- According to MLK, how can we tell the difference between just and unjust laws? Understanding this questions is the most important part of this module, and I will ask it again during our second exam.
We can recognize the difference between just and unjust laws, according to MLK, because just laws are man-made laws that are fair to everyone and encourage harmony, peace, and the proper activities. Unjust laws are human laws that violate God’s rule, degrade mankind, and remove human moral responsibility. According to MLK, we can distinguish between fair and unjust laws because just laws elevate human personality, whereas unjust laws are human laws that are not established in eternal or natural law.
- In your view, is this an important distinction (between just and unjust laws), do you think it makes a difference in the way someone (as an individual, or our society as a whole) lives their lives? Can it affect our politics?
This is an essential distinction in my opinion because individuals are usually affected by what the majority supports, which means giving significance to. It has an impact on how people conduct their lives as a result of their surroundings. For example, because New York City is controlled by liberals, many decisions will be based on liberal acts and views.
- Based on our discussion of Question 1, give an example each, of an unjust and just law, in the US today. Explain what makes it unjust or just (using MLK’s definition of those two types of laws).
Jim Crow laws were an example of an unjust law. It encouraged segregation and was therefore not good to humanity, but rather negative because it created a lot of enmity. Jim Crow laws were a set of state and local rules that made racial segregation legal. The laws were intended to marginalize African Americans by denying them the opportunity to vote, hold jobs, acquire an education, or other possibilities for roughly 100 years, from the post-Civil War era until 1968. Those who attempted to disobey Jim Crow laws were frequently arrested, fined, imprisoned, beaten, and killed. Jim Crow laws were an example of an unjust law. It encouraged segregation and was therefore not good to humanity, but rather negative because it created a lot of enmity.
