Civil Disobedience in the Age of Dotcoms: From Confrontations to Campaigns - Essay Example

Civil Disobedience Style: MLA English: U.S. Citations: 8 Civil Disobedience in the Age of Dotcoms: From Confrontations to Campaigns Disobedience has negative connotations. But if it is civil and espouses a cause, it becomes a right. Right to rebel against a government's unlawful practices and unfair laws is a powerful weapon in the hands of the hoi polloi. Nonviolence is a powerful and just weapon. It is a weapon unique in history, which cuts without wounding and ennobles the one who wields it. It is a sword that heals. Both a practical and moral answer to the oppressed people's cry for justice, nonviolent direct action proved that it could win victories without losing wars. (Martin Luther King - Nobel Lecture, December 11, 1964). This weapon has been used since ages to fight injustice. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refused to obey the laws of Nebuchadnezzar, as Martin Luther King Jr. mentions in his letter from Birmingham jail. Early Christians willingly faced hungry lions and lied on chopping blocks to show resentment against the unfair practices of the Roman Empire. Socrates practiced and through his books "The Crito" and "The Apology" preached civil disobedience. Mahatma Gandhi forced the mighty British to free the Indians of the yoke of colonialism through nonviolent protests which he called 'Satyagraha' (polite pleading). In 1842, Henry David Thoreau stopped paying poll levy by rejecting the church's right to tax. He justified his action, saying: I did not see why the schoolmaster should be taxed to support the priest, and not the priest the schoolmaster. . . I did not see why the lyceum should not present its tax-bill, and have the State to back its demand, as well as the church. (Thoreau, "Resistance to Civil Government," in Wendell Glick ed., Reform Papers, p. 79.) Martin Luther King Jr. went to jail "openly, lovingly, and with willingness," fighting for the rights of the black community and other minorities in the US. Nelson Mandela spent the prime of his life in prison for taking up the cudgels against apartheid. Nonviolent direct action has been the hallmark of civil disobedience. Replying to a group of clergymen, Martin Luther King Jr. explained the importance of this kind of resistance: Nonviolent direct action seeks to create such a crisis and foster such a tension that a community which has constantly refused to negotiate is forced to confront the issue. It seeks so to dramatize the issue that it can no longer be ignored. My citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent-resister may sound rather shocking. But I must confess that I am not afraid of the word "tension." I have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. Just as Socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, we must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will help men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood." (Martin Luther King Jr. Letter From A Birmingham Jail - April 16, 1963) Whether it be Gandhi's non-cooperation movement or Martin Luther King Jr's civil rights movement or Mandela's 'M-plan' of anti-apartheid campaign, the nonviolent method of protests and persuasion has proved effective. Parades, vigils, picketing, poster campaign, teach-ins, mourning, and protest meetings are some of the symbolic ways of resistance. Today society has progressed from the dark ages of colonialism and slavery. In a democratic, modern global village, injustice has taken a different form and a new meaning. Violations of human rights are one of the most important issues now. Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the International Freedom of Expression eXchange are tirelessly working toward protecting the rights of the individual and the communities. These are organizations fighting with the governments. Many thinkers have questioned Thoreau's philosophy of direct action against a contemporary civil government. Is breaking law to protest against injustices of a lawfully elected government justified We must realize that Thoreau was not anti-establishment, but he was for 'improved' government. He said: But to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it. (Thoreau, "Resistance to Civil Government": 64) It can be an individual act of passive resistance. Like that of Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat to a white man on December 1, 1955. This individual act heralded a mass civil liberties movement in the US. Civil disobedience in the 21st century continues for justice. It still draws sustenance from Thoreau's concept of symbolic direct action. The classic examples of this are the Dalai Lama's campaign for peaceful resolution in Tibet and Aung San Suu Kyi's fight for democracy in Myanmar. In US civil disobedience has been associated with the left leaning ideologues, but toward the end of