Blog #20 – Would you be willing to go to jail?
“I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. No other person has been more eloquent and passionate in getting this idea across than Henry David Thoreau. As a result of his writings and personal witness, we are the heirs of a legacy of creative protest.” – Martin Luther King, Jr, Autobiography
* emphasis is mine. 
Initially going back to the 5th Century, St. Augustine stated that “an unjust law is no law at all” giving some theological weight / heft to earthly laws. Henry David Thoreau suggested that we obey our conscience when we decide to obey or disobey a law. He went to jail during the Mexican War and wrote his famous essay on civil disobedience. Gandhi used Thoreau as inspiration, and King used Gandhi as an inspiration. Gandhi and King used religion to inspire and their followers. Here’s a quote from Dr. King from a sermon in the early days of the Montgomery Bus Boycott:
… I want it to be known that we’re going to work with grim and bold determination to gain justice on the buses in this city. And we are not wrong; we are not wrong in what we are doing.
If we are wrong, the Supreme Court of this nation is wrong.
If we are wrong, the Constitution of the United States is wrong.
If we are wrong, God Almighty is wrong.
If we are wrong, Jesus of Nazareth was merely a utopian dreamer that never came down to Earth.
If we are wrong, justice is a lie, love has no meaning.
My friends, we are determined … to work and fight until justice runs down like water, and righteousness like a mighty stream.
But we can’t necessarily have people going around disobeying laws that they don’t like. There has to be some standards. Right? According to Dr. King, he stated that the difference is:
“A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.“
He further elaborates on this and states that: “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.”
Assumption: Since we cannot argue and fight with every law that we think goes against “the harmony of moral law” or disobey laws at whim (for instance, I might think that one day, the speed limit downgrades my personality, therefore I am going to take a principled stand against it by not obeying it), we have to assume that most laws need to be obeyed.
But what are unjust laws today??
1. Abortion? Or restrictions on abortion?
2. Wars or other military actions?
3. Immigration laws like the one in Arizona?
4. Gay rights? Or restrictions on gay rights?
5. Economic stuff like taxes? Or lack thereof on companies, individuals, etc.?
6. Military draft (don’t worry, we don’t have one)?
7. Environmental damage? Or lack of environmental laws?
8. Jobs or a lack of jobs?
9. Software and music / movie downloading -piracy?
10. Behavior / actions of an American company (sweatshops, illegally drilling, dumping, etc.)?
11. ????
Questions to answer:
a. Would you be willing to go to jail to protest unjust laws like the Civil Rights workers had done many times during the 1950s and 60s? (Consider the ramifications of a felony or misdemeanor on your record, and its impact on your possible future career).
b. After consulting the list above, which laws would you be willing to fight against? Why? (feel free to add to the list if you see any missing).
c. Do you agree with Dr. King’s reasoning w/ what makes a law just or unjust? Why or why not?
Due Wednesday, June 1 by class. 300 words total.
Letter from a Birmingham City Jail by Dr. King.
Link to Henry David Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience.”
A history of mass civil disobedience by ACT UP.
a. No, I would not be willing to go to jail for protesting like the Civil rights workers did. If I did this, even though it may strengthen the cause that I was fighting for, it would affect the rest of my life negatively and limit me forever. I would only do very mild things that got the point across but didn’t risk making me lose all job possibilities for the future because my life shouldn’t have to be sacrificed just for change to be achieved in America.
b. If I were to fight for any of these, they would be the lack of environmental laws, and abortion. First, since America is the one of the top contributors to Global Warming, it’s clear that the government should try to put some environmentally helping laws into place to help in the future of the Earth. If we keep allowing everybody to use unlimited amounts of everything, then the Earth will continue to be damaged. Second, abortion is basically like murdering a lot of humans. I feel like the fault is always with the person who got pregnant (unless they were involuntarily raped), not the baby that was conceived as a result of their actions. We shouldn’t just allow people to murder whenever they please, even if the people aren’t born yet.
c. I do agree with Martin Luther King’s definition of just and unjust laws. Even though humans may attempt to make laws, all people have flaws so that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re fair and moral. He was correct in saying that a law is only just if it agrees with the morals of God, in my opinion, because in reality God is a higher power than the government and no government official can be as moral and fair as God can.
A) No, I can not see myself going to jail for protesting an unjust law, especially in the more common use of the word protest: picketing in front of whichever establishment has done wrong. When I find something in my life to be unfair and immoral, I do not attempt to utilize my Constitutional right to assemble or petition. I instead use my right to speech. Standing out in front of Congress holding a sign with words on it isn’t nearly as effective as people think. When I see people on T.V. doing such a thing, it looks tacky because they are attempting to make shame to Congress and their decisions. The best way to combat injustice, in my eyes, is to convince the masses that the injustice exists. Then, the perpetrators would come to realize their mistake and make it right, even if it took a constituency voting representative out of office.
B) Aside from the immigration law in Arizona, I don’t really feel too impassioned about any laws today that many many others feel are unjust or unconstitutional. As for the law in Arizona, I’m for the detaining of illegal aliens that are in our country. This isn’t an issue that elicits an extreme amount of public protesting. Anybody who went to the courts or congress in Arizona in order to picket, was making the entire system look bad. By holding up those signs they are undermining the authority that they granted their representatives when they were elected. If they want something done, they can talk to their representatives by making a call expressing their views. We have a democratic republic form of government in which our representatives make decisions for us. If every person were given a say in every law created, the country, and world, would cease to function.
Mr. W, an additional issue you could add to that list is CBAs with specific regard to Wisconsin.
C) Yes. What more do we have to influence what we see as being right for our country other than our MORALS? Sometimes our morals are clouded by our wish for personal advancement. For example, during the signing of Obamacare, congressman Bart Stupak agreed to sign the bill only when an executive order about abortion was added. He did this because he knew his constituents wanted him to stand tough on abortion. In other words, he signed a very controversial law that will change the course of our history (quite possibly for worse) so that he could get reelected. Our morals are what determines what makes a law right, not who or what number of people support or oppose it. Our government frequently loses sight of what is the right thing to do because as time goes on our morals become more and more unstable.
a. Would you be willing to go to jail to protest unjust laws like the Civil Rights workers had done many times during the 1950s and 60s? (Consider the ramifications of a felony or misdemeanor on your record, and its impact on your possible future career).
a. No I would not go to jail for protesting laws that I dont like. I feel there is a better way to help out causes like that. I’m sure there would be plenty of people going to jail for causes like civil rights, so if they asked me and I agreed with their cause then I would give a donation of some sort. But there is no way when none of those problems on the list provided except for the taxes, apllies to me, I am going to jail and hurting my future. I’m simply going to fight for something like gay rights when I don’t really care that much, I think it may be good that they are fighting for thier rights but I don’t really care because it doesn’t directly effect me, or most of todays America.
b. After consulting the list above, which laws would you be willing to fight against? Why? (feel free to add to the list if you see any missing).
b. The two laws that when I’m older if directly effect , that I would fight for would be taxes and mabey abortion. I feel it’s wrong how the rich are unfairly taxed. Rich people work hard thier whole. If someone practices thier sport of choice from the age of two on for three hours a day every day, why should their paycheck be taxed a higher percent because an alcholic on welfare? I feel that it goes to some good people that have fallen on bad luck. But it doesn’t cost money to go and work at soup kitchens, so if more people cave thier time not money to good causes, then I think that tax percent of salary could be even across ther board.
c. Do you agree with Dr. King’s reasoning w/ what makes a law just or unjust? Why or why not?
c. Yes I do agree with what Dr. King is saying because its one hundred percent true. He is saying that if a law is moral or not makes it legal or non legal. Which is true about most laws today. But I do agree with what he is saying because if you know that something is wrong, then why are you doing it? It’s like when someone murders someone, they know that is wrong not because there is a law but because its immorale, laws are just in place to justify punishment.
Good job, so far, guys. Eli, I was trying to stay away from the politicized nature of that whole union contracts and states doing away with them, so I just put down “jobs” in a general sense.
A) As much as I wish I could, I cannot see myself going to jail to protest an unjust law. I don’t think that I could bring myself to make that sacrifice and potentially ruin my future for the good of society. I think that a better way to protest, would be to speak on the matter and to use my rights to try to make sure that other people have the same rights that I have.
B) I have major issues with laws that restrict abortion, laws that restrict gay rights, environmental laws, military drafts, and unfair immigration laws. I take issue with laws that restrict abortion because I don’t feel that society should have any influence on such a personal decision. I have a problem with laws that restrict gay rights for much the same reason; I don’t think that society should be able to degrade gay relations by not allowing gay couples to marry, and thereby putting gay relationships on a lower social level than heterosexual relationships. I don’t agree with laws that allow people to do whatever they want with the environment, because I think they’re shortsighted and they allow the world to be lost to future generations. I think the military draft is wrong because it allows young men and women to be sent to die for causes that they may or may not agree with or causes that may not even exist. Immigration laws are wrong because they ignore the immigrant heritage of the U.S.A. and pretend that immigration in America is not something that has always been an integral part of our culture.
