Essay Sample on Martin Luther King Jr Philosophy

Five years before Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated, he had written a letter addressing his opinion on civil disobedience. In his letter, Martin Luther King Jr supports civil disobedience, natural law, and a call to Christian activism. The letter is up to date regarded as one of the best and informative letters in the history of America. He wrote the letter while still in Birmingham City jail because some white clergymen opposed him for leading illegal demonstrations. On 16th April 1963, he wrote the letter that was addressed to the clergymen.

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The clergymen were criticizing him for he was influencing people to break some laws. They thought that he was going against the Supreme Court's decision on segregation. They wondered why he was advocating for breaking some rules and for others to be followed. This was when Martin Luther King Jr outlined to the clergymen that in his opinion, there are two types of laws; just laws and unjust laws. He continues to state in his letter that people have a responsibility to bid by the just rules and not to obey the unjust ones.

In his letter, he points out the difference between the two types of laws. Just law is a law that is in accordance with God’s law. The law also raises a person's personality. On the other hand, he says that unjust law is the opposite of the just law; it lowers a person's personality, and it is not in accordance with the laws of God. He also defines unjust law as a law that is enforced by the majority group to the minority group and denies them some of their rights. He says that when a person disobeys an unjust law, it is right and he supports this kind of civil disobedience.

In his letter, he agrees with St. Augustine's words when he says that "an unjust law is not law at all". Thomas Aquinas adopted the words and started using it as the motto. The three of them hold on to the idea that law should bring justice. Martin Luther King Jr was not only inspired by St. Augustine’s words, but he lived as his example. He hoped that school segregation would be soon over and that his demonstrations will be fruitful.

I agree with both Martin Luther King Jr and St. Augustine’s' words on the law. I believe that there is no point in obeying unjust laws that harm the people. It is right to disobey unjust laws and to obey those laws that are in accordance with God's laws. Not only does a person have a legal responsibility to follow the just laws, but also the person has a moral obligation to do so. As much as we will feel held back by the law, it is right to stand up for what is right. This may bring up questions like why did he advocate for the breaking of laws.

Civil disobedience allows people to get fair treatment and justice to be administered. It should also be known that civil disobedience is always in a peaceful way as much as it is a political protest. Civil disobedience makes it possible for victims of oppression to oppose their oppressors. It gives a person a chance to have fair treatment and justice to be accorded where it is due. The importance of it was experienced when it ended slavery in the United States of America. A law can only be fair or oppress the people. The laws that harm or cause suffering to the people should not be considered as law at all because it does not raise a person in any sort of away.

Martin Luther King Jr is known as the greatest supporter and advocate for civil disobedience. He views it as the highest form of law. He made some implications on it. He mentions that civil disobedience is justifiable, but the risk of it is that it can be viewed as a threat by the government officials, which may end up causing other greater and dangerous issues. He always drew examples from the Bible and saw it as a way of people bringing change to a government that is not governing well.

He believed that civil disobedience should be taken by the right people and for justifiable reasons. Through his demonstrations, Martin Luther King Jr managed to be to control the government of America for some time. He implied that just laws should be mam made laws that are trying to be in accordance with God's rules for the general welfare of the people. He means that people should have the courage to stand for their rights and also to be ready for the punishment that may befall them since the government will take it as a betrayal.

I generally agree with the two men because there is a lot of sense in what there were trying to bring out as it is even evident nowadays as we have witnessed or heard of demonstrations like “Black lives matter”. All laws should be enforced with the aim of bringing betterment to the people and not to degrade them. I think citizens of different countries should employ this and use it where possible to make sure that justice is served and that they get their rights.