In a democracy civil disobedience is an appropriate weapon in the fight for justice.

Thomas Edison once said "If there is a way to do it better find it." My partner and I selected this quote because we stand in affirmation of today's resolution which states "Resolved: In a democracy civil disobedience is an appropriate weapon in the fight for justice." With the following contentions my partner and I will show you why a vote for pro would be the best vote in today's debate. •Contention 1: Civil disobedience is effective. •Contention 2: Civil disobedience protects rights. •Contention 3: Civil disobedience does not undermine democracy in fact it protects democracy. Civil disobedience is effective •CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE HAS BEEN THE SPARK FOR ALL MAJOR SOCIAL CHANGE Gordon Clark, Convener of National Campaign for Nonviolent Resistance, September 1, 2007. Gore and Hansen must both know that nonviolent direct action has been a significant catalyst in nearly every major social change movement in U.S. (and world) history, starting in this country with the Boston Tea Party and extending through the anti-slavery, woman's suffrage, labor rights, civil rights, environmental and anti-war movements. Nonviolent direct action can dramatize an injustice or danger to the general public as few other actions can. It both provokes other people to act and speak - often people who had previously been silent - and it opens up political space for them to do so. Nonviolent actions are acts of courage that inspire others to follow. They are acts of leadership. Civil disobedience protects right CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IS EFFECTIVE IN CHANGING LAWS AND PROTECTING LIBERTIES—Starr and Blackberry '98 [Kayla and Bonnie, "The Role of Civil Disobedience in Democracy;" The Civil Libertarian; Summer 1998; Civil disobedience is often an effective means of changing laws and protecting liberties. It also embodies an important moral concept that there are times when law and justice do not coincide and that to obey the law at such times can be an abdication of ethical responsibility. The choice of civil disobedience and non-cooperation is not for everyone. We all choose to do what feels right to us personally. CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IS THE KEY TO FREEDOM--Shafer ‘03 [Greg; "Lessons from the U.S. war on Iraq;" The Humanist; July-August 2003; FindArticles] Fundamental to a successful democracy is the ability of its people to be given honest and accurate information about their government and the actions that government takes on their behalf. Americans can't participate in a system that only feeds them a steady diet of propaganda and mendacity, leading them to believe what isn't true or is only part of a larger story. At the same time, to be truly free, Americans must be able to reject the policies of their president and practice civil disobedience when they see nefarious policies coming to fruition and hurting others. This was the centerpiece of Henry David Thoreau's night in a Concord, Connecticut, jail and his essay Civil Disobedience. This, we must remember, is the essence of a real, robust republic--one that is governed for and by the people. And yet, as the first week of the war passed in a blaze of explosions and death--with twelve British and American soldiers dying in a helicopter crash--Americans felt increasingly pressured to decide between supporting the war and being depicted as un-American. Civil disobedience does not undermine democracy in fact it protects democracy. •ACCEPTANCE OF PUNISHMENT SHOWS RESPECT FOR LAW Robert Macauley, THE HASTINGS CENTER REPORT, January-February 2005 Because civil disobedience is nonviolent and passive, participants are willing to accept the appropriate punishment for violating a law which they feel is unjust--as Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr., famously demonstrated. Rawls writes, "The law is broken, but fidelity to law is expressed by the public and nonviolent nature of the act, by the willingness to accept the legal consequences of one's conduct." USE OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE IS A GREAT LEAP FORWARD IN DEMOCRACY-- Lamichhaney '06 [Bhupal; "Democracy, Injustice, And Civil Disobedience;" Scoop Independent News; 25 May 2006; The same method Thoreau prescribed to pressure the American government to abolish slavery has now become globally accepted as a powerful, non-violent democratic means to force unjust opponents to incorporate change. People in various countries have adopted this peaceful political tool to unseat unjust, tyrannical governments. How could Thoreau have imagined the legacy he would leave to peace loving people a century later and beyond? This was another great leap forward in democracy.