Question

How does King develop his claim that “one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”? Explain the evidence he provides and evaluate how this evidence supports his arguments.

Answer 1

He claims that an unjust law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law and he compares it with a just law.  

"Any law that uplifts human personality is just. Any law that degrades human personality is unjust."

King provides an example of Nazi Germany: everything Hitler did in Germany was legal and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was illegal. It was "illegal" to aid and comfort a Jew in Hitler's Germany.

His statements are totally against injustice.

"Injustice must be exposed, with all the tension its exposure creates, to the light of human conscience and the air of national opinion before it can be cured."

He supports the Negros' march:

"So let him march; let him make prayer pilgrimages to the city hall; let him go on freedom rides -and try to understand why he must do so."

Answer 2

Answer/Explanation:

King establishes first a difference between just and unjust laws and then states that the individual has a moral responsibility to follow just laws and to disobey unjust laws. This contrast in his argument allows us to understand it better, he didn't stand for a lack of rules or chaos, since he did support some laws, however for him the law should be obeyed if it “uplifts human personality,” and was conformed according to “moral law or the law of God”, otherwise, it was a duty to disobey it, according to king .