I think that it is justifiable to
break the law when there are clear cases of injustice happening. Of course the
definition of just/unjust can change in meaning from person to person and from
situation to situation. In my opinion, an unjust situation is one where the
basic civil rights of a person are violated. Furthermore, it is when there is coercion,
excess use of power/violence and an undeniable unbalance where those on top
abuse their power. If we were to take the current protests against police
brutality happening around the country, we would be able to see that many
communities have reached their breaking point due to social inequality. While I
do not condone violence, I do think that in those type of situations some
version of civil disobedience is necessary in order to bring attention to the
real issues. It is immoral and unjust to target communities where there are
clear lack of opportunities. At the same time, I think is unjust to generalize
the actions of a whole organization based on the behavior of only a few. Either
party would then be justified to take actions against the status quo but in an “organized”
manner. As it has been shown, when chaos is combined with violence, one can only
expect more chaos. I also believe that violence taints the ultimate meaning
behind any type of protest and it serves as grounds for those in power to
justify their actions.
I don’t necessarily agree with St.
Augustine’s claim that “an unjust law is no law at all”. The reason being is because
such radical statement can open the door for people to not follow any laws at
all. Sometimes unjust laws need to be negotiated in order for them to benefit
society. Other times is not the law itself that is unjust but rather the interpretation
given to it by other people that makes it so. Civil disobedience should be seen
as a last resort after all types of negotiations have been exhausted. Also,
when taking this type of action one must remember that above all else the goal
is to bring attention to deep rooted issues not to create more issues. Thus,
one must be ready to accept any consequence without having to resort to
violence.