C) I do agree with Dr. King’s definitions of just and unjust laws because I believe that the primary purpose of a law is to prevent people from doing things that are immoral and thereby allow for organized society to exist.
a. I would be willing to go to jail to protest unjust laws like the Civil Rights workers had done. If I believe something is wrong or being acted upon in the wrong way then I will fight for it no matter what the consequences may be. It is scary to think of all the consequences that could come from speaking up against something, but someone has to do it. If everyone remained silent then nothing would change and citizens would no longer have voices.
b. Abortion is a very touchy subject to most people. Many religions are against abortion and see it as killing a child, and while it does seem like a very cruel thing for someone to do abortion should be the choice of the mother. No one, not the government or complete strangers standing outside of clinics, should have the right to decide whether or not a woman can get an abortion or not. It’s her body and no one but her should have control over it. There’s always a possibility that the pregnancy could cause serious or fatal damage to the unborn child or even the mother and if that’s the case then she may want to end her pregnancy. The woman may have also been raped and if so the baby could be too much for her and she may want the abortion. Abortion isn’t the best choice, but the only one that should have a say in whether or not an abortion is to happen is the woman who is pregnant. Another subject that is brought up quite a bit in today’s world is whether or not gay marriages should be legal. I personally think they should. Many people say it’s wrong that a man can marry a man or a woman can marry a woman, but if they love each other why should it matter what gender they are. Plus it seems silly for the government to have a say in who can and can’t get married.
c. I do agree with Dr. King’s reasoning with what makes a law just or unjust, because it is important to form laws based on morals especially ones that are given to us at birth (natural born rights). Without laws like that we would have no say in anything and would pretty much be living as puppets. The laws that are made for us based on morals and natural rights are the best and most sensible.
Because of the hard moral question this blog brought up, I found myself thinking about what I would do in a situation like this, if I had to give up my freedom for something I believe in. I ended up deciding that I probably would give up my freedom if we were protesting a law peacefully. The Bill of Rights says that people are allowed to protest peacefully and so I would feel perfectly comfortable going to jail because I was just exercising my rights. The second that the protest turns violent, I wouldn’t get involved because that is against the law so my moral conscience would not let me. While I was looking at the lists of the laws my eyes were drawn, unfortunately, to the two most controversial laws. Abortion and Gay rights. I would defend the rights to these things to the grave because they should be the right of every person. With abortion, I think that the concept is sad, the idea of a fetus not getting a chance at life, but I also believe that it is ultimately the woman’s choice whether she would like to keep this child or not and with Orphanages filling up, I don’t blame a woman choosing the path of abortion over giving the child up for adoption. With Gay rights, I feel that these are already guaranteed in the Bill of Rights but people choose to ignore that. While we have a (relatively) open-minded group of Students here at Groves, we must realize that there are people out there that don’t have some of the conveniences that we have in Michigan. In other states, a person can actually be fired from his or her job for being homosexual. I do believe that what MLK said about unjust laws is true. He brings up some very good points and we all need to be able to fight unjust laws.
a) I wouldn’t go to jail because of the unjust laws. People will always have problems with laws, because no law is absolutely perfect. The ramifications of going to jail far outweigh the benefits that I would have without protesting. I really don’t think I’m that motivated to fully risk losing everything that I have worked for to change a law that millions of other people have to deal with. I’m sure that after a while I would get used to the laws and as time goes they might be changed as people become more aware and thoughtful.
b) I would fight for the environmental laws because the world is all we got and it seems like we have been abusing it. After the whole BP spill there needs to be more regulation and I would be willing to fight for it. I think abortions should be legal because it is a choice that takes alot of thinking and should be offered. If someone is raped and they get pregnant, they should be able to have an abortion. There should be a 1 abortion limit so people don’t overuse it. I also would be willing to fight for tighter immigration laws into the US. Jobs are a rarity these days and the more competition for them, the worse. I don’t think that music downloading should ever be something to stand up for, because no matter what it happens and its impossible to stop.
c) I think his reasoning in what makes a law just or unjust is sound. When you segregated people, you are taking away their personality. They are limited in what they can say or what they can do. The moral code of humans varies from person to person, so the justification of a law is based on God, which is what our country is rooted in.
A) I could not see myself going to jail for an unjust law. Mostly because I am comfortable at my house, and let’s face it. I am a really picky eater and I adore my queen size bed, so even college will be rough. Even though laws, like the Civil rights, were absolutely cruel and there is not possible way I could or would ever support them, I can’t see myself protesting them to the point of me being taken away in a cop car to live behind bars. To me jail is more than just a room and apart from uncomfortable living arrangements and gruesome fights, that could very well only be on TV, I just simply can’t see myself going to jail for a protest that might not ever change things, sadly. However, luckily it did.
b) If I were to fight for laws I would probably fight for taxes. I don’t think it’s fair in the least that people who are wealthier have to pay more out of their well earned and deserved pay check because of the less fortunate when there is plenty more places we could be getting money for them. How do you even really know if the people who are in need of money have worked hard and just not managed? In no way possible is this fair. I also think abortion should be a choice. You can sit here all day and say “oh I will never get an abortion.” I would even say that. But I have no clue what I would do until I am in that situation. You can’t tell me that if someone were to be rapped that they would hands down want to go through with birthing a baby, with all the other emotional distress they would be under.
c) Yes, I agree absolutely with Dr. King on what makes a law just or unjust. However, it’s not always reliable because morals change depending on how you were brought up. But I think for the most part it’s a rewarding way of law-making.
1. I’d sure as hell love to go to jail for civil disobedience. If anything, it shows that I’m willing to fight for what I believe in. I wouldn’t care at all about the ramifications that my time in jail would accompany. God, I hate how what job you have and how much money you make determines your place in life. All that’ll matter, when you’re on your deathbed, is whether you stood up for what you thought was right. There is nothing worse than to die with regrets.
2. There are countless laws that I wouldn’t mind spending time in jail for. The biggest one for me, I suppose, is the separation of church and state. I, for one, do not understand how a nation with a constitution that prohibits any federal endorsement of a deity or religion, could put ‘In God We Trust’ on our money or enact it as our motto. If there was a law passed that put religion back into our classroom or courts, I would be on the front lines, challenging it. Gay rights are another big deal, which can be traced back to religion, but that’s another issue. Being homosexual is something you are born with, just like skin color. To try and suppress people solely because an ancient, holy text forbids it is absurd. Furthermore, if it is made into a federal law, it is all the more absurd. By that time, I’ll either be in jail for protesting it or have moved to Canada. Perhaps both.
3. The only fallacy I could find in King’s explanation is the definition of the moral law. To a sexual pervert, the moral law could be peeping in on changing rooms and taking up-skirt pictures. To him, his actions are in accordance with the moral law. The problem is that morality and this so-called ‘moral law’ are purely subjective. We each have our own moral law and they each are different. Ask people about abortion. Some will say it’s morally wrong to kill an unborn baby. Some will say it’s morally wrong to take the power of choice away from a woman. Alas, there is no right or wrong answer. Likewise, there is no moral law.
Many people in history have fought for their beliefs and in most cases I agree. Major problems like equal rights for women and African Americans are serious issues and I believe that the people protesting them at the time were doing the right thing. Lucy Burns and Alice Paul were two famous women to fight for their rights. They were both arrested multiple times but continued to fight. Their determination along with the many other protestors helped women gain their rights. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. did a similar thing fighting for equal rights for African Americans. He too was very determined and unfortunately lost his life standing up for beliefs. Protesting issues like taxes and other economic controversies are not necessarily worth risking jail time in my opinion. I’m not sure to what extent I would protest if going to prison was going to be a likeable outcome. I would have to be very passionate about the subject to risk my future. I would feel strongly about big issues like equal rights and issues that had a great effect on people’s lives and well being. Going to prison could have a lot of negative effects later in life. Stuff like that stays on your record and isn’t too appealing to employers and your reputation in general. We read both Henry David Thoreau’s essay on civil disobedience and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in English this year. I totally see where both men are coming from when they say in some instances it is justified to break the law. If laws have a negative effect on someone’s rights and or is based on prejudice or discrimination it is not just. If a law falls under that category of being unjust then I don’t think it would be awful to break the law and fight for it.
