Civil Disobedience

Civil Disobedience: An Overview of Nonviolent Resistance to the State
                        
 
For starters, let us define our terms:
 
civil -  pertaining to citizens; humane, considerate, kind.
 
disobedience - refusing or failing to obey orders.
 
nonviolent  - not using physical force or strength to cause injury.
 
resistance - the act of opposing or refusing to comply.
 
State -  supreme ruling power of a country.
 
Putting these definitions together, our topic may be defined as the gentle, but firm, refusal of the inhabitants of a community to follow the political laws promulgated by its government.
 
Why is this an important subject to readers of Strike The Root? It is significant because, as Gene Sharp has stated:
 
No government can exist for a single moment without the cooperation of the people, willing or forced, and if the people withdraw their cooperation, the government will come to a standstill . . . . Even the most powerful government cannot rule without the cooperation of the ruled.
When people refuse their cooperation, withhold their help, persist in their disobedience and defiance, they are denying their opponent the basic assistance and cooperation which any government or hierarchical system requires. If they do this in sufficient numbers and for long enough, that government or hierarchical system will no longer have power. This is the basic political assumption of nonviolent action. [1]
 
Of course, people may choose to fight the State by employing violence: shooting government agents, throwing bombs, blowing up government buildings, but are they really doing anything to accomplish their goal of ridding themselves of the State? Can the idea of the State be affected by forceful means? No. The State is a state of mind, an idea which cannot be harmed by violence. Ideas can only be attacked with better ideas. What the State idea has claimed for itself over the ages is "legitimacy": the idea that society requires some form of political government to survive and thrive.
 
It is impossible that the idea of "legitimacy" be attacked with force. Even if an insurgent movement were to be successful in overcoming the military and police of the State, wouldn't the rest of the population still believe that some sort of government was necessary? State legitimacy can only be destroyed when sufficient numbers of people come to view government actions in the same moral light as that of the individual. If this moral leveling is not brought about, if this delegitimization is not accomplished, then violent revolution must inevitably fail, even if it were successful in battle. The destruction of State legitimacy must precede the advent of violent revolution, and when that has occurred, violence against the State will be unnecessary. Under any other circumstances, violent revolution will only result in the replacement of one government by another. (Of course, electoral politics is subject to the same criticisms and questions: How can jockeying for positions of State power via elections possibly delegitimize the State?)
 
Gene Sharp has defined "nonviolent action" as those methods of protest, resistance, and/or intervention without physical violence, in which members of the nonviolent group do or refuse to do certain things. Sharp has categorized nearly 200 activities, from refusal to pay taxes, mass rallies, marches, and protests, to wearing colored armbands to express one's support of the protesters and one's opposition to the government. Sharp has also cataloged many historical examples of nonviolent actions. Probably the first recorded act of civil disobedience in history is the refusal of the Hebrew midwives to obey Pharaoh's order to kill male Hebrew babies in 1350 BC (Exodus 1:15-19). Their refusal to obey an inherently unjust political law highlights the relationship between conscientious objection, civil disobedience, and nonviolent resistance. The midwives did not intend to delegitimize Pharaoh's dynasty, but neither would they obey a political law which was opposed to the law of God and nature that innocents should not be killed. Hence, their refusal to act against their conscience. But to many readers of these pages, every political law is unjust by its very nature--being a dictate of the State. To anarchists and voluntaryists, if government law directs them to do what is right, they respect the law, not because it is political law, but because what it directs them to do is already right by nature, logic, and common sense. But if the law tells them to do what is wrong, they disobey or ignore it.
 
