Comparing the Letter of Martin Luther King and Civil Disobedience - Essay Example

Though they were written 114 years apart, both individuals reinforce the importance of providing liberty and freedom for all men, illustrating that freedom has been a major issue in history that has caught the attention of very prominent historical figures.

King makes sure that the reader understands that oppression is a danger to those who deserve freedom. He insists that it must be demanded by individuals who are being oppressed if there are to be any changes to tyranny or domination by hostile forces desiring to limit the liberties of members of society. King believes that for positive changes to occur for securing liberty, action must be initiated immediately. King is concerned that the “do-nothingism” of American culture (King, para. 23) catalyzes denying independence, therefore trying to spark action with the audience, the clergymen, to emphasize the importance of African-Americans in taking responsibility for securing their self-determination against oppressive forces in society.

Thoreau, additionally, is attempting to spark action in the reader with the concepts and descriptions described in his essay. Thoreau asks men to take autonomy in assessing the role of government in the lives of citizens to provide more freedoms and liberties. Thoreau tries to spark action with the audience about the role of government, asking the reader to consider what type of government would be most appropriate for providing respect, which he believes is a step toward making progress in removing the oppressive force of government tyranny. Much like King, Thoreau sees the influence of domineering regimes in society that try to remove choice and free will as being unacceptable and ones that require direct action by thoughtful members of society.

King considers, in his letter, that the rights of men, whether black or white, are God-given and guaranteed to all citizens. He emphasizes the moral responsibility of providing liberties to all citizens, using God as an appropriate reference to get the reader motivated to take action for their autonomy from oppression. He believes that the unjust laws of men are dangerous because it conflicts with God’s intentions about the equality of men, suggesting that any law which does this is largely unjust.

Thoreau has a very similar view, however without the strong religious connotations that are present in King’s work. Thoreau sees the notion of moral conscience as being the foundation of what provides liberty and independence, much like King seeing the powerful government as being unjust and without conscience for securing the well-being of men. Thoreau compares the military of the time as being forced to fight against their consciences by strong government, making them only a silhouette of what constitutes inherent humanity in men. The comparison with King’s work, in this case, is that government represents a danger to the God-given or in-borne ethics and morality of humankind. Thoreau compares military men as machines, coerced to remove their principles and ethical attitudes to serve the state. Similarly, King describes the forced complacency of historical slaves to this same type of obligation to serve the oppressor that leads to social insensitivity for the needs of fellow men.

Thoreau also references the voting process, believing that it does nothing at all for securing virtue and liberty in society. Instead, Thoreau sees that the systems that provide representative candidates in government are limited to only a single individual to serve the common man’s interests. As such, he compares the voting population to that of slaves, who seem to have forgotten the notion of a government for the people, by the people.

King agrees with this in his letter from the Birmingham jail. When King describes the then-recent election process of Eugene Connor for the role of Commissioner of Public Safety, he again describes how the government voting processes further delayed the provision of liberty and action on behalf of Negro slaves. Though not explicitly stated, King is taking the same position as Thoreau about the relevancy of government voting processes and the representation process, suggesting that government systems maintain the ability to coerce others in society to postpone their God-given liberties.

As illustrated, both King and Thoreau have many commonalities about freedom, the role of government, and recreating a state in which there are equal rights for all men of conscience. Both individuals, though separated by time, have very negative views of oppressive regimes and systems. Whether citing God or historical notions of liberty with the founding fathers, both authors consider freedom and independence as being necessary for a legitimate and fair social system.