Shorter Responsive Essay

English 2010
Ceami Passey
March 15, 2016

Civil Disobedience: Helping or Hurting American People?

Civil disobedience is said to be the refusal to comply with certain laws
or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest.
(Definitions, 2016) I could portray civil disobedience by not doing this shorter
responsive essay as a protest that I am given too much work. This protest
could result in a failing grade, or in being given less work to do. Many people
have pondered whether civil disobedience is a rite of passage, or if someone
should be punished for what they have done.
One case of civil disobedience, done by Edward Snowden, left many to
wonder if what he had done was right, or if he was a traitor and liar to
mankind. Snowden was an employee for the National Security Agency before
he leaked the secret that the NSA had troves of metadata on the phone calls
of Americans. (DeCosse, 2012) Americans thanked him for letting them know
what the NSA was doing behind their back, and thought of his civil
disobedience as an honorable act.
On the other hand, there were some who were very angry with his
choice, such as the NSA. Not only did the NSA get infuriated, but citizens
believed he could not be trusted because he worked for the NSA, a secret
organization, so he could just be saying a lie to cover up something else from
the NSA. If Henry David Thoreau or Martin Luther King Jr had been alive
during this time, they would have applauded Snowdens actions. Thoreau
stated Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by
the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free.
It does not settle the West. It does not educate. The character inherent in the
American people has done somewhat more, if the government had not
sometimes got in its way. (Thoreau, 1846) This quote from Thoreau is
stating that the government says they are doing things for the American
people, when really they are just hindering their progression. Sometimes it is
good for people to stand out and go against the law because it shows the
government that they do not have complete power over the people, and that
some of the stuff they do are not helping the people.
When Americans voice their opinions, they are letting the government
know what is going on in the minds of some American citizens, which can in
turn benefit them, and others who were too hesitant to speak their mind.

On the other hand, too much civil disobedience is not good because it
can make people do things that could be harmful to others, and it could
cause the government to instill stricter laws. King agreed with Thoreaus
remarks, as he sat in Birmingham jail for speaking out about civil rights.
Black people are the same as white people, besides the color of skin, so why
should they be treated differently? King was the leader of the civil rights act,
and he felt it was right to speak out about the inequality that was occurring.
From Kings act of civil disobedience, and those that followed him, they were
able to get equality for the blacks then and now. As King was speaking out
about the inequality he said, Let me give another explanation. A law is
unjust if it is inflicted on a minority that, as a result of being denied the right
to vote, had no part in enacting or devising the law. Who can say that the
legislature of Alabama which set up that states segregation laws was
democratically elected? (Martin Luther King, 1963) Here he was saying how
it was unfair that blacks had to follow a law that they were not able to vote
for or against for, so it should be acceptable that they have an act of civil
disobedience to try and get what they want.
Lewis H. Van Dusen believed that those who were involved in civil
disobedience acts should be seen as criminals. They believed that people
should stay within the law, and do as their told, instead of going against what
the government has formed for them. In Van Dusens opposing view of civil
disobedience he said, Those who justify violence and radical action as being
in the tradition of out Revolution show a misunderstanding of the philosophy
of democracy. (Lewis H. Van Dusen, 1969) Van Dusen is saying that those
who dont withhold to the laws and what the government says to do, are not
intelligent in what democracy is doing; in what the government is doing for
them. If Van Dusen had witnessed Snowdens civil disobedience, he would
have said that he was a destroyer of democracy. Every person has their own
opinion on whether civil disobedience is correct or not. According to the
information I have been given from Thoreau, King, and Van Dusen, I believe
that King had the best argument to why civil disobedience can be acceptable
in todays society. He was very good at not saying that people should act out
just because they did not like something, but they should act out if they
believed something to be wrong and unfair. When Snowden leaked the
information of the NSA he believed what was happening was wrong, so he let
the people know about it. This act was against protocol, but now it has
American more wary about what they do or say on the phone. Everyone
should know the pros and cons to civil disobedience so that they can make
their own decisions if something is right or wrong. Like King, I believe civil

disobedience to be right if it is done for the fairness of others, or if something

is being done that should not be done.

Works Cited
DeCosse, D. (2012). Edward Snowden and the Moral Worth of Civil Disobedience. In
P. Allen, & C. Peterson, It Begins With Our Questions (pp. 182-183). Salt Lake
City: Hayden McNeil.
Definitions. (2016, April 4). Retrieved from Google: https://www.google.com/search?
q=civil+disobedience&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=civil+disobedience+definition
Lewis H. Van Dusen, J. (1969). CIvil Disobedience: Destroyer of Democracy. In L. Z.
Bloom, E. M. White, & S. Borrowman, Inquiry: Questioning, Reading, Writing;
Second Edition (pp. 404-410). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Martin Luther King, J. (1963). Letter From Birmingham Jail. In L. Z. Bloom, E. M.
White, & S. Borrowman, Inquiry: Questioning, Reading, Writing; Second
Edition (pp. 388-403). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Thoreau, H. D. (1846). Civil Disobedience. In L. Z. Bloom, E. M. White, & S.
Borrowman, Inquiry: Questioning, Reading, Writing; Second Edition (pp. 370388). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.