Essay On Civil Disobedience

Words: 705
Pages: 3

Since a young age, we have constantly been told that we need to do what is right...even if it is not what others are doing. When we first heard this, we thought it meant that we needed to stand up to the school bully or stop people from littering; but as we got older we realized that some of the things in need of change are larger than school rules and park signs. We now understand that sometimes in order to stand up for the things we believe to be true, we have to break a law. When done in a nonviolent manner this concept is called civil disobedience. Although sometimes countered with violent acts, peaceful resistance positively impacts our societies because without it, the land we call free would cease to be free.

The definition of freedom is “the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint” Of course our country has to have some restraints, because a society with no laws, rules, or regulations would immediately be more chaotic than a taco truck at lunchtime on national taco day. Our great country does however give us the right to act as we want, or in other words civilly disobey. Just to be clear, when I say disobey a law I don’t mean mass murder or robbing a bank... those would be
…show more content…
Knowing that being caught would mean certain death, fifty six of the nation's brightest minds signed a document that broke laws, insulted their king, and stated what they believed. This document is known as the Declaration of Independence. The document is basically statements of why the colonists didn’t want to obey the laws of the king and reasons why they shouldn't have to. By signing the Declaration of Independence our founding fathers were signing a document that proved they were civilly disobeying. Some of the signers of the document ended up being tortured and executed, but not one of them ever regretted standing up for what they believed