚ given by Singer‚ are incorrect To begin‚ however‚ I believe it is necessary to define an "unjust" law. According to St. Thomas Aquinas‚ "Any law that uplifts human personality
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Unjust Laws The United States is homeland for millions of immigrants who risk their lives for a better existence. In Jefferson’s words‚ it is a nation in which “All men are created equal‚ that they are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights that among them are Life‚ Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” Our nation is a country in which equal opportunity if provided for those in search of a better life and our law is meant to apply evenly to citizens and non-citizens alike. However
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Unjust Laws “One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws” (MLK Jr). Everyone has the moral and ethical obligation to disobey unjust laws that are put in place. It comes down to one thing‚ whether the law is right or wrong. For most humans‚ the brain is fully developed by the age of 25 according to National Institute of Health‚ so the creators of laws are well aware of right and wrong. In his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” King writes‚ “A just law is a man made code that squares with
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is for this reason that many times‚ laws that are enacted for the “good of the people” can be in direct conflict with a person’s conscience. Due to the various struggles that the United States has faced in building a government‚ this topic has been a popular discussion throughout American literature. Although they did not live during the same time‚ American writers Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King‚ Jr. each wrote about how a person should not follow laws that they believe to be immoral. Thoreau’s
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responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely‚ one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.” (382) Just and unjust; right and wrong is the basic skill that everyone have to learn when they were young. People come to school to learn how to follow the laws‚ and it is true that laws are made to protect people and make things fair for everyone. However base on Martin Luther King Jr‚ I recognized not all laws are ethical and just. Arizona’s immigration law is an unjust law and it should be abolish
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throughout our history because of crude laws that have been passed. These laws are not based on logic‚ but on the creator’s own skewed biases against certain populations.
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general to obey the laws or to attempt altering laws we don’t like through the electoral process. In America civil disobedience cannot be justified since it goes against the ideals of democracy. Living in a country where there are legal solutions to a problem that can take months or years to solve‚ people must voice their concerns and rebel against the government through grassroots movements and protests. Breaking laws that were created to protect the government and its citizens does not have to involve
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LGBT people face serious discrimination in employment‚ including being fired‚ being denied a promotion and experiencing harassment on the job. In 29 states‚ there is no state law protecting a gay‚ lesbian‚ or bisexual person from being fired just because of who they are (Human Rights Campaign). In 33 states‚ there is no state law protecting a transgendered individual from being fired just because of who they are. (Human Rights Campaign) Generally heterosexual people aren’t fired because of their sexuality
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to establish order. It might seem that the purpose of laws it to establish and keep order in society‚ however‚ things don’t always pan out. Despite the purpose of laws‚ some laws are unjust in the sense that they are unethical or they may keep one from achieving a virtuous act for society‚ while‚ on occasion‚ one is authorized by the government to break a law‚ justifying the fact than some laws are all right to be broken. Some laws are unjust in their ruling‚ by denying basic human rights to people
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