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File Name | S21-LD-NSDA-02-INFO-Overview-of-Civil-Disobedience-1.docx |
File Size | 33.29 KB |
Date added | August 17, 2020 |
Category | Archived |
Tags | Lincoln-Douglas, NSDA, Season 21 |
“Government of the people, by the people, and for the people shall not perish from the earth.” We all agree with Abraham Lincoln in the Gettysburg Address that Governments are meant for the people. Not the other way around. But what happens when the people disagree with government?
When people disagree with government, they tend to react the same way as when they disagree with their parents. They disobey. We call this nonviolent resistance of law. In other words, “civil disobedience.”
In your home, your parents can tell you to clean your room, and if you find this command unjust you can choose not to. That’s civil disobedience. Obviously, this term takes more meaningful connotations when we talk about it in relation to government. When Rosa Parks refused to sit in the place reserved for his race on a bus, that was civil disobedience. When Susan B. Anthony illegally voted to protest voting restrictions on women, that was civil disobedience.
We typically see these historical examples of civil disobedience as right and helpful to society. They weren’t seen that way at the time, perhaps like how some see today’s acts of civil disobedience. Either way, they are still civil disobedience. When Occupy protesters took over public parks to “occupy” them, that was civil disobedience. When the activist group Black Lives Matter blocked streets to protest suspected police brutality, that was civil disobedience. When Kim Davis refused to issue a marriage license to a gay couple, that was civil disobedience. When the Westboro Baptist Church disturbs the peace by picketing soldier’s funerals, that’s civil disobedience.
The conundrum with civil disobedience is the fact that it requires individuals to make moral judgments on the laws of a nation. And as James Madison said, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary.”
This is what you’ll be debating in this membership overview. Resolved: Civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified. To prepare you for your debate, you will have to accomplish the following:
- Understand what civil disobedience is.
- Take a look at 3 paths for each side of the resolution.
- Study model cases, affirming and negating the resolution.
The third will be done in coming weeks. As a Monument Member, you will receive an affirmative and negative case to model. The first two we will accomplish now.