I wouldn’t be willing to go to prison to protest unjust laws. My reasoning for this is to start with prison is not a place I generally want to be sent to no matter what and if you are in prison you can’t exactly effectively work for the cause that landed you in prison. You could do more work more effectively by working for your cause in ways that won’t get you sent to prison. I would be willing to fight against abortion. I think abortion if wrong because you can’t just kill babies and say they’re not babies. They are, their just more like baby babies. I’m not sure I would fight too hard for gay rights but I would be in favor of them and maybe to a little protesting for them. I just don’t see why people really care that much about people’s sexuality. I think it’s kind of stupid. I would protest a military draft. I feel like its kind of slavery. Your forced to join the army and do work that’s usually dangerous. I think that if you want to join the army that should be your choice, not the governments. I would protest against illegal drilling and for more marine parks. I think that drilling oil illegal is just a total jerk move and people shouldn’t get away with it and I think that we need to do more to protect our oceans. I agree with him about what makes a law just or unjust. The problem with his reasoning on laws if that everyone has different morals and opinions about what squares up with god. Everyone if going to have clashing opinions of what is a just law and what is an unjust law. No one is ever going to totally agree with what’s a just and what’s an unjust law.
I would be willing to protest unjust laws like the civil rights workers. However, it depends on how unjust the law is for me to go to jail or if I would be smart enough to civilly protest it and not break any civil laws myself like destruction of property or fighting someone. I would not stand down if I thought that something was unjust and unfair to the people it affects whether it affects me or not. For instance, Governor Snyder’s bill that negatively affects the schools and teachers, I openly disagree with that and would volunteer against it if I could (I am only 15).
I would be willing to fight for pro-choice on abortion (1), I would be willing to fight on unnecessary military actions (2). I would not be willing to fight immigration laws because I believe that if someone can make it past all of the barriers we have with Mexico they should be able to stay (3). I would support gay rights (4). However, not taxes because I feel like there is a lot we don’t know and factors we don’t see that taxes have an affect on (5). Military draft, no. Environmental damage, yes. Jobs, yes. Piracy, no because there is always going to be a way to get around buying music. Company issues, yes.
I agree with part of what Dr. King said. I believe in the point he is trying to get across but not necessarily the wording. Some of the phrases like the “law of god” can be extremely exaggerated like the Bible camp movie. On the other hand I think when he said “Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” Is right on the spot because to me that is what America is built on, Freedom. We should not have to obey something that will take away any of our rights.
I absolutely would be willing to go to jail for something I believe in, in fact it’s on my bucket list. However, I would want to be cautious about what exactly I was getting myself into. For example I wouldn’t want to do anything early in my life that could jeopardize my ability to get hired and provide for my potential future family. However, it is worth noting that juvenile records are sealed, so until I’m 18, I’d probably more willing to put myself at that kind of risk. I would also want to be very discerning in what I was arrested for and I would want to make sure it was something that I could whole-heartedly stand behind. Of the list on the blog, I would be willing to be arrested for standing for gay rights, and women’s abortion rights and I would add protesting nuclear armaments, as well as general protections of free speech when court cases like that come up. One older woman at my church goes down to Tennessee every year with a group (The Raging Grannies) and every year crosses a line that designates the place that civilians aren’t allowed to go and every year gets arrested. I really respect her courage and determination to make a difference. I would agree with Dr. King’s statement about what makes a law just or unjust, though I would put it in less of a religious form. I especially agree with his second statement about just laws lifting up human personality and unjust ones degrading human personality. I think laws that allow for choice and preserve a measure of free will are the just laws, such as allowing gay marriage or abortions, because I feel like the objections that are frequently raised to these two issues primarily are people trying to force their beliefs on another set of people.
Although I usually love to fight for what I believe in, but in this case I cannot see myself going to jail for protesting an unjust law. Mostly because I am not brave enough and I want to keep my chances for a good future, protesting could jeopardize it. I would though share my information on what I am opposing to warn the people around me, together we could make a change using the right of freedom of speech. It probably would be more effective too rather than protesting. Last months, I found out that my band teacher, Mr. Zarzicki is being replaced. The news didn’t please the entire class. So we all got together and shared our beliefs that later reached the board of education. Sadly, it didn’t change the case but they did question it for a second. Now my example isn’t too good considering this isn’t a law and national wide but my situation still shows on how my class and I used our freedom of speech. I really look up to people who had/have the courage that I don’t necessarily have, like Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks and Gandhi.
If I were to fight for unjust laws I would fight for lack of environmental laws and Gay rights. About 40% of deaths worldwide are caused by polluted water, air, and soil. America contributes a great deal to the pollution and I feel like the government should create laws to prevent Global Warming. A lot of products are wasted and the government could limit this with laws and maybe restrict unhealthy products. Now about gay rights, I don’t believe that just because the heterosexual couples are dominant in the population that the homosexuals shouldn’t get the right to marry. This just lowers their status in the society. Its not their fault that they are as they are and I disagree on the fact that they cannot marry and be happy like any other people.
I do believe in what King said about just and unjust laws. Laws are made to keep people in a uniform moral way and keep the society even. And I think he is right when he says people need to fight for what is right.
I lied; this is by far the toughest blog that you have asked us to do this year
It honestly depends exactly what you want us go to jail for, gay rights defiantly, subjects of that extent I would descend, I hesitate to say Christ like, sacrificing my freedom for the sake of others into jails and prisons… But I would go to jail only for protesting peacefully. I would not like to end up in a situation where id needs to steal something or hurt someone. I am aware of the near impossibility of getting a job after imprisonment
Of all I would go to jail for it would be
1. Abortion,
2. Wars
3. Immigration
4. Gay rights?
6. Military draft (don’t worry, we don’t have one)?
7. Environmental damage?
9. Software and music / movie downloading -piracy?
That in now way instigates that the other events are not important or not crucial to the state of the nation, I just don’t want to ruin my life for them. I would defiantly protest a war, or an unjust law (especially one for gay rights) I would prefer not to go to jail or even get fined for that (mainly for the music one im proud to say all my music has been obtained legally). But I do believe it is important to stand up for your causes.
In someway I agree with Dr. King, but I do have to say, whose opinion are we going by? Usually it’s easy to tell but what if its an issue about lowering the alcohol age? It could be moral for one person but immoral for another…. And I do not belive in god so even if god says something is so does not mean that I have to do it ☺
I regret to say I am not willing to go to jail to change laws. This is due to the fact that I don’t believe that strongly about any unjust laws. There are laws that I would prefer not to be in place but nothing that requires a radical uprising to change it. Another reason is that if something like a felony or misdemeanor was ever on my criminal record it could have a hugely catastrophic impact on my life. At my age I still have to be accepted to college and find a career. Without them my life will end up being much more difficult than with them. With an arrest for something you can be declined by most colleges even if you have more than they are asking for grade wise and extracurricular wise. Even if such a thing were to happen after a attend college a career would be difficult to find also. With the economy where it is today you want every advantage there is to get a job and an arrest on your record is like throwing you oars out of a canoe, you may get somewhere eventually but it will be much faster with them. That being said I do believe that if there was ever a cause that I fully agreed with that got very little recognition than I would be willing to get arrested for it. If I was an African American in the 50s and 60s I believe I would have been a strong supporter of Dr. King but as far as I know there aren’t any laws that are extremely unjust right now. Also I do agree with Dr. King’s reasoning of just and unjust laws. If something you are doing feels wrong and is legal, maybe it shouldn’t be. If it goes against what you feel in your gut maybe it isn’t right.
a. After I really thought about it, I don’t think I would be up for the hardships of going to jail to protest unjust laws. I don’t see myself being able to tough it out. Of course I would protest against something that I believe in, I just would go so extreme as to land myself in jail. If I went to jail, it could affect my whole future. Personally, I wouldn’t be able to handle the fact that I’ve got a record. In addition to that, this would implicate my future job opportunities and anything else I might want to achieve. No one will want to hire someone who’s been to jail.
b. I would be willing to fight against abortion and a lack of environmental laws. I am extremely against abortion because I don’t believe in taking away one of God’s children. It is the 5th commandment: You shall not kill. And for the people who don’t believe that they are actually killing a human being, you are because it is a human in its early stages of life. If someone doesn’t want a baby, they can always give it up for adoption, and then someone who can’t conceive or for whatever reason can have a baby. I am against a lack of environmental laws, because if we don’t start conserving now, it’ll impact us in the future. We are eating away at the earth. We are using up earth’s nonrenewable resources. In the future we won’t have oil or coal to just waste at our expense.
c. I agree with Dr. King’s reasoning with what makes a law just or unjust because it is by our morals with how we judge things. If something isn’t morally or ethically right, how can it be made into a law? God’s law is the supreme law and above all others.
a) No, I would not be willing to go to jail over unjust laws because I don’t want to ruin my future. To me, there comes a time when it’s good to fight for something and when there isn’t, and definitely a time when to say enough is enough. There are issues that I feel very strong about, but going to the point where I would be thrown in jail, to me it’s not worth it. If I were to live in the 50s -60s, I would be the type of kid that went to all of the rallies, and helped out, but when the police got there I would peace out, or if someone said to stop, I would and walk away. I wouldn’t want to put myself and other people in danger.
