OPINION:
A dangerous misconception is gaining traction in our culture today: that disobeying the law is virtuous if the cause feels righteous and that accountability is optional for the powerful.
News headlines from this year offer troubling examples of officials placing ideology or status above the law. A Wisconsin judge was convicted of impeding a proceeding after misleading federal agents and secretly helping a defendant evade them. Members of Congress have physically interfered with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions, while another lawmaker triggered fire alarms to delay a vote. Even federal judges have stepped in to block lawful executive efforts.
Though different in form, these incidents share the same assumption: that power or moral certainty places someone above legal restraint.
True civil disobedience has never been about avoiding punishment. It has always been about standing up, publicly and peacefully, with a willingness to suffer the cost — giving it weight and moral force.
We all have convictions. We may believe deeply that certain laws are unjust, but when positions of authority are used to subvert the law rather than challenge it through the proper channels, we don’t inspire change but undermine the very foundation of our legal system.
We cannot disguise secret acts of deception as civil disobedience, conflating self-righteousness with sacrifice. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. didn’t sneak out the back door; he walked into jail, knowing it was the price of morality. Rosa Parks didn’t mislead the bus driver and flee; she publicly refused to give up her seat, willing to endure the consequences.
That was what made their actions powerful.
If we hope to cloak ourselves under their legacy, then we must live up to their example of facing legal accountability for our actions. Yes, there are times when the law must be challenged, but the right way to challenge a law is through due process, peaceful protest and