The Nonviolence's Role In The Civil Rights Movement

“An eye for an eye would make the whole world blind.” - Mahatma Gandhi

Nonviolence has two closely related meanings. It can refer, first, to a general philosophy of abstention from violence because of moral or religious principle and second, it can refer to the behavior of people using nonviolent action. Ethics plays a large role in the nonviolence movement, many people believe in using nonviolence as their only form of resolution because using violence would simply be the wrong solution. The goal of this type of nonviolence is not to defeat the enemy, but to win them over and create love and understanding between all. Love of the enemy, or the realization of the humanity of all people, is a fundamental concept of philosophical nonviolence. …show more content…
As he was heavily involved in the civil rights movement he strived to teach and bring nonviolent behavior to his followers. “God grant that as men and women all over the world struggle against evil systems they will struggle with love in their hearts, with understanding good will. Agape says you must go on with wise restraint and calm reasonableness but you must keep moving. We have a great opportunity in America to build here a great nation, a nation where all men live together as brothers and respect the dignity and worth of all human personality. We must keep moving toward that …show more content…
In my opinion, I think that nonviolence teaches patience; nonviolent protestors learned patience by talking issues out and resolving problems with other ways than fighting. Active listening and understanding produce nonviolence. Both these things go along with patience. Nonviolence pushes us as humans to be better and more spiritually in tune with surroundings and ourselves. If violence were the only option, there would continue to be people attacking one another in an uneducated, distasteful way. The philosophy of nonviolence helps people to dig deeper into themselves – it is a whole new kind of power, power without hurting. Nonviolence is such a wonderful concept and in a world where violence did not exist, it would be a full proof plan. In past history, we have seen that violence builds respect and authority. When violence is replaced with the ideas of nonviolence the authority over the situation becomes wishy-washy. I believe it takes people to be on a more mature level to be ok with nonviolence and the objectives behind