Can Breaking the Law Ever Be Justified - 688 Words

Anav Pradhan (GP2) Can breaking the law ever be justified? Imagine a world without those brave people who dared to not abide by the law and fight for a right. A world without Gandhi would be a world without independent India; without Mandela there would be white superiority in Africa; without freedom fighters, there would be no democracy in Nepal. I believe that all the actions of such law breakers are good, even though they were against various laws, and such actions can be justified to some extent. Even though laws are meant to maintain order and protect rights, it is not always justified; some might be unfair to minorities whereas others might stir up a revolution. Some just violate human rights. In such cases, civil disobedience†¦show more content†¦It is just a way showing the love of nature to many and there is no reason why it is wrong to do so. Likewise, PETA activists might have done a nude rally to raise awareness against wearing fur clothing. An act like this would be a justifiable reason to break the law. More than break ing the law, it is an animal rights awareness campaign which should lie higher than the nudity law. There are also cases where law breaking becomes a compulsion, which is when it comes to life and death. The hierarchy of law should be taken into account. Saving somebody’s life is always of more importance than obeying civil laws. For example, if a person is severely injured and the closest hospital is across the border in another country, then illegally crossing the border should not be the main concern, saving the person’s life should and in such cases law breaking is most definitely justifiable. However, breaking the law is not always justified. Vigilantism and Terrorism are two major issues where groups or individuals claim to be providing justice or freedom. Vigilantes like the Ku Klux Klan are basically extremists who try to bring justice by exterminating wrong doers, while in doing so they are violating greater laws. To some they are freedom fighters and to others they are terrorists. Other extremists like the Jihadists are even worse; they conduct violent bombings and self sacrifices in the name of religion destroying innocent lives alongShow MoreRelatedCan breaking the law ever be justified?893 Words   |  4 PagesThere were times in history when breaking the law was justified: great leaders like Gandhi and Martin Luther King broke the law and changed the world for the better. Breaking the law is morally justifiable and acceptable when the law in itself is iniquitous and if that law violates human rights and conscience; Certainly, rules are established for us to follow but we as human beings should be able to differentiate the right and the wrong and incase laws need to be violated for the right cause evenRead MoreBeing Morally Justified in Disobeying Laws We Consider to be Immoral644 Words   |  3 PagesBeing Morally Justified in Disobeying Laws We Consider to be Immoral The answer to this question depends very much on our understanding and opinion on the status of the law. On this issue it is likely that everyone falls into one of two broad categories. People falling into the first of these categories would be those who consider that through social contract we are obliged to obey the law, whatever the law states and regardless of our opinion on the moral status of that law and that we are morallyRead MoreThe Disobedience Of Authority By Socrates982 Words   |  4 PagesDisobedience of Authority Whether it is ever justified to disobey authority has been disagreed upon for centuries; Plato outlined the issue of disobedience in his work of Crito, where Socrates is sentenced to death for: openly practicing philosophy, corruption of the young, and disbelief in the gods of Athens. 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We assume that any knowingly innocent person would have escaped this sentence if given the opportunity and supportRead MoreBreaking the Law or Civil Desobedience Essay example1642 Words   |  7 Pagesweak started it. Their actions proved it. Disobeying a law is a crime that the offender should be willing to take the punishment for and let his sacrifice be used as a point to rally around to create a just, moral change. Whenever a law is deemed unjust, there is good reason for breaking it to achieve justice. Civil Disobedience will never be legal and those who employ it should be willing to accept the penalty that comes with breaking a law. It has been shown through historic cases, modern examplesRead MoreSocrates s Value Of Athenian Law1586 Words   |  7 PagesWe are comfortable breaking the law when we feel it does not apply to us, that laws such as the speed limit are not real laws because everyone breaks them. In 399 BC, Socrates would have disagreed with this assertion, and died in part to keep this idea from spreading. Socrates was sentenced to death by an Athenian court, though the punishment did not fit the crimes he was accused of. We assume that any knowingly innocent person would have escaped this sentence if given the opportunity and supportRead MoreEssay on Letter from a Birmingham Jail854 Words   |  4 Pagesindividual ever morally justified in breaking a law?   The answer to this question is yes.   There are several reasons that have made me believe that it is morally justifiable in breaking the law; however the most convincing comes from Dr. Martin Luther King in his letter from a Birmingham Jail.   We can never forget what that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal... (Classic Arguments 668).   King went on in his letter to say that it would be against man made law to help aRead MoreCivil Disobedience And The Civil War1047 Words   |  5 Pagesdisobedience. Breaking the laws that England imposed on the colonies was the first step in a revolution that established a new form of representative democracy. Most of the great social changes that have come about over the 200+ years of our existence had its roots in the embracing of breaking a law of the land dutifully enacted by a legislative body. Civil disobedience is the deliberate disobeying of a law, or government directive prohibiting the action you are taking. Many laws established by