Mahatma Gandhi, one of the most celebrated and recognized advocates of nonviolent resistance, maintained that non-cooperation with evil was always a duty, and argued that the performance of duty and respect for one's conscience must always be maintained regardless of consequences. How did the Egyptian midwives know that they wouldn't be killed for refusing to obey Pharaoh's orders? They didn't. How many Russian dissidents knew in advance that they wouldn't be killed or jailed? None. But that did not deter them from doing what they saw as right. As Vladimir Bukovsky, one of them, wrote so eloquently in 1977:
 
We had grasped the great truth that it was not rifles, not tanks, not atom bombs that created power, nor upon them that power rested. Power depended upon public obedience, upon a willingness to submit. Therefore each individual who refused to submit to force reduced that force by one 250 millionth of its sum . . . .
We weren't playing politics, we didn't compose programs for the liberation of the people, we didn't found unions . . . . Our sole weapon was publicity. Not propaganda, but publicity, so that no one could say afterward, "I didn't know." The rest depended on each individual's conscience. Neither did we expect victory--there wasn't the slightest hope of achieving it. But each of us craved the right to say to our descendants: "I did all that I could. I never went against my conscience." [2]
 
Such a stance against the Soviet regime, which at that time seemed impregnable, may appear to have been foolhardy, even insane. However, as Leo Tolstoy noted, those who choose to resist, "have only one thing, but that is the most powerful thing in the world--Truth." And in the truth of nonviolent resistance we find the following pearls of wisdom:
 
"[T]he prim[ary] human obligation is to act fearlessly and in accord with one's beliefs; that one should withdraw cooperation from destructive institutions; that this should be done without violence . . .; that means are more important than ends; that crimes shouldn't be committed today for the sake of a better world tomorrow; that violence brutalizes the user as well as the victim; that the value of action lies in the direct benefit it brings society; that action is usually best aimed at one's immediate surroundings and only later at more distant goals; that winning state power" [3] should be eschewed; that freedom begins with one's self because freedom is self-control; that freedom is oriented toward a love for truth; and that all power depends upon the consent of the governed.
 
 
                                                                     ~ Carl Watner, January 2010
 
 
End Notes
 
[1] Gene Sharp, THE POLITICS OF NONVIOLENT ACTION, Boston: Porter Sargent Publishers, 1973. From Part One, "Power and Struggle," p. 64.
 
[2] Vladimir Bukovsky, TO BUILD A CASTLE - MY LIFE AS A DISSENTER, New York: Viking Press, 1977, pp. 33, 277.
 
[3] Jonathan Schell, THE UNCONQUERABLE WORLD, New York: Metropolitan Books, 2003., p. 201.
 