b) I would be willing to fight against gay rights because I find that it is so wrong to not let someone be married or to be in a relationship of choice. If America is about freedom and democracy, then why must we make laws against same se marriage, and restrict someone from being who they truly are.
c) Yes. I agree with Dr. King because sometimes our beliefs are blown over to achieve individual success. Everyone makes mistakes, and everyone has flaws so you can’t make everyone happy with that you’re trying to say. When MLK said ““Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust.” This is so true because you have so many people, and so many personalities, but when an individual takes these laws and puts them to their lives, they make the decision in which they should follow them, or not. The law against gay marriages degrades humans because it makes America look like we are hypocrites, going against freedom. But for some, it’s just because they are afraid of same sex marriages and they like it restricted.
a) I can not see myself going to jail. Even if i was protesting an unjust law. Both mentally and in terms of my future jail scares me and i dont know if i would be willing to sacrifice a good job, my mental health, or having a criminal record for the rest of my life to protest. I like to be around people and have human interaction other than with murderers.
b) Of these laws, i think i would be willing to fight for immigration laws like the one in arizona. Being from arizona, I have many mexican-american friends and i feel that the law is definitely unjust: being able to stop someone and ask for identification that they are indeed a citizen just because they look like an illegal immigrant is wrong. I would also be willing to go against company actions such as sweat shops and dumping. Companys like Nike that use sweat shops over seas to mass produce their shoes at a very very cheap price, i believe, are wrong to take advantage of the loose labor laws in China and other asian countries to only pay cents for each shoe made then sell it back in the U.S. for upwards of $80.
c) I do agree with Dr. Kings definition of just and unjust laws because I also believe this. The only problem with his definitions is that morality could be different from person to person. A homeless mans morale could be “its ok to steal all this food, its for my family!” but to a rich person he is committing a crime and must be punished.
A) I think I would be willing to protest the lack of Civil Rights legislation in the 1950s and 1960s and go to jail for it. As I like to point out when presented with these situations I don’t know how I would have felt at the time. But everyone is equal and protesting is a bigger thing than any one person; it is protesting an idea because of a mass opinion about what is right. The violence of the protests at this time might have scared me away but I am willing to get in trouble if it is worth it and I would consider fighting for everyone’s equal rights is certainly worth it. The situations I face today are less severe but I make sure it is worth the trouble I might get in. A minor example happened the other day when I decided it was worth a fifth tardy in 1st hour to go to Einstein bagels during x-block because I felt sick. I believe going to jail is worth it if I believe strongly that what I am fighting for is right. I only plan on doing this when I’m a little older because jail could be unsafe for me at this age. I don’t want to do a long enough term to ruin my work or anything; just short stints.
B) I would be willing to fight abortion because I don’t believe abortion is killing. The pregnant woman should decide if she will be able to support the baby in one way or another etc. I would be willing to protest some wars if I think people are dying unnecessarily. I would fight the immigration legislation in Arizona right now because everyone is equal and I find it to be blatantly racist. I would fight for gay rights because once again everyone is equal. I would fight for high taxes on businesses because Republicans trying to increase the income gap by dumping money on them are incredibly selfish. Go Jobs! Lets create green jobs and move forward as a nation. I don’t know enough about computers to know if piracy can be stopped but as a musician I buy all of my music just because I want to support the musicians. I would fight illegal drilling and fight for green energy to save our beautiful planet. Although I won’t go to jail right now because of protesting I will when I think it’s safe and I have a chance to impact the world.
C) King is certainly right about the importance of laws being morally right. We need to vigilantly make sure that the laws governing the people represent the views of the people’s hearts.
a.I’m not sure if I would be willing to go to jail to protest unjust laws. Of course, I can’t say anything from experience. I think that maybe if I was really involved and motivated, I would have gone to jail. If I truly believed in what I stood for, then I would have no problem fighting to the death to get the laws changed. I honestly couldn’t say that I defiantly would, because I have never had that experience. As of right now, there is nothing morally wrong going on that I would go to jail for. My stand on most issues right now – abortion, gay rights – is that they are a personal decision. Things involving personal lives should not have laws attached to them.
b.One law I would be willing to fight against is the restriction on Gay rights. Similar to what I stated above, being gay is a personal matter. The country should not be concerned about what goes on in other people’s lives if it is not harmful to anyone. If someone is gay, then they are gay. If you don’t like it, oh well, it’s not your life. Another law I would fight against is the lack of funding for American schools. Education is probably one of the most important things you can have in your life. The fact that many schools in America do not have nearly enough funding to help kids lead a good future. There is always so much talk about how the United States is falling behind in intelligence, yet barely anything has been done to help change these figures. I believe that the kids in school are the most important people in the country at all times. These kids are the future, and without proper schooling, our future won’t be much of a future at all.
c.I do agree with king’s reasoning about what make a law just and what make a law unjust. He phrases his reasoning in such a way that it is easy for anyone to understand. The fact that “any law that degrades human personality is unjust” makes sense. If a law makes you feel bad about yourself, or keeps you from being yourself (without endangering others), then it is obviously unmoral and therefore unjust. I believe King is saying that as long as the law doesn’t hurt anyone (inside or out), then the law is fair, but when the law begins to degrade people, then it is the end of the line.
1. I would not be willing to go to jail to protest an unjust law such as restrictions on abortion or fighting for gay rights. This is because the way I would fight for the law wouldn’t be to cause a public disturbance (Such as an obnoxious protest). I would instead try and show people why the law is unjust and change public opinion through reason rather than nuisance. An example of an obnoxious protest is harassing people at abortion clinics or showing pictures of aborted fetuses in public.
2. I support abortion because it is the parent’s choice and the government shouldn’t interfere with that. Also, there are just too many scenarios where abortion is the better option: such as r@pe(apparently this word is blocked) , or teenage pregnancy. I support gay rights because the government has no right to interfere with or treat gay relationships as inferior to heterosexual ones. I am strongly opposed to the idea of a draft because I think war is a horrible waste of life. If you want to volunteer for the army, I respect that. But being forced to die for a cause you might not support is terrible. I support environmental protection because people plundering the earth’s resources irresponsibly are despicable. We only have one earth to live on.
3. I agree with MLK’s definition of just and unjust laws. An unjust law is one that harms the human spirit.
First off, I am very proud of the people who fought for my rights. The time and energy they put into getting freedom for not only black people but also for all people really astonishes me. Like Mr. Wickersham says in class all the time it is hard to look back on an event that happened 30 or 40 years ago and judge that event based on our reality and peoples perceptions now. I don’t know what the culture as like in the 50’s and 60’s so I cant really say what I would do. I don’t know if I would be scared or not, because its not just getting arrested or getting a misdemeanor, its how your employers are going to feel. Are they going to think what you did was brave or are they for the Jim Crow laws and fire you. How are you going to be treated in the streets? Are people going to that you are a hero and throw you a parade, or are they going to think you are stirring up trouble and shun you? The extent to which I was publicly active would depend on the conditions that I lived in. I would be active no matter what but the thing would be how many people knew about it. If I lived in the worse possible conditions I would be dealing with systematic racism. But if I lived in the best conditions I would be, publicly, extremely active.
From the list I would defiantly chose gay rights and lack of environmental laws. We can already see the change in the environment and its just going to get worse with time. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan, the massive tornado in Joplin, and countless other examples. Its time that we began regulating how much CO2 a company can produce, and make them pay for the excess that they make. That is the only way we will get these big companies to stop raping the earth of natural resources and destroying the environment. I think that gay rights are important as well. Gay people are people are just as human as very one else and I don’t think that because of personal lifestyle choices that they should be given fewer right than any other type of people. I see this as a infraction against human beings and the right to be happy, and I don’t think that it should be tolerated.
a) I think that if civil rights situation were going on today or if I was placed back in time, I would certainly go to jail. A lot of times I ask myself if not doing this or that is actually worth my consequences and I am positive that in the C.R situation I would be incarcerated. The Civil Rights movement had a huge toll on everyone but especially to Blacks (in my opinion). Without the Civil Rights Era I would not be blessed with the some of the things I could receive today. Such as being able to get a good education, to have some of the same opportunities as whites, and meet some of my friends. By participation in the movement would have been completely worth the any outcome because I would be able to look at myself in the mirror and say I fought or tried to fight what I truly believe was right. No felony and/or incarceration would be able to change my mind because I would not just be fighting for the justice of now, but the justice for the future.
b) I don’t think there is anything I would truly “fight” for because if I wanted to make a difference I would have done so already. A lot of things on the list I feel bad about like the lack of jobs, gay rights, and wars or war actions but none that I would actually want to truly act on (if I was not so lazy) except for the immigration problem in Arizona. I feel like the whole “if you look Mexican we are going to make you show I.D.” is completely out of hand. You can’t say if you look Mexican because what do Mexican people look like, and if you answer the question it is only based on a stereotype. People shouldn’t have to worry about whether or not they are going to be suspects for border hopping. I’m pretty sure there are other solutions like I don’t know, maybe putting a wall along the whole border!
c) Yes, I completely agree with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. that an unjust law is a law out of harmony with the moral law however, some people morals may be sketchy to others, and some people do not believe there is a God or habe any morals. Moral laws all depend upon on how you were raised. We can’t be naive to believe that all people learn the same or have beliefs because they don’t. So it might be problem if with we say out of harmony with the moral law to some.
