Non-Violence
No Reason for Violence
Imagine: Your school principal informs the student body that starting the next day, your lunch time will be cut from the usual 40 minutes to 30. You are upset about his decision. What do you do, respectfully confront your principal, or blow up the school? Sure, blowing up the school will bring attention to your protest, but is that the right thing to do? Violent protests are one example of capturing attention, but at the end of the day, non-violent means of protest are the best way of gaining freedom from repression, and violence as a form of protest will never be justified.
For example, one well-known leader who made many positive changes in United States history was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King fought non-violently against his country, and achieved many goals for the African-American community. Dr. King protested using his “Six Steps of Non-violent Social Change”, which is defined as “the process of conflict-resolution and change”, based on his own teachings. Dr. King provided an outstanding example of how using non-violent forms of protest can ease repression. Dr. King played a prominent role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which put an end to segregation on Montgomery public buses. Dr. King was also the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which fought for civil rights of blacks. These rights became part of the Civil Rights Act, which helped African Americans gain the right to vote. The greatest achievements of Dr. King were undoubtedly as a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King would have continued to gain even more rights for blacks, but a man who was against his teachings assassinated him, ironically enough, in a violent protest.
Also, on September 11th, 2001, a man named Osama bin Laden planned an attack on the Twin Towers in New York and many other monuments in the United States of America. After planning for years, the attackers simultaneously hijacked four large
Imagine: Your school principal informs the student body that starting the next day, your lunch time will be cut from the usual 40 minutes to 30. You are upset about his decision. What do you do, respectfully confront your principal, or blow up the school? Sure, blowing up the school will bring attention to your protest, but is that the right thing to do? Violent protests are one example of capturing attention, but at the end of the day, non-violent means of protest are the best way of gaining freedom from repression, and violence as a form of protest will never be justified.
For example, one well-known leader who made many positive changes in United States history was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. King fought non-violently against his country, and achieved many goals for the African-American community. Dr. King protested using his “Six Steps of Non-violent Social Change”, which is defined as “the process of conflict-resolution and change”, based on his own teachings. Dr. King provided an outstanding example of how using non-violent forms of protest can ease repression. Dr. King played a prominent role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott, which put an end to segregation on Montgomery public buses. Dr. King was also the president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which fought for civil rights of blacks. These rights became part of the Civil Rights Act, which helped African Americans gain the right to vote. The greatest achievements of Dr. King were undoubtedly as a leader of the American Civil Rights Movement. Dr. King would have continued to gain even more rights for blacks, but a man who was against his teachings assassinated him, ironically enough, in a violent protest.
Also, on September 11th, 2001, a man named Osama bin Laden planned an attack on the Twin Towers in New York and many other monuments in the United States of America. After planning for years, the attackers simultaneously hijacked four large
Cited: Baier, Bret, Anna Persky, and Ian McCaleb. "Bin Laden Claims Responsibility for 9/11." WWW.foxnews.com. N.p., 30 Oct. 2004. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. . - - -. "Bin Laden Claims Responsibility for 9/11." WWW.foxnews.com. N.p., 30 Oct. 2004. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. . Bhattacharya, Paramita. "Accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr." WWW.buzzle.com. N.p., 27 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. . - - -. "Accomplishments of Martin Luther King, Jr." WWW.buzzle.com. N.p., 27 Dec. 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. . Taylor, Alan. "9/11: The Day of the Attacks." WWW.theatlantic.com. N.p., 8 Sept. 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. . - - -. "9/11: The Day of the Attacks." WWW.theatlantic.com. N.p., 8 Sept. 2011. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. . White, Andirea White, and Joshua Browning Browning. "The Newsboy 's Strike (1899)." WWW.ows.edb.utexas.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. . - - -. "The Newsboy 's Strike (1899)." WWW.ows.edb.utexas.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Jan. 2014. .