Civil disobedience in democratic societies

MLK

Martin Luther King penned his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" precisely because his peers in the religious community had criticized his acts of civil disobedience. The letter is a rhetorical argument, rooted in Aristotelian rhetorical strategies. King also relies on a tone that emotionally charged yet rational at the same time, avoiding hyperbole and sarcasm or anything else that would put off his readers. Although King's strategies proved ultimately effective at promoting the cause for Civil Rights, and although King has become enshrined as an American hero, there were and still are still criticisms of King's work. As Marcus Epstein notes, " during the 50s and 60s, the Right almost unanimously opposed the civil rights movement." Critics of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. came from two polar opposite sides of politics in America. On the one side were the ignorant bigots who did not see how damaging institutionalized racism had become in America; the religious clerics who King addresses his essay to would fall squarely into this camp. On the other side were Black Nationalists who believed that King was not going far enough in his cause, claiming that civil disobedience was an insufficient method to affect social change. Thus, a more militant form of black self-liberation was advocated by some of King's more vocal critics.

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" is a direct response to critics who have predetermined that racist institutions are too sacred to be torn down. King outlines his critics' argument well. This would be considered the logos part of his Aristotelian rhetorical strategy. For example, King states, "You may well ask: 'Why direct action? Why sit ins, marches and so forth? Isn't negotiation a better path?'" By phrasing his argument by using rhetorical questions, King is deliberately echoing the words of his critics. He agrees that "negotiation" is a good method of problem solving, while still pointing out that civil disobedience has become a necessary response to "a community which has constantly refused to negotiate." This prior phrase is one of King's more inflammatory ones used in "Letter from Birmingham Jail." Otherwise, the tone of the letter is elevated yet peaceful in nature, as King avoids being antagonistic to affirm his ethos.

King relies heavily on ethos as an Aristotelian rhetorical strategy. The primary way King does this is by placing himself as a Reverend on equal footing with those clerics to whom the letter is addressed. The group of clerics includes a Rabbi and several pastors. King makes sure that they are reminded of his status in the Christian community, regardless of the color of his skin. This ensures that King writes to the clergy not as an agitator but as a friend and equal. For example, his entreaty concludes with the statement, " I also hope that circumstances will soon make it possible for me to meet each of you, not as an integrationist or a civil-rights leader but as a fellow clergyman and a Christian brother." King also uses Biblical and religious mystical references throughout the letter in order to sway the clergymen that he is speaking their very same language.

"Letter from Birmingham Jail" is permeated with Aristotelian pathos, the emotional intensity that gives King's rhetoric so much punch and appeal. King maintains an even tone throughout the letter, while using vivid imagery of racism and oppression as forms of emotional manipulation. King invokes Hitler in the "Letter from Birmingham Jail." King also uses a series of parallelisms and repetitions as a literary technique, drawing attention to scenes from the racist South. This is especially true in the "when you have" paragraph. For example, King writes, "when you are humiliated day in and day out by nagging signs reading "white" and "colored"; when your first name becomes "nigger," your middle name becomes "boy" (however old you are) and your last name becomes "John," and your wife and mother are never given the respected title "Mrs." These are vivid examples of white supremacy in the United States, which King advocates against. His understanding that the white community simply fears black presence (symbolic and actual presence) in the public space causes King to write an eminently persuasive essay in favor of civil disobedience.

In his essay "Just Walk on By," Brent Staples is keenly aware also of the pervasive fear his critics have of black presence in the public arena. In "Just Walk on By," Staples describes his experiences as a black man living in a dominant white world. Stereotypes against blacks, focused on how blacks are presumed to be violent people, lead to all sorts of tragic reactions from total strangers. Like King, Staples uses classical Aristotelian rhetorical strategies to accomplish his persuasive goal. However, the tone of Staples's "Just Walk on By" is more ironic and sarcastic than King's. This is primarily because Staples' audience is not a group of clerics, but mainstream America. The two authors remain aware of their audience as they write, lending credence and rhetorical weight to their arguments.

To his critics in the dominant culture, Staples states that the "language of fear" has come to dominate American society and especially race relations. This fear has become a dysfunction and a scar on American civic life. As he walks down the street, "I soon gathered that being perceived as dangerous is a hazard in itself. I only needed to turn a corner into a dicey situation, or crowd some frightened, armed person in a foyer somewhere, or make an errant move after being pulled over by a policeman," (Staples). His presence in the public sphere is so threatening, that shop owners take out their Doberman pinschers when he is in their presence. Like King, Staples relies on civil disobedience, and not on violence, as a means of subverting racism and responding to critics. Civil disobedience for Staples is different from a march or a sit-in, though. Staples' version of civil disobedience is in the form of keeping on walking, keeping on his night walks that threaten those around him. "I moved to New York nearly two years ago and I have remained an avid night walker," (Staples).