Brady Guo 11/8/2014
Affirmation Case
On April 16, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. composed a letter from Birmingham Jail in
response to local religious associates’ criticisms of the Birmingham Campaign. Here is what he included
in his letter, “Actually, we who engage in nonviolent direct action are not the creators of tension. We
merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open where it
can be seen and dealt with.” As a result, I acknowledge with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s quote from the
letter, as well as I affirm the resolution Resolved: Civil Disobedience in a democracy is morally
justified.
Civil Disobedience is defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as “Refusal to obey
governmental demands or commands, especially as a nonviolent and usually collective means of forcing
concessions from the government.” Democracy is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as “A system of
government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected
representatives.”
My value is Morality, as defined by American Oxford Dictionary “Principles concerning the
distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.” Morality supports the concept of
justification, therefore in order for anything to be morally justified, it must accomplish the value of
morality. My Criterion is Utilitarianism, “The doctrine that an action is right in so far as it promotes
happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of
conduct.” As defined by the Oxford Dictionary.
Contention I: Subpoint A. Civil disobedience is vital to any democratic society, civil disobedience also
creates reformations on unjustified laws and policies. It is vital to societies’ progression and improvement.
The act of civil disobedience supports the fundamentals of utilitarianism by creating the greatest
happiness for the greatest number of people by leading the government to revise any unjust laws. The
consequence of the action determines the distinction between good and bad of an action, which also
applies to civil disobedience. In corresponding to utilitarianism, civil disobedience is one of the best
action to do, more advantageous, in order to develop the common well-being of everyone. Which will
lead to an improved society and bring satisfaction to the morality of the people while benefiting most
people possible, by eliminating immoral laws and policies. Also, civil disobedience supports the stability
of the society.
Subpoint B. Civil disobedience is proven effective and efficient throughout history, while
other alternatives to change laws mostly less effective. Directly informing a legislator about an unjustified
law is only a fraction of the process, it requires to gain attention from an officeholder, but not only one
officeholder, it is the majority of all office holders. In order to bring attention to the issue, civil
disobedience is the right approach. Due to the fact that civil disobedience will communicate the message
throughout the media to most citizens and office holders possible. Along with an increasing amount of
citizens who eventually recognize the unjustified laws. One example is the African-American Civil Rights
Movement.
Contention II: Civil disobedience is an approach to urge for a revision of any immoral laws. In a
democracy, governmental decision mostly are in favor of the majority people, due to the fact that
minorities holds an insignificant power to participate in the creation of laws and policies in order to affect
the decision which may potentially infringe their right. Civil disobedience is an excellent method for
minorities to use in order to present governmental decisions they are affected by. The quote in the
beginning is an excellent example that civil disobedience is a tool used to reveal the oppression happened
in the United States between minorities and the legislature. Civil disobedience will be bringing attention
to laws or policies which is considered immoral by the minorities. Martin Luther King Jr. Explained in his
quote that civil disobedience brings out the conflict to the public attention which will be negotiated
instead of continuing tensions between the government and the affected population for the other hand.
Without the ability to perform civil disobedience, the ideas of utilitarianism and morality is not satisfied.
Brady Guo 11/8/2014
At the end of the 19th century, Southern states of the United States had passed laws of racial
segregation, which they are directed against African-American population. As Democratic politicians
returned as the leading power in the Southern governments, it eventually leads to the creation of racial
segregation laws throughout the United States. These series of laws are also known as “Jim Crow Laws”,
it started when the former Confederate states began to place a sequence of taxes, literacy tests,
comprehension tests, and complicated requirements into the voting process. These new amendments had
efficiently prevented most African-American to vote, by other means, the Southern government
disfranchised African-Americans from the United States’ politics simply by restricting their suffrage and
excluding their power in the state government. Which makes the African-American population more
vulnerable to unjustified laws and regulations. These laws prohibit intermarriage, restricts education and
eliminates the unity of races in the United States. On the other hand, a series of events occurred,
Montgomery Bus Boycott, Birmingham Campaign, Montgomery March, and other event. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr emerged as a compelling leader in the Civil Rights Movement against racial segregation
and inequality in the United States. Montgomery Bus Boycott, Birmingham Campaign, Montgomery
March are all examples of non-violent civil disobedience which ultimately leads to the end of racial
segregation after the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which it legalized all forms unlawful and
discriminatory practices on all citizens in the workforce, followed by The Voting Rights Act of 1965,
which the act grants suffrage to all citizens in the United States with the exclusion of racial segregation.
In addition, the African-American Civil Rights Movement restored equality in the American society. This
is an excellent example of how civil disobedience repairs corrupted governments and restore happiness to
the greatest amount of people possible.
The minority simply uses civil disobedience in order to motivate politicians to revise any unjust
laws and policies, by improving the conditions for the minority without decreasing the quality of the
condition that the majority already had.
As of the conclusion, Civil disobedience in a democracy is morally justified, due to the fact that it
satisfy utilitarianism, by contributing to the well-being of the minorities without interfering the well-being
of the majorities. It is the most effective method for revision of unjustified laws. For all arguments above,
I stand in firm affirmation of the resolution.
Brady Guo 11/8/2014
Negation Case
I will first present my case, and then continue on to the affirmative.
"One cannot expect a regime to last if any citizen can at any time decide to defy its laws
whenever his conscience moves him to do so." As Richard Reeb included in his publication “It’s the
Regime, Folks.” If we resolve to civil disobedience, it will dismantle the basic purpose of a democracy.
All citizens in a democracy have freedom of speech and freedom to present their positions. There
are better alternatives for civil disobedience, which it may degrade to violence. For my agreement with
the quote and the reasoning, I negate the resolution, Resolved: Civil Disobedience in a democracy is
morally justified.
Civil Disobedience is defined by the Merriam Webster Dictionary as “refusal to obey laws as a
way of forcing the government to do or change something” Democracy is defined by the Oxford
Dictionary as “A system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state,
typically through elected representatives.”
My value is Morality, as defined by American Oxford Dictionary “Principles concerning the
distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.” Morality supports the concept of
justification, therefore in order for anything to be morally justified, it must accomplish the value of
morality. My Criterion is Utilitarianism, “The doctrine that an action is right in so far as it promotes
happiness, and that the greatest happiness of the greatest number should be the guiding principle of
conduct.” As defined by the Oxford Dictionary. According to late 18th and 19th-century English
philosophers and economists Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill, the action is right if it contributes to
happiness, otherwise the action is wrong if it contributes unhappiness.
Contention I: It is totally unnecessary to violate laws in a democracy for civil disobedience. The
conditions in a government are dynamic, which provides alternatives to reform unjustified laws. Elections
can take place timely, and governments are held accountable for the changes to the immoral laws through
voting. Citizens can schedule meetings, organize marches legally, creating petitions and setting campaigns
throughout the media. All these methods are safe and effective.
Contention II: Civil disobedience often degrades to brutality. An example is on September 15,
1963, during the Birmingham Campaign of the African-American Civil Rights Movement, Ku Klux Klan
(a.k.a. KKK) bombarded Sixteenth Street Baptist Church at 10:22 AM, killing 4 people. Civil
disobedience at Birmingham, Alabama had made the city into a war zone.
Now, focusing on my opponent's case.