Martin luther king Jr - Essay Example

Martin Luther king Jr. The purpose of this paper is to provide a critical discussion on Martin Luther King Jr. The format that this paper will utilize is to first discuss two kinds of laws-those that are normally right and those that are morally wrong and then postulate how Martin Luther King Jr viewed these laws. After this point a few examples of laws that I personally believe are morally wrong. As a final point I will discuss how justified I would be on breaking these laws and if I would be prepared (As King was) to pay the penalties demanded of one who breaks the law?

According to the prescribed reading it was postulated by King that there are two types of laws which are the 'Just' and the 'Unjust'. King stated that he was in fact an advocate of obeying 'Just' laws, even going so far as to imply that all people have a moral responsibility to obey such laws, conversely it was argued that people also have a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws. The example that King gave was that an unjust law was one in which a majority imposes laws that a minority must obey but does not make binding on itself, and from the opposite perspective a just law is one in which a majority is willing to impose on a minority but would also apply to themselves.

In regards to a specific example, King believed that segregationist ordinances were morally unjust and as such people should not obey, and any law that forbade segregationist was inherently just. Building on this previous point King illustrated that he had been arrested for holding a rally without having a parade permit, and (In simplistic terms) he would have been breaking a 'just' law, however because the parade law was enacted to discourage freedom of assembly it then became an unjust law.

From a personal perspective, I am also of the opinion that segregationist laws are by their nature morally unjust. The reasoning for this is owing to the nature of a fair an just society, in which we consider it immoral to create inequalities between different groups. In regards to specific laws that I believe are morally wrong, one has to take into consideration anti-sodomy laws in the armed forces. Although there exists the “Don't Ask Don't Tell”policies in the armed forces, homosexuality is still strictly forbidden and punishable by being given a dishonourable discharge.

I believe that any act in the bedroom between consenting adults is nobody's business and should not be the foundation for being fired. From this foundation I also believe that the new proposed Arizona legislation that would place stricter controls on illegal immigrants are also unjust. The reasoning behind this is that I don't believe that treating one group of individuals that exist in the state should be different from other individuals that operate exist within the state. As established earlier, any law which treats one group significantly and negatively differently from another group is unjust.

Having provided the previous examples I would absolutely feel obliged to disobey the aforementioned laws as well as accept the penalties. If I was a homosexual and serving in the armed forces I would be willing to accept a dishonourable discharge if it meant that I could stand up for what I believe in. Moreover, if I were to be an illegal alien I would continue to disobey laws that I believe wrongfully discriminated against me.