A) I think I would be willing to go to Jail if it was a misdemeanor (but not a felony because I’d like to be able to get a job in the future thank you) if it was important enough cause to me. There is only one or two that I could think of that I would fight for that strongly, but I would have no problem going to jail. Some people may think it’s a bit hypocritical that I would only fight for it if it’s a misdemeanor but am I really at fault if, even though I care about something, I don’t want to ruin my chances of getting a job or into a school I want to? I don’t think so. At least I would fight at all.
B) From the list above the only thing I would think to really fight for is probably Gay Rights. Abortion is a topic I have an opinion on (Pro-Choice) but probably not strong enough the go to jail for and while I worry about the environment, I probably wouldn’t go to jail for it. The other issues listed, are things that even if people protest are things that I believe will just keep on happening regardless of the laws put in place or the protests happening. Gay Rights, however, is a subject of which I have a high opinion. It’s not right that everyone else can be with whom they want, marry who they want while these people can’t. And I REALLY can’t stand it when people hate someone because they are different. You can’t help who you love. I know there will still be homophobic people in the world but if we fight for it, at least the LGBT community will be able to at least marry who they want to without restriction. Plus, I want my friends to be able to have the same rights as I do and who wouldn’t fight for their friends?
C) I think that it’s a good theory. It’s saying that if it’s moral than it’s just. I think that it’s a good stand on things. Now a lot of people probably won’t agree on what’s moral or not. It’s a difficult subject to breach and hard to summarize it in one go. Morals are a bit more complex than that and are different for everyone and everyone cares about them on varying levels.
I might be willing to go to jail for a cause depending on the circumstances. If there was a law that I believed to be very wrong and I felt very strongly about, I might be willing to disobey it and go to jail for it. However, there isn’t anything that I feel strongly enough about to want to go to jail for. I do believe that abortion is wrong, we should not restrict gay rights, and that the Arizona immigration law is wrong. However, I do not feel strongly enough about any of these issues to want to break the law and go to jail because of it.
I agree with Dr. King’s rationale about what makes a law just or unjust. If a law has nothing morally wrong about it, then it should be obeyed to the best of our abilities. However, if a law is morally wrong, then we need to do something about it whether it means disobeying the law or simply protesting the law. I do believe that we need to fight unjust laws. However, I am only willing to go to jail and disobey a law if I feel really strongly about the issue.
A. I am not sure weather or not I would go to jail for protesting the unjust laws. I feel that I would have done my part in protesting but I would try not to go to jail. Going to jail and ruining my whole life over something that I don’t have to get involved in doesn’t make much sense. I would get as involved in helping the protestors as I could without getting myself put into jail.
B. After looking at the list above I feel that I would feel most confortable protesting abortion and the military draft (if we had one). Abortion is pretty much equal to killing someone and it should defiantly be illegal. Killing anyone or anything that has the potential to live is totally unfair. The baby should have the chance to live just like all of us did. I chose the war draft because war is a very serious thing. All of my grandparents and great uncles were involved in wars except for one. They would always tell me stories about how they got drafted and how it affected their life. My dads father was drafted into world war two and all he could do after the war was work on ships because he had no time to get a proper education during the war. Working on the ships later killed him due to poisoning in the materials.
C. Yes, I agree with Martin Luther King Jr. on this. He is pretty much saying that a law is just or unjust depending on whether or not it is moral or not. That is pretty much what laws are based on now a days anyways.
This is a hard question to answer because honestly no one wants to go to jail. It depends on how strongly you believe in your cause and whatever you’re protesting. Basically, I wouldn’t be willing to go to jail to protest any of the unjust laws you have listed there. It sounds bad but, I just don’t feel strongly enough about gay rights or jobs to actually go to jail for them. If I ever went to jail, for the rest of my life it would follow me. Just simple things like DUIs follow you for the rest of your life; it’s not worth it at all. The truth of the matter is, unless it affects me or the people I love DIRECTLY, I’m not going to get all worked up about it. What I would consider going to jail for is probably if one of my brothers or sisters was directly involved in the protest. I wouldn’t really care if I had to go to jail if I was fighting against someone discriminating against my family or something. I feel like all these unjust laws don’t really have affects on people unless they are made personal. If your sister was gay, you would be more inclined to go to jail fighting for her rights. I really just wouldn’t want to go to jail at all so you’d have to be pretty important in my life for me to risk spending a life in prison. People do all sorts of things in prison that I fersure do not want to experience. I guess Doctor King is correct when he says an unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. Some of those laws do go against the Bible and that does make them immoral so Doctor King makes sense. But not all those laws go against the Bible necessarily. Lack of Jobs is like an economic thing…MLK was right about some stuff but some of these are manmade so we can’t just blame God.
In the case of protesting civil rights, I think if I got arrested during a peaceful protest I would go to jail, I wouldn’t go willingly, but if the alternative to going to jail is that I have to live in a country that is restricting the my rights, and personal freedoms, by making me a second class citizen, I would go to jail. I would go to jail because I had a protest, no problem ever got fixed because everyone sat around waiting for it to fix itself, or waiting for someone else to do it. I understand the ramifications, but if im not doing anything to harm anybody what can they do? I guess they could make up something about disturbing the peace, but still I would protest.
Military violence, that I do feel was necessary, is one that I know I would protest; I also would protest the restriction of gay rights. I think the restriction of gay rights, the situation with the restriction of gay rights is the same kind of civil rights issue we had in the 50’s and 60’s. Kids in schools in the south cant even say the word “gay”! why not? Because it makes someone uncomfortable, because a book written 2000 years ago says so? It makes me so angry to think that anyone can use that as something to their justify hate. Just because someone has a different sexual preference then them, they carry out acts of hate and violence, its sick. I feel the same way about abortion, you don’t know the person, you don’t know why they are getting the abortion, but its not your place to dictate what is and what is not okay. If we can prove that it is not killing a sentient a being then it’s not murder. And as sad as it is that they cant have the baby, its been proven that teen mothers are more likely to live alone and in poverty, your making things worse. Abortion is a choice, if its not your choice then go ahead and have your kid but otherwise you can not decide for others what is ok and what is not ok, these are things that I would protest. I wouldn’t protest a draft because if I feel strongly enough I would go fight and if not, then I’m packing my bags for Canada.
I agree with kings definition but I think that it is flawed. Everyone’s morals are different and are all related to our upbringing and other influences. What is inline with my morals may not be with someone who grew up on the other side of the world, in a different culture, who live a very different life from mine. Also I don’t know what is in line with gods law, its not like we can specifically ask god what god thinks, it is all up to our interpretation and people have a bad habit of twisting what they call “god’s word” to mean whatever they want it to mean. So they definition is ok, but it has flaws.
If I felt very strongly about a law that I felt was unjust and interfered with my life to the point were I couldn’t handle it, yes I would fight against it as the Civil Rights leaders did so. Despite the fact that I could be charged permanently for the action, living and unhappy, lifeless life would be even worse then spending some time in jail to improve that life. The quality of life is much more important to me the content. A list of good/bad accomplishments means nothing if you haven’t felt them yourself. I would fight for gay right’s an abortion. The opposing sides of both problems are either religious radicals or ignorant, both of which I have a problem with. Your personal opinions are ones that you can share with others or keep to yourself. We have the 1st amendment on our side so we can do so. BUT forcing your opnions on others is NOT what America is about. I do agree that abortion is brutal, merciless, and would never choose for my child to do such a thing, but theres a happy medium between outlawing it and allowing it. There should be regulations they had to go through to ensure that it is a last resort and that they aren’t just abandoning a mistake. Being gay is looked down upon because of what religion ahs wrongly built it up to be. Its simply a choice of life. Not evil. Not corrupt. They just picked plan C when the rest of us are used to Plans A and B. I do agree with Dr. King. Laws can either be obviously unjust according to our Constitution and American’s general idea of Freedom, or they’re just. Laws shouldn’t offend anyone, they should merely be there to keep people safe. The written and unwritten segregation laws of the 60s did nothing but made out citizens feel unsafe.
A. I’d really like to say I feel passionately about something to go to jail for it, but honestly I don’t. Especially today with all the competition for getting into schools and getting jobs, having a felony listed is typically a red flag that makes you pretty easy to cross off the list. It’s just not worth it to me. I’m all for helping out in ways that won’t get me thrown in jail though.