the 20th century the rightist too employed this tactic for anti-abortion campaigns. Racism - although in a different form - is still prevalent. A new form of racism, covert racism, has recently sprung from the pressures of political correctness. This new form of racism, although slowly declining, still shows signs of strong support (Thomas Piazza: 86). This new racism what sociologist Eduardo Bonilla-Silva calls color-blind racism is different from the violent one practiced during Martin Luther King Jr's time. This kind of racism has made King Jr's dictum true today, "What good is it to be allowed to eat in a restaurant if you can't afford a hamburger" Kinder, gentler form of white supremacy is responsible for contemporary racial inequality in which most racial minorities lag behind whites in terms of income, wealth, occupational and health status and educational attainment. (Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, Silva, Eduardo Bonilla. "Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States.") "When spirits got low, the people would sing." With this motto the black youth started a new movement of unity. In the 70s Bronx was on the boil. So was born the hip-hop movement. It was more than a music genre. Brother D and the Collective Effort, Captain Rapp and the Kold Krew told the people, 'How We Gonna Make The Black Nation Rise', 'Bad Times (I Can't Stand It)' and 'Don't Let 'Em Drop The Bomb'. The birth and popularity of hip-hop prove that civil disobedience has taken new forms over the years. Every generation had a different set of social and political issues of concern. In the late 19th and early 20th century women held silent vigils to draw attention to their lack of suffrage. In the mid 30s workers staged sit-ins to protest poor working conditions in factories. In the 60s civil rights groups took out rallies to oppose racial segregation. In the 70s anti-war groups held marches against what they called an imperialist aggression. In the mid 70s and early 80s anti-nuclear weapon groups launched mass protest at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant in New Hampshire and the Nuclear Test Site near Las Vegas, Nevada. In the late 80s, civil disobedience was launched against environmental degradation with group like Earth First being the torch-bearer. Then came the satellite channels. It revolutionized the civil disobedience tactic. Campaigners took benefit of this medium and brought the pressing issues into the sitting rooms. Act-Up exploited this medium to highlight the dangers of AIDS. Thus we see that as we progressed, issues of concern became diverse. Today AIDS is as much a pressing issue as civil liberties were in the 60s. Groups and individuals have taken up fight against developed nations to provide affordable medicine to AIDS-affected poor Africa. A Reuters news flash says that "prominent AIDS 'dissident' Matthias Rath hs intensified his campaign against AIDS drugs, placing advertisements in international newspapers days before he faces a challenge in a South African court. South Africa's most influential activist group is suing the Rath Foundation, headed by the German doctor who also runs a vitamin company, for alleged defamation and what it says are lies about life-prolonging AIDS drugs." The first Gulf War brought into the living rooms what people had not witnessed during the Vietnam War. Civil disobedience was more evident now, thanks to 24/7 news channels. These scenes were repeated during the recent Iraq and Afghanistan campaigns. But street protests as a form of civil disobedience are being overtaken by meaning campaigns. These are but the changing faces of civil disobedience. Organizations like Greenpeace and Earth Today have been campaigning against global warming and environmental degradation. To draw public attention they have given new twist to the concept of passive resistance through their novelty campaigns. In one of its campaigns to save whales, Greenpeace activists put themselves in between harpoons and the targets. Greenpeace activists wearing masks or staging mock shows at political and public venues are a common sight on television screens. In this age of corporate economy and free trade, anti-globalization groups have taken up the fight to protect the rights of individuals and Third World countries. What is interesting to note in these campaigns is the use of the modern technologies. Thoreau had propagated his ideas on civil disobedience through pamphlets and writings. Martin Luther King Jr was fortunate to have his "I've a dream" speech beamed to viewers in America. But at that time television was not much developed and not many had access to it. Today it is a powerful medium. And the nonviolent campaigners are exploiting it to their best advantage. Only recently Irish rocker Sir Bob Geldof organized Live 8 to highlight poverty in Africa. The 'Make Poverty History' concert was attended by 100 artists