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Hannah Petersen King DQ 3-6-16

1. Define “nonviolent direct action” (para. 2). In what areas of human experience is it best implemented? Is politics its best area of application? What are the four steps in a nonviolent campaign? King refers to a nonviolent direct action as an action which “seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront an issue.” In other words, it is a nonviolent action which raises awareness on an issue which in return causes leaders in that community to realize an issue and act on it. A really good example of this in modern times would be the movement of legalizing same sex marriage. After many protests and people fighting for the right to marry someone even if they are the same sex, a law was finally passed federally to legalize it. Acts of nonviolent direct action are some of the best ways to try and make a change or get a law passed because the people addressing an issue do it in a way which wont cause as much chaos or destruction as opposed to aggressive rallies or riots. Politics is probably the best area of application in any situation which involves an unjust law because the only way to fight the law is through politics. We elect political leaders because we believe they are best fit to represent us, and through them we seek change. King states the four steps in a nonviolent campaign as: “collection of the facts to determine whether injustices exist; negotiation; self-purification; and direct action.” He knows to make sure that his party knows what they are talking about to begin with, then tries to negotiate to reach his goal. If that

doesn’t work, his next step, self-purification, is to help with the nonviolent aspect of his campaigns, which is then followed by direct action.

2. Do you agree that “law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice” (para. 24)? Why? Describe how law and order either do or do not establish justice in your community. Compare notes with your peers. There really isn’t a definite answer for this question, it is more situation based. In the overall scheme of life, we do have law to establish justice and keep order. That being said, there are also some laws that not everyone agrees with or finds just. It mostly just depends on what the law pertains to. Most people wont argue traffic laws or everyday “obvious” laws set for a person’s protection. On the other hand, if a law pertains to or varies depending on things such as race or age, it could potentially do the opposite and cause chaos instead of establish justice if an individual doesn’t agree with the law.

3. King describes an unjust law as “a code that a numerical or power majority group compels a minority group to obey but does not make heading on itself” (para. 17). Devise one of two other definitions of an unjust law. What unjust laws currently on the books do you disagree with? Another definition of an unjust law could be a law that is against a person or group of people’s morals for the betterment of a certain group of people or for targeting of a certain group of people. Even though the same sex marriage law has been passed and is legal now in the United States, it was a law that was unjust and I definitely did not agree with. Before same sex marriage was legal in all fifty states, there were some people who were not allowed to marry

their soul mate and they person they are in love with just because it was against the law. This law specifically targeted a certain group of people, homosexuals, and a lot of the people in our country found this unmoral. People have to remember though that someone else might have different morals than them which in return changes their definition of an unjust law.

4. King cites “tension” in paragraph 10 and elsewhere as a beneficial force. Do you agree? What kind of tension does he mean? I agree that an activist group can definitely use tension to their advantage. The kind of tension King was using was racial tension and peer pressure. As many people as there were for segregation, there were just as many against it. King used good tactics such as nonviolent direct action and peaceful protests to show that he not trying to cause disaster, but solely end segregation and fix an unmoral problem in our country at the time. In the end, he succeeded too which shows that violence is not always the answer, and using that tension to his advantage is what he needed to end help end segregation and earn equal rights for all races.

5. According to King, how should a government function in relation to the needs of the individual? Does he feel, like Thoreau’s “Chinese philosopher,” that the empire is built on the individual? King realizes that the government should function based on the needs of each different individual, not a certain group of individuals as a whole. The first step of equality is understanding that everyone is different and should still be considered equal no matter what gender, age, or race. The empire is built on the individual and you have to work one by one to make the empire better as a whole....