Government Resistance Research Paper

In light of the recent presidential election, many people fear for their freedom as restrictions on immigration, religion, and abortion rights have been proposed. As a result of this, on January 20th, countless citizens banded together across America in “Women’s Marches”, the largest of about 400,000 people at Washington, D.C. (10 Actions). At these protests, advocating for people of all genders, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientations, zero arrests were made. These peaceful gatherings gained the attention and unification of many people across the country and motivated citizens to continue to organize events. At the Women’s March on San Francisco, it was said by a speaker that we are “on the right side of history”. As people continue to vocalize their disagreements with the government, change will always be made, though it may be

Peaceful resistance to laws is one of the strongest and most important foundations of a free society. Countless peaceful demonstrations have been led in the history of the United States, with positive outcomes that have helped shape the country.

With over five million women, men and children united in all seven continents, the Women’s March was by far the largest and most peaceful protest in history. Washington, Los Angeles, London, New Delhi, Sydney and Paris are only a few out of the many cities world-wide that all groups of ages, genders, races and religions merged together on January 21st, 2017 to send a clear message to the brand-new government of the United States. Accumulating no arrest, the protesters conveyed that all rights are women’s rights, making the demonstration a successful act of civil disobedience. Although the Women’s March has yet to force the Congress to reform civil policy, the protest, along with all peaceful resistances, continue to positively impact free societies.

It provided a sense of unity and resolve that impacted women, men and children in multiple cities and taught people of all statuses to not be silenced during a time of oppression and international fear. After the President’s misogynistic comments terrorized women in the United States, the Women’s March on Washington was a “clap back” towards the office, defending angry women of every race. Unlike Donald Trump, 3.3 million people in multiple cities do not use violence and sexual harassment to condone good behavior. Our society, unlike the office, strives to create a safe, healthy, environment free of all forms of violence against our

Peaceful resistance positively impacts a free society, particularly in a Democracy such as the United States. Abraham Lincoln famously described our national foundation as a “government of the people, by the people, for the people”, and for such a statement to be true, it is necessary that voices of US citizens be heard.

On January 21, 2017, millions of women, and even some men, joined together in various cities to march for civil rights. According to the March on Washington’s official website, these people exerted their energy in union to inflict liberation, “joining in diversity to show our presence in numbers.” These citizens were unhappy with the acts and rhetoric of our current federal power holders, and they acted. People of all colors, genders, beliefs, and backgrounds joined together to uphold the rights for marginalized people. In fact, in the Women’s March’s mission they state, “defending the most marginalized among us is defending all of us.” As Americans, these people had the right to protest and spread their beliefs, and generated a historic event. Therefore, peaceful resistance to laws is, in fact, an imperative aspect to a free

Walking peacefully, proudly, without violence or negativity, each of us at the New York march had stories. Each of us were told women were never “good enough.” Yet we were strong enough, smart enough, and peaceful enough to make our point clear. Peaceful opposition to unjust laws or policies makes America democratic, giving minorities, victims, and outcasts the chance to advocate themselves and their beliefs.

Nonviolent movements are widespread across America, but very little are effective enough to create monumental change or to have a lasting impact. In their article "Waging Nonviolence: What makes nonviolent movements explode", Mark and Paul Engler explore what makes nonviolent protests powerful enough to force change. Written in December 2014, the article uses modern and historic examples of protest movements, with the main focus on the Occupy Wall Street movement, to create the context as to what each of the methods discussed has accomplished. Using the main example of Occupy Wall Street, the article showcases two major points, disruption and sacrifice, that nonviolent protest movements utilize in order to have the greatest effect, as well as how those two points work together to create lasting impacts. Disruption relies on interrupting everyday life and preventing business from occurring, while sacrifice focuses on what people are willing to risk and give up in order to see the change they wish for. In their article, the Engler’s propose that while these two methods of protest can be effective, protests rarely become large enough to actually create any change, even if they are combined, simply because the major businesses, corporations, and organizations that are being protested hold incredible amounts of political power and therefore are able to very easily shut down protests with police forces. This argument, that protests are inevitably going to fail, is very realistic

When considering the respective mindsets of the Founding Fathers and modern-day peaceful protesters, it is natural to conclude that there is one resolution that encapsulates the mission of both ensembles: to grant the downtrodden their rights. This is why when Americans imply that peaceful protestation is a detriment to societal well-being, I am compelled to wonder if they have forgotten this imperative goal. This nation is dedicated to protecting and expanding upon the liberties of the populace, and our government was constructed in order to take cues from its constituents about what needs fixing. It is only natural that if we, the people, see some liberty amiss or find some law unjust, it is not only our right as granted in the First Amendment,

In today's society, the foundation of civil uprisings have been constructed on the principles of both Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.. Even though we are in the 21st century and have overcome numerous events, today we are still fighting the obstacles that both these men had fought during their lifetime. Unfortunately, equality for everyone is still not a concept that has been reached in America, but due to innumerous protests many great outcomes have risen. Both Gandhi and King fabricated a method of non-violent protesting that only benefits the protestors because they give authority no reason to intervene. If authority was interfere against the protest, then the cause would rise in popularity and aggrandize. Although this type of

Fighting for freedom has been demonstrated throughout centuries. A common saying, “Fighting is never the answer,” describes that people believe nonviolence is the best solution for demanding independence. However, several people disagree and conclude that “It’s better to fight for something than live for nothing.” These words from George S. Patton explains that dying for a good cause by fighting is worth it than living without making a difference. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Ahdaf Soueif explores the idea that freedom must be demanded through either peaceful or violent protest.

Peaceful resistance is a major part of American history, from the American Revolution to the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement to the Travel Ban protests of today. These instances of peaceful resistance shape American society for the better, as the voices of minorities are heard and unjust laws are ended. Peaceful resistance does positively impact a free society, as supported by Henry Thoreau, demonstrated by the 1960 Civil Rights Movement, and anticipated by protests of today.

In recent years, a wave of activism has swept across the nation in volume unheard of since the 1960s. Peaceful resistance has become somewhat of a rite of passage for young people, with protesting for or against various causes being treated as vogue in a similar vein to other more traditional youth activities such as attending nightclubs and going to concerts. Strikingly, the youth culture has both normalized protest and come to encourage it, similar in peer-pressure to smoking or underage drinking. Older adults who are undeniably disconnected from most of the youth culture partake as well, albeit to a smaller degree. This scenario raises the question: is this societal shift towards peaceful resistance and activism a positive one? The answer

Despite the massive amount of controversy caused by the peaceful protesting of laws, it has been an essential part of numerous positive changes in American society today. Without the use of peaceful protest, Women and blacks would still be considered as “less” than white men, or they would have had to resort to more drastic measures in their efforts, which would have made their fight for equality that much harder.

Resistance to laws incites mixed feelings in society, whether the resistance is peaceful or not the people who are involved will feel many different things. For the most part peaceful resistance has received better outcomes when it pertains to change. Peaceful resistance has a positive impact on society because they don't force people to change their views, while keeping cities and places intact. Peaceful protest throughout human history have been extremely effective in changing unjust issues in society without breaking up the society.