B. I would be willing to fight against abortion, gay rights, and the military draft. Personally, I think abortion is right up there with murder. If you don’t want the child, give it up for adoption. Nine months isn’t the end of the world, you’ll get through it. It’s probably a lot better than having a lifetime filled with guilt for killing a baby. I also hate the argument that it should be “the woman’s choice what they do” because they made the choice to not be careful and get pregnant, they should deal with the consequences. Any law restricting gay rights is honestly ridiculous. I don’t get why anyone cares about anyone’s sexual preference or why that should be a big deal. People should be able to be with whomever they want. No law should be able to tell anyone who they can be with. The military draft is a life altering system that has previously changed the lives of many people. I at least understand where this is coming from, trying to help out the country and what not, but if enough people don’t care about our country enough to fight, what is there to be fighting for?
C. I agree with Dr.King’s reasoning completely. If a law is degrading humans, what good is it doing? I think the laws are there to make things better, safer, and equal for everyone. All the laws I would fight against certainly fit his description of an unjust law.
Blog #20
Braxton Allred
5/31/11
Wickersham 3rd hr
To be honest here, I don’t think I would be willing to go to jail for my beliefs by protesting publically and aggressively. This is most likely the case because I just don’t have the balls to do it and additionally I’ve never been truly hurt by any law so I don’t have any burning desire to change. Plus there is a chance that my future life will be affected (like you said on the blog) when I try to get a job, applying for stuff like insurance and quite possibly my physical and psychological health (which I would need to hopefully and successfully raise a family with). But anyway I think that something like a boycott like African Americans did in the South with the Rosa Parks situation would be more reasonable, legal and effective. I do respect people who are so strong in their beliefs and are willing to fight so passionately for them, but in all due respect in my mind, the negative impacts which tend to be more probable outweigh the less likely, potentially more helpful impacts. And anyway life goes on and there will probably be more huge decisions to make like the one you decide to protest for, so you should ask yourself: is this action really worth risking my future over? Although at the same time I would consider being more risky only if it’s something that I think could potentially affect the tide/ course of history with things like the civil rights history.
In the list mentioned, the only real thing I would try to change is the military and everything about it. Immigration I do believe is a big issue and should be fought over what should happen. It’s hard for me because morally I think that letting immigration happen is right since it goes with all men being equal and besides 99% of any cultural thing began with immigrants so why not continue what we have always done. But by letting immigration happen many Americans are losing jobs to foreigners that many times are illegal, bringing into play another political issue of who is more equal ( or is the lazy Americans faults for not being tough and motivated enough to do a blue collar job)? Anyway back to military, I think that our whole spending should be severely cut, we should but down the size of our army ( since everything is done in small, specialized forces anyway), and we should stop looking for other countries fights to join into ( since it we almost ALWAYS ends up with an embarrassing, negative outcome). I completely agree that any unjust law is basically breaking any moral laws too. Even with his second quote, which is more extreme, I continue to agree because a person is a person and they are entitled to believe what they want; even if in our eyes it’s insane. And who is to say WE aren’t the one who are misguided?
I kind of feel like a total pansy for saying this, but I don’t think that I would be willing to go to jail to protest unjust laws. I feel like I should be willing because so many of these famous and inspirational people were, but I don’t have the courage or strength of conviction they have. I know I’m not destined for great things, and I figure that since I’m not, I might as well try my best to stay out of trouble to save my own hide. I want a high-paying job so that I can care for my family and be prepared when retirement time comes around. I feel like even one night in jail can spoil a ton of good credentials when you’re searching for a job. Then again, I’m saying this all when I know next to nothing of the world. For the most part politics flies right over my head and I’ve never had to deal with these issues. I haven’t been impacted at all by any of the unjust laws listed and I can’t come up with any others that I would protest. Perhaps if some new horrific law was made or something about my life changed so that these issues became important to me, I would be more eager to go skipping off to jail, but for now I’d rather stay out of the slammer. If I were to become a little braver or more passionate about any of these laws, I would probably protest war and environmental damage and support the option of abortion and gay rights as well. Even then, I would only protest peacefully or show my support in a less prominent way. I would protest war because so many families are torn apart by it, and environmental damage because I want the Earth to stay beautiful. I want my grandchildren to be able to visit the National Parks, climb trees, and go swimming in the ocean without fear of pollution or man-made obstructions. I would support abortion because I believe that some people need that option because of their situation in life. Gay rights I support because every single person should have the right to fall in love with and marry whoever they want to. I agree with King’s reasoning about just and unjust laws. However, I won’t be going to jail anytime soon to protest the unjust ones.
A) I would be willing to go to jail for an unjust cause depending on what it is. Some things, like the Civil Rights movement, warranted going to jail to defend what was right. But other things, while still requiring protest, wouldn’t be worth going to jail for. I think that, since what you do will go on your record and affect your future, it should be for a good cause. If I saw people getting their rights restricted, and being treated like they weren’t citizens of this country, then I would defiantly go to jail for it. IT wouldn’t matter what goes on my record because I’ll know I did a good thing.
B) I think I would fight against the laws for abortion, and immigration laws. Abortion is a touchy subject, but I don’t think it should be okay to kill an unborn child. At any stage, it’s a human life, and it shouldn’t be legal to take it. With immigration laws, I think there should be some restrictions, but the law in Arizona was too broad. You can’t just assume people are immigrants and ask for papers. Even when it was justified by having the police need a reason to pull someone over, it’s pretty much profiling. If the law works to catch 1 illegal immigrant, then great, but think of the 5 legal Americans that had to be insulted just to find that 1.
C) I agree with Dr. King on his definition of a law. Laws have to follow morals if they’re going to be used to guide people. Everyone deserves an equal chance and laws should reflect that. There shouldn’t be any clauses or loopholes to deny anybody anything, because that would be immoral.
1.No, I don’t think I would be risky or brave enough to go to jail for protesting against unjust laws. As much as I don’t agree with certain laws, I could not bring myself to sacrifice my life and job by having a felony on my record. Instead, I would use my legal rights, such as freedom of speech, as an American citizen to try to come up with a potential solution to disable an unjust law. I would not be willing to break the law even if it would help Americans in the future. The civil rights workers in the 50s and 60s, especially Martin Luther King Jr., were way more heroic and brave than I am.
2.If I were to fight for any of these laws, I would fight against restrictions on abortion. Although I personally don’t believe in abortion, I believe it is every woman’s right to choose what she wants to do with her body. If she chooses to get an abortion, then that is her personal decision that she will have to live with for the rest of her life. I also would fight against restrictions against gay rights because this is also a personal decision and the government shouldn’t have a say in how people choose to live their lives.
3.Yes, I agree with Martin Luther’s definition of just and unjust laws. Basically, if something is morally correct, then it is a just law and vice versa. Although people may have different sets of morals from growing up in different households, there is a general census where people can agree upon what is moral and what isn’t. There are laws that most people agree with such as bank robbery and incidental crimes being illegal and there are more opinionated laws such as the laws listed above. All of these opinionated laws have to do with each individual’s morals.
a. Yes i would gladly go to jail for a law that i thought unjust or unfair. I would actually feel obligated to do so. I would do this because, even though it may negatively affect me, it may impact the world in a way that is greater then myself, and is more important than me. Also I would rather try to go against and unjust law and be able to sleep at night rather then just sit there and take the abuse. To me, it is more important in the long-run and for the future of the world. And even if it affected my future i would be able to live with myself and go to sleep at night knowing that i fought for what was right.
b. 1. Abortion? Or restrictions on abortion?
2. Wars or other military actions?
3. Immigration laws like the one in Arizona?
4. Gay rights? Or restrictions on gay rights?
5. Economic stuff like taxes? Or lack thereof on companies, individuals, etc.?
6. Military draft (don’t worry, we don’t have one)?
7. Environmental damage? Or lack of environmental laws?
8. Jobs or a lack of jobs?
9. Software and music / movie downloading -piracy?
10. Behavior / actions of an American company (sweatshops, illegally drilling, dumping, etc.)?
Not to be chivalrous but i would probably go to jail for any of those causes, as long as i was fighting for what was right and what i beloved in. The cause i would fight most fiercely for would be the environment one though.