and viewed by billions of viewers all over the world. This was a novel addition to the conventional nonviolent protest forms. We must realize that Live 8 was not a protest, but a campaign. It did not do anything unlawful. But it used the star power and a powerful medium to make G8 leaders listen to their demands. It proved to be more effective than the handful of protesters who had gathered at the Scotland venue where G8 leaders recently discussed global warming and debt for poor countries. Street theaters are common in India to highlight social issues like female infanticide, bride burning, and dowry. These are another form of civil disobedience. Attracting public attention is the main goal of civil disobedience. In the earlier times pamphlets and journals were used to highlight issues of social concern. But modern technologies have given a big boost to the concept of civil disobedience. In the next century, most of us will witness, and some of us will perhaps directly experience, a striking difference in the form and manner of civil disobedience. Unlike in Thoreau's time, when the telegraph had barely gotten off the ground, and even unlike during the tumultuous 1960s, when the Vietnam War was televised - but when computers were still monster-sized machines off limits to most people - we, today, live in the age of the personal computer. We live in a computer-based information age. (On Electronic Civil Disobedience by Stefan Wray) While Electronic Civil Disobedience, as visualized by Wray, is still in its nascent stage, the Internet is being utilized by activists to promote and propagate their cause. Almost all organizations whether fighting against globalization or global warming or AIDS scourge or elective abortion have interactive websites. World AIDS Day Campaign uses the world wide web to provide download materials like posters, booklets and fliers for institutions and schools. Greenpeace and other groups keep the public posted about environmental issues through their web sites. But Wray has a futuristic concept of electronic civil disobedience. He says: Just as the Vietnam War and the Gulf War brought thousands into the streets to disrupt the flow of normal business and governance - acting upon the physical infrastructure - future interventionist wars will be protested by the clogging or actual rupture of fiber optic cables and ISDN lines - acting upon the electronic and communications infrastructure. (On Electronic Civil Disobedience by Stefan Wray) In the late 90s a group calling itself Electronic Disturbance Theater organized web "sit-in" in support of the Mexican Zapatistas blocking Pentagon and Mexican president's websites. Other hacktivist actions have included attacks on Sri Lankan embassies andconsulates in several countries, the US Department of Energy, the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the City of London, and India's Atomic Research Center. (Virtual nonviolence Civil disobedience and political violence in the information age by Andrew Calabrese). In the 150 years since Thoreau propounded his theory of civil disobedience, social and political landscapes have changed and so has the mode and medium of protest. Sit-ins are still staged, rallies and marches are organized but the more effective forms of protest and persuasion have been the indirect direct action. The indirect direct action implies the utilization of popular medium to convey the message. Thus the Internet and television have now become the prime tools for civil disobedience. I think in the present scenario, these protests can no longer be termed as civil disobedience but awareness campaigns or targeted persuasion. These days it is not much of a people versus government protest. Rather it is a campaign against system, against collective indifference. That is why calling these campaigns civil disobedience will be a bit far fetched. Of course, civil disobedience continues in places like Burma, Tibet, Korea where the governments are oppressing the voice of the common man. Cited Works King Jr., Martin Luther. Nobel Lecture, 11 Dec. 1964 Thoreau, Henry David. "Resistance to Civil Government," in Wendell Glick ed., Reform Papers: 60-79. King Jr., Martin Luther. "Letter From A Birmingham Jail." 16 Apr. 1963. Sniderman, Paul M. and Piazza Thomas. "The Scar of Race." Belknap/Harvard University Press: 86. Silva, Eduardo Bonilla. "Racism Without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in the United States." Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003: 110-119. Wray, Stefan. "On Electronic Civil Disobedience". Paper presented to the 1998 Socialist Scholars Conference March 20, 21, and 22. New York, NY Calabrese, Andrew. "Virtual Nonviolence Civil Disobedience and Political Violence in the Information Age:" 326-338. http://www.emeraldinsight.com/researchregister Sharp, Gene. "Methods of Nonviolent Action." Boston: Porter Sargent 1973: 110-115. Read More