And Justice For All essays

And Justice For All essays Throughout modern American culture certain laws passed by the majority have been considered unjust by a wise minority. However, with the logical and emotional appeal of hard fought battles, voices have been heard, and the minds of the majority can sometimes be converted to see the truth. Thoreau, after spending a night in jail and seeing the truth hidden behind the propaganda of the majority, became convinced that he could no longer accept his governments behavior of passing laws that benefit the majority with degrading the minority. Its quite ironic that by the government imprisoning Thoreau he became freer then ever before. He was able to see how the government turned peaceably inclined men into controllable machines. Thoreau saw how the government dealt with its citizens as only a body, while completely disregarding the sense, intellect, and moral beliefs of its people. In his essay Civil Disobedience, Thoreau stated that a government ruled by majority in all cases cannot be based on justice. He further believed that under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also prison. This point made by Thoreau can be seen as the truth throughout history. A just man never sits by quietly watching the majority degrade the minority to suit their own immoral purposes. Like Thoreau, another just man who stood out from the quiet minority was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. King was, as well, willing to suffer for his views to put an end to racial segregation, and was arrested on numerous occasions for holding strong in his believes and spreading his message throughout the minds of all Gods children. King often cited conscience as a guide to obeying just laws and disobeying unjust ones. In an essay written by King titled A letter from Birmingham Jail, King clearly defines the interpretation of the differerence between the two kin...