And that is because i am a very large believer in green and environmental good. So if it were fighting for the wellbeing of the world in this case then i would gladly go to jail for the cause, and even if it may hurt my future i would know that i atleast tried to help make the world a better place for the future, and thought about more people then just myself.
c. Yes i strongly believe in what Martin Luther King says. No law can be good if it degrades human and makes us unmoral. And if a law is not in harmony and causes trouble then i completely believe it is an unjust law. But i dont now believe it is the law of god, because it is unfair in my opinion to base a law off of a single religion.
a. Of course, when anyone is asked about whether or not they’d stand up for their civil rights, they’d reply with an immediate yes; throw phrases like “civil disobedience” and “county jail” into the equation, and the circumstances change. This is absolutely horrible but I don’t know that I’d go to jail for the infraction of a civil right. If it was for something like what blacks were up against during the Civil Rights Movement, then yes, I’d like to think that I’m a decent enough person that I’d support the cause and show solidarity. If it was a minor offense, though, I probably wouldn’t want to jeopardize my chances of getting into college or getting a job.
b. I’d be willing to fight against the restrictions on abortion, since those should really be few and far between – women’s bodies are governed by none other than themselves. The immigration law, like the one in place in Arizona, is blatantly unfair to any foreign people wanting to gain access to our country. The restrictions on gay rights shouldn’t be in existence in the first place since this is America, and our constitution states that everyone is created equal. As for environmental laws, we only have the most basic ones, and the government should really instate more if we want to have any environment left. Another aspect the government should control is the way some American companies execute their business; sweatshops or illegal drilling, for example, are completely unacceptable.
c. Yes, I agree with Martin Luther King’s method of evaluating just and unjust laws, but the only issue is that the vague nature of the entire process leaves room for interpretation. What is moral law? Though this kind of concept shouldn’t be up for debate, might differ slightly, unfortunately, from person to person. Instead of a minority fighting against the status quo of the 1960s, the obstacle is tackling controversial issues of today. Theoretically, it should be easy to follow the clean-cut instructions laid out by Martin Luther King, but the disputes plaguing people at the moment are much too thorny to solely abide by those well-meant guidelines.
1. Personally, i would not fight if it didn’t affect me or good friends/family members. Although i expect the moral bomb anytime, i would never go to jail on a risky roll of a die to see if it changed anything. I have never found myself inspirational or motivating, and those are key to having an effect. If i go to jail for a few years, sacrifice my job and the time with people i could be having, it would only be if i was blatantly being targeted, with my things being taken and friends/family being harmed. I know that i would react to any abuse of authority that affected my family, and i would sacrifice a future for them.
2. The only things that spiked my attention were the military draft, taxes, and gay rights. The first one i would sacrifice my future to be safely in jail (although ironic), because i would rather be theft guilty that murder-guilty or involved in killing. I do not condemn any of the work done my military forces but i would never bring myself to aiding in actually killing people. Second I would protest taxes but would only go for a misdemeanor only if the tax money was being abused and misspent on ridiculous things. An example is how media technology keeps being updated (huge plasma screens = pointless) while teachers keep being fired. Finally i would speak out against gay rights because i know people who are affected by that, and the gay rights issue has no back-alley escape excuse except that you are intolerant and gullible.
3. I totally agree with what he says. Life is built around opinions and morals, no matter what anyone says. Laws are built to be regulatory, but they are built to fit popular need, safety, and to prevent accidents and chaos. Every other law that is not regulatory, for example, taxes are based off what the government deems necessary based off what the people popularly deem necessary, based on the people’s views. Everyone should fight for their beliefs, but drastic measures should only be used in extreme abuses of power and in extreme situations. I believe that the Civil Rights was an extreme situation, but other times people have miscalculated, which results in disastrous consequences, sometimes failure.
A) I really hope that I’d have the guts to go to jail for a cause that I believed in, but the way I was raised is that if I screw up my job opportunities are pretty much screwed over. It’d be a whole lot easier to go to jail if I’d already given up the false dream of getting a high paying job, but if I still had the choice between trying to support a family on a decent income and living for my personal freedom, I hope that I’d choose to sacrifice and that the people I cared about would happily sacrifice with me. Jails not that big a deal, it’s the ramifications that come with going to jail that are the problem.
B) The first thing in the list above is the wars that America has gotten into to protect ‘our freedom.’ It’s just a waste of lives and resources and I would definitely protest it if I knew that it would do something. Then theres the issue of gay rights. It really is sick that super religious people are asses about this and banning them from marriage. The point of our country is to allow freedom and happiness for everyone, if a gay person wants to marry, let them marry, it shouldn’t be a big deal. Just because a book tells you that being gay is wrong doesn’t mean that it’s right (it also talks about it being okay to beat your slave to a pulp so long as they don’t die). The other major problems up in the list are the sweatshops and the lack of environmental laws. Environmental laws need to be created because, as you’ve heard many times, we are doing a great job of messing up the planet. The sweatshops are self-explanatory.
C)I agree with King in that if it’s unmoral, it shouldn’t be a law. Religious nuts go crazy with the word of God though, so no we shouldn’t blindly follow the bible. I believe that the bible is wrong in so many cases it’s unbelievable. We should only follow what we feel in our hearts is okay, if we don’t like something we can peacefully protest it. But there is a good chance that we’re wrong so you don’t want to make rash decisions that you’ll regret later. The majority has conformed far too many times and crucified free thinkers that we now practically worship (Galileo, Ghandi, MLK, etc.) so if we disagree with something that we know is wrong, we should peacefully protest it.
First of all, i would not be willing to go to jail for protesting an unjust cause because I’ve been free to do so since 1787, but ruling the first amendment out, i would be willing to protest restrictions on abortion– People shoving their views down other people’s throats and destroying a free choice, Immigration restrictions in arizona- being Mexican is not just cause for requiring someone to bring immigration papers wherever they go. these arizona shenanigans hark back to the period between 1840 and 1863 when free slaves were required to carry around a cerificate of freedom. Finally, I would be more than willing to protest the antics of companies, namely financial companies, whose CEOs recieved nothing more than a slap on the wrist for single-handedly destroying the whole economy-ie AIG, Goldman sachs, Merrill Lynch, etc. However, one thing I would not protest would be the draft. If my freedom to make snide comments about politicians is threatened, i will do anything the country needs me to do to keep the current system that way. Another thing i will not protest is software piracy. Record companies sue for frivoulous, completely unheard of amounts that would value a normal iPod at more than the combined assets of the United States, DRM screws over the consumer and doesn’t stop a pirate, and ̶S̶o̶n̶y̶ unnamed jerkwad companies sue ̶g̶e̶o̶h̶o̶t̶ unnamed hackers for toying around, improving, and tweaking their own property which they paid for. Not to mention i have to watch 4 and a half hours of previews, PSAs, FBI warnings that won’t stop anyone from uplading to the Piratebay, and whatever the hell else movie companies put on DVDs. when you pireate you get straight to the point. no mess, no overpaid Hollywood actors out of their giant mansions.
For the most part, I agree with Dr. King, however it is somewhat vague and open to merciless misinterpretation by crackpots.
I think I would be willing to go to Jail to protest unjust laws, but only if certain criteria is there. I would have to be protesting a law that restricts or limits the rights of someone, were someone else may have those rights (Civil rights). Or I would have to be helping/saving lives with the law I was protesting. Also I would make sure that when arrested I would not be charged with a felony, because I don’t want something like that on my record, especially if something goes wrong during the protest.
In the list, I would be willing to protest for gay rights/marriage. I would protest for this, because of what I said above. It is a law that affects or restricts the rights of a certain person that other people have. Basically two people who are heterosexual should have the same rights, and responsibilities as two gay people.
“A just law is a man made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law.“
I agree with Dr. Kings reasoning of what makes a law just or unjust. I think that he explains a just or good law in a perfect way. It is a law that is moral with what god would view as a moral law. He is almost saying that we should make laws, so that even god would approve of them, and they are fair to everyone. When he says of unjust laws “is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law”, this makes perfect sense in comparison to what he views as moral laws. If a law is not “in harmony” or good with our morals then it should not be a law. So he is saying that if god would view the law as immoral, than it shouldn’t be one in the first place.
I think that I would be willing to go to jail for something that I believe deeply in because if I was treated the way that black Americans were treated then I couldn’t put up with it. I think that it would be hard because being put in jail would affect my future, but in a situation like the civil rights movement, the people who I would want to be associated with would not necessarily agree with me but they would understand why I had to do it.
I think that abortion is not something that you can say what should be done every time. I think that each situation is different. I do, however, think that there should not be laws restricting abortion. I think that abortion is a personal decision; it isn’t for the government to decide. I wouldn’t be willing to go to jail over this law, but I would fight for it peacefully.
I also think that immigration laws aren’t fair because the one in Arizona groups people by their looks. That isn’t fair because innocent people could be accused just because of the way they look.
Yes, I agree with Dr. King’s reasoning because just and unjust laws are determined by the people that they govern. If people don’t think it lines up with moral law or law of God then people won’t think that they are fair.