China's Social Credit System Is 1984 On Steroids
Original article - "China has announced it will bar people with poor social credit from planes and trains. People who have committed so-called misdeeds could be prevented from these modes of transport for up to one year. These things include spreading false information about terrorism, causing a nuisance on planes, smoking in trains or traveling on expired tickets. Furthermore, those found to have been involved with financial wrongdoing, such as evading social insurance or not paying penalty fines, will also face...
Washington Readies Last Ditch Effort To Save Its Jihadi Proxies In Syria
Original article - "Syrian government forces have now secured most of the eastern Ghouta enclave, the last remaining rebel-held area near Damascus, the capital and the largest city of the Syrian Arab Republic. With Syrian forces nearing full control of the war-torn region, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley recently warned, Washington “remains prepared to act if we must,” if the United Nations Security Council fails to act on Syria for its assault on eastern Ghouta."
Once A Nation Of Priests, Now Godless Butchers
Original article - "Israel was brainwashed again and sat down to a festive meal in a spirit of self-satisfaction. And then people recited “Pour out Thy wrath upon the nations that know Thee not,” impressed by the spread of plagues and enthusing at the mass murder of babies (the killing of the first-born Egyptians, the 10th plague). Christian Good Friday and the Jewish seder night became a day of blood for the Palestinians in Gaza. You can’t even call it a war crime because there was no war there."
Even The Empire's Vassal States Are Collapsing
Original article - "When we got to Awamiya, the scale of devastation was shocking. It looked like a war zone - as if we were in Mosul or Aleppo. The town, which lies in the Qatif region of oil-rich Eastern Province, was home to about 30,000 people, most of them Shia. Now, there is nothing left of the once vibrant residential area but bullet-riddled houses, and burned-out cars and shops - a testament to the heavy fighting."
How the 'Good Guys' Used The Plague During The Korean War
Original article - "The story that follows concerns one such episode, the dropping of plague-infected human fleas on a single small village. But we will see that the story itself is much larger, and includes a U.S. cover-up about Japan’s use of biological weapons in World War II, and testimony from a Marine Corps colonel about how the U.S. conceptualized its germ warfare campaign."
How the UK Government's Grandstanding Pushes The World Towards War
Original article - "A Russian former general has warned the world is on the brink of 'the last war in the history of mankind' amid the diplomatic fallout over the poisoning of a UK spy. Evgeny Buzhinskiy, who served 41 years in the Russian military, said expelling diplomats from the EU and US after Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in Salisbury is creating a situation which is 'worse than the Cold War'. Asked to explain himself, Mr Buzhinskiy added: 'A real war. Worse than the Cold War is a real...
Stalin Would Have Killed MORE To Get This Capability
Original article - "For the first time, the U.S. government has publicly acknowledged the existence in Washington of what appear to be rogue devices that foreign spies and criminals could be using to track individual cellphones and intercept calls and messages."
The UK Government And Media Rightfully Look Like Cheap Frauds
Original article - "Mainstream media, the government and the propagandists have just been called out as liars – by one of their own. Irrefutable, hard evidence has just come forward that totally destroys the story of chemical weapons attacks by the Syrian government in Douma. Theresa May and her cabinet now stand in the dock."
Irony: Facebook To Get Sued Over Facial Recognition
Original article - "A US federal judge has ruled that Facebook will have to face a class action suit over allegations of violating users’ privacy. Judge James Donato ruled on Monday the claims by Illinois residents Nimesh Patel, Adam Pezen, and Carlo Licata were "sufficiently cohesive to allow for a fair and efficient resolution on a class basis.”"
Taxation Is Theft - Tax Season Edition
Original article - "Here are 17 recent government expenditures, ranked from smallest to largest, that some of you may resent your taxes going to. (Not all of these programs expend all their money in one calendar year—but again, money is fungible.)"
Who REALLY Benefitted From The Syria Airstrikes
Original article - "For Raytheon (RTN), the company which manufactures the Tomahawk cruise missiles used against Syria, nearly $2.5 billion has been added to the company’s market value. Add together the gains from other top weapons makers Lockheed Martin (LMT), General Dynamics (GD), Boeing (BA), and Northrop Grumman (NOC), and it becomes apparent just how profitable a business war can be."
Facebook, Fascism And Augmented Reality
Original article - "Although many people are unaware of what goes on behind the scenes at Facebook, social media is not their only business. As part of an ongoing research and development venture, a project called Building 8 was created to develop technology “in the style of DARPA.” Former DARPA executive Regina Dugan was recruited to head the project as her experience with augmented reality and mental and nervous system manipulation has given her the perfect skill set to make this project a technological success...
Post Parkland Shooting Wet Work?
Original article - "A Broward County Sheriff Deputy who dared to question the official narrative around the Parkland shooting has been found dead under suspicious circumstances. On April 1, Jason Fitzsimon was found dead on his sofa. According to police, the 42-year-old had been in excellent health prior to his untimely death."
The Establishment Uses Fear To Justify Controlling The Internet
Original article - "As sophisticated devices become increasingly accessible to everyday consumers, our lifestyles are adapting to live with more in tandem with them. Experts say we are becoming increasingly comfortable in surrendering more of our personal data to increasingly powerful corporate firms -- in exchange for convenience. That, experts say, is a perfect example of how the seemingly mundane use of technology could pose national security risks."
"Keep Cannabis Illegal Or Our Pooches Get Whacked!" -Illinois Police
Original article - "The training director of a police K-9 academy in Illinois claims that if the state legalizes recreational marijuana, it will likely have to euthanize "a number" of its pot-sniffing dogs, The Pantagraph reports. There are approximately 275 trained narcotic K-9s in Illinois, with each costing the department thousands of dollars. Replacing the dogs would cost millions, and Chad Larner, the director of Maron County's K-9 Training Academy, said "retraining" the dogs would be "extreme abuse.""

Further reading

 

 Reprint Rights