Every individual in a society has a responsibility to obey just laws and to disobey and resist unjust laws.Write a response in which you discuss the extent to which you agree or disagree with the claim. In developing and supporting your position, be sure

Every individual in a society does have a responsibility to obey just laws and to potentially disobey and resist unjust laws to a certain extent. Laws are formed with the safety and well being of the society as a whole; therefore one would hope that most laws would be considered just. However, in extreme circumstances, disobeying a law that is seen as unjust, when seen as benefiting society as a whole, is acceptable. In these situations the “bar” for what stands as unjust needs to be set, and is nonnegotiable. Without a hard and fast line that is followed complete anarchy could ensue.

Every person has a responsibility to do what is just, whether it is in the eyes of the law or eyes of what is morally acceptable. To be a responsible and active member in a functioning society an individual needs to follow protocol. Laws that are set in place to control the safety of a community are crucial to the society’s survival. Responsibility, although a daunting term, is appropriate in that in order for a law to be effective and functional individuals need to be held accountable for their actions. Just laws are not simply suggestions that should be followed; they are rules that need to be followed.

When it comes to unjust laws it is not such a black and white situation. If a law is unjust in every single situation, and at no point is morally acceptable, then it is an individual’s responsibility to stand up against the law and demand change. However, there is no standard definition as to what is unjust. Each individual can read into this situation differently. For some, animal rights hold the most significance and any law that denies them complete rights is unjust. In that case most in society would not find it acceptable or morally right to fight laws that protect a human’s security over an animal’s security. The same can be said for issues such as abortion. Some are strongly pro choice while others feel it is the same as committing murder. In this case some would fight against laws that allow abortion while others will fight to allow the women to decide. In both scenarios, if everyone fought against the standing laws chaos would surely ensue.

To resist unjust laws could hold a very different meaning to each individual in society. Some believe that the best way to resist an unjust law would be to send letters to the capitol, quietly protest by putting up signs, or simply getting word out by holding town meetings out that these laws are not acceptable. Others take resistance to a totally different level by vocally protesting, holding sit-ins, and in some cases becoming violent. This being said, unless is there is a hard and fast rule describing what is considered unjust and what “resist” means, there needs to be caution when attempting to stand up for what one individual decides is unjust.

In the most extreme cases, such as allowing genocide of an entire race, there would be no question that citizens need to stand up and fight the laws put in place by the corrupt justice system. In such cases the line is drawn and it appears to be a black and white issue. Again, caution needs to be taken when disobeying the laws. If the resistance becomes violent, then their cause can become questionable. Are they not doing the same thing in retaliation, therefore committing unjust crimes to fix unjust rules? Tactful and effective methods that do not put society as a whole in more danger than they currently stand in would be acceptable. However, more often than not violence is used to fight violence, which essentially seems to contradict the cause and undermine the end goals of the resistance.

In the end it is critical that society follow just laws in order to keep society healthy and happy. It is in fact their individual responsibility to do so. As for disobeying unjust laws, there seems to be a large grey area. Depending on the means to the end, disobeying could potentially be beneficial to the entire society, yet with strong opinions leading the way there is potential for damage to be done to the entire society. In that case, “responsibility” is too strong of a term.