As of today, there aren’t any laws that I would be willing to truly fight for and go to jail because none have directly affected me.
a. A. I think that if I felt strongly enough about a certain cause, I would go to jail for it. But if I was in lets say high school and not in college yet, I would probably not because my grades wouldn’t be enough to get me in. The misdemeanor alone would probably take away most of your chances of getting in to a good college but it all depends on the times and what you are fighting for. I would probably not commit a felony for a cause because that gets to high up and sort of brakes the border of peaceful protest. But that is probably the extent of my arrest, arrested for peaceful protest without a permit would be fine with me.
b. B. I would definitely fight against restrictions on abortions and not to be funny. Some people, mainly teens, have a little partying and they make mistakes which lead to pregnancy. The child should not be born into the hands of someone incapable of raising the chiod properly. You could argue that the kid gets put up for adoption or the mother acs as a surrogate, but women should still have the right. There will also never be a stoppage of back-alley abortions so its safer. Protest against war is stupid to me because it means you don’t know much about the war. You could not like it but protesting in the streets is wrong. The soldiers sign up to protect and eliminate the people that are out to kill you. The Iraq and middle east wars are very serious in these causes. I would argue that everything illegal should be illegal, except downloading music illegally. It’s a joke and everyone does it. Also, I wish there never to be a draft.
c. C. I agree with Dr. King. It is basically saying that a law should make a person do the right thing or be allowed to. Not an unjust one that allows to do something wrong. So some laws need to be protested to prevent things like that.
a. Of all the examples given, the only one which I might possibly be inclined to be willing to go to jail for is if the U.S. were to reinstate the draft. Most laws I would not be willing to destroy my future by going to jail for, however, this one I might depending on the situation. If I agreed with the United States’ decision to go to war then I would have no problem cooperating with the draft and going to fight for my country, however, if we were for whatever reason in the midst of a war that I did not agree should even be fought, then I would certainly rather go to jail than be forced to fight against my own beliefs. Even this form of civil disobedience is not exactly in protest, but more a simple unwillingness to kill another man just because my country told me to.
b. In the list above I would be plenty willing to fight against several of them, namely I would fight for a flat tax (as I’m sure you guessed I would), I would fight for gay rights (I’m not a fan of victim-less crimes), and I would fight against the military draft. I would fight for a flat tax because I do not see why it is necessary or advisable to punish people for being successful and earning a lot of money. I also believe that the current tax system inhibits economic growth. I would fight for gay rights because I believe that people should be able to marry whoever they want and although some extremists may say that this will lead to people marrying their goats I don’t think it matters. If someone really wants to marry their goat, I don’t see why it’s the government’s job to tell them they can’t; especially since marriage is a victim-less crime and nobody but the person performing the act can be harmed by it. I would fight against the military draft because I believe that people should have the right to choose whether or not they wish to fight for their country. It may happen that someone who is drafted does not agree, or is not overly enthusiastic about the cause for which he will have to fight. I also think that it is absolutely ridiculous that only men can be drafted based solely on the fact that men have a tendency to be stronger, which is not always the case. There are plenty of weak men who end up being drafted and plenty of strong women who never are given the chance to fight (although I suppose this is a moot point considering I don’t agree with the draft to begin with).
c. I do not agree with Dr. King’s reasoning on what makes a law just or unjust. This is because I do not believe that a law can be both just and unjust at the same time, however people may have different morals.
In all honesty, my decision would be based on what I was going to jail for. If it was an issue that I felt extremely strong about, then most likely yes. However, if one of my friends had simply said “hey, come join this protest with me,” then probably not. While making this decision, I would have to put a great deal of thought into my future. With the type of future I look forward to having, jail time is just not something I would like to have weighing me down in the professional world. And besides just career wise, I’m sure it would also affect me in regards to getting accepted into college. It’s just not a risk I’d be super willing to take.
A couple of laws I would definitely be willing to fight for would have to be abortion and gay rights. Starting on the subject of gay rights, I just don’t think it’s right not to allow someone to marry the person they love solely based on gender. I have quite a few gay friends and to see them struggling to be themselves now, and knowing that it will be even harder once we’re released into the “real world” quite honestly scares me. To have not only society, but the government preventing you from being yourself is something I could never fathom. Now, on the topic of abortion. If a law were to be passed outlawing abortion, I wouldn’t think that was right. While I would never even consider having one, I think the decision should ultimately made by the mother, and I don’t think that anyone else should be able to make that decision. Legally, a fetus isn’t considered a person, so for the government to outlaw abortions, I feel, would be a direct contradiction of that very legal fact.
I don’t necessarily agree, but I don’t disagree either. I feel that in regards to the acknowledgement of newer religions, or am lack thereof, God’s moral code wouldn’t apply to a large percentage of Americans. While I do agree with the basic gist of what he was saying, I feel that some minor adjustments should be made to the statement in order for me to fully agree. I think a just law should be in agreement with the moral code of humans, as in, what’s right versus what’s wrong. And that differs for everyone, so I don’t think a conclusion could ever be 100% on this matter.
1. I do not think that I would be willing to go to jail for sticking up for something as big as the Civil Rights Movement. I would for sure definitely support anyone who did and was willing to stick up for this and do whatever it took, even going to jail to get their rights but I don’t think that I would be able to do that. I want to be able to accomplish more things than just going to jail for being at the wrong place at the wrong time, even if i was supporting something that i believe in. There are many different ways that I could help contribute to make a change in something that i believed in, and many of these ways are without needing to go to jail. It would ruin my future, and i would like to have other plans for my future than going to jail.
2. Many of the items on the list are good causes that are worth fighting for, but the most important one to me is the one about the environment and more environmental laws. I am a big believer in going green and helping our earth, and I think that many people do a very poor job in trying to help this earth. I do not want to grow up and have my kids live in a world that is polluted and where global warming is happening all around. I think that something needs to be done to stop the harming of the environment before it is too late, so I would be willing to fight against this problem.
3. I do agree with Dr. King’s reasoning on what makes a law just or unjust. It isn’t right if a person feels bad because of a law that was made. This is their country that they are living in, and they should feel just like a citizen than any other person in this country. If a law that was made doesn’t treat everyone fairly, then it isn’t right and the law should not be practiced.
I don’t really know whether I would have gone to jail in protest. I most certainly would have been outraged by these laws, but I think it would be hard for me as a teenager to go ahead and risk me career to break a law. I would find some other way to help with the cause at least until I was older. If when I was older, I had a job where going to jail for this would not be a problem then I would go to jail in protest.
I would protest gay rights laws, abortion laws, and immigration laws. If we did have a military draft I would protest that. I don’t think that I would go to jail, however, at this point in time. Mostly because I’m not really sure how you could apply civil disobedience to this situation. It would be kind of hard for me to break these laws seeing as how I don’t have any need to marry a girl, get an abortion, or immigrate to the U.S. I think these laws restrict too much freedom and I understand that it’s kind of an arbitrary line to draw, but I think these laws give the government too much power into people’s personal lives.
I think that while I agree with Dr. King’s statement, I think that it is easily refutable. I mean the whites during the civil rights movement believed that it was their morals and their personality that made them hate blacks. They believed it was the right thing to do to keep blacks “in their place.” I see that his statement make sense, but I don’t think that it could be applied making any law for sure just or unjust. I mean moral laws aren’t really a set thing people believe that many different things are right. For that matter, it’s kind of hard to apply God’s law to the situation as well, how can somebody feel that a law is just because it follows God’s law if they don’t believe in God.
I would be willing to protest and go to jail depending on the circumstances things got to. Also under what charges would be held against me. I believe abortions and gay rights should be allowed because people should have the right to do what they what with their own body and life style. I don’t believe there should be a military draft because if you didn’t join the military, you obviously didn’t want to be in it, there for, you shouldn’t be forced to be in it. I believe that pirate software and music is alright for the people that do it because it’s there for them to get. You shouldn’t get in trouble for something that’s on the internet for you. If anyone is going to get in trouble, it should be the website and not the people taking the software. If there is a lack of jobs, then there is a lack of jobs, there isn’t much you can do about these things so either the top percent of people with money want to make companies for more jobs, otherwise it will just stay the same. I’m sort of indifferent about what makes a law just or unjust because I’m not one who follows that stuff.
I don’t think that I would actually have the guts to go to jail for a cause I believe in. I think that I would fight for civil rights but when it actually came to going to jail I think I would completely chicken out. I would not be willing got go to jail partly because I would be afraid of not getting into college and not being able to get a job. But I guess if it was in the 50s or 60s I wouldn’t care about going to jail because I most likely wouldn’t be going to college or working. I would be willing to fight for environmental rights and maybe rights for gays and physically and mentally challenged people. If we don’t take care of the environment then there won’t be anything left for us to take care of. And America was made off of the principle that every person is equal so everyone should be treated equal. And I guess we can throw in abortion and having the right to choose because everyone should have their own choice based on what they believe and are comfortable with not based on what other Christian and people believe is that right thing to do. I completely agree with what Martin Luther King Jr. says make s a unjust and just law. The just laws are no the ones that actually are fair and moral. The “just” laws are the ones that go with religious restrictions and guidelines. A country that is built off of a religion is perfectly able to base their laws and rules off of that religion. But the U.S. is not a country built from a religion it is a country built off of religious freedom so our laws should not project the beliefs of religions. Laws shouldn’t be considered fair or just if they go with religions or what people want they should be considered just if they are moral and fair to everyone no matter where they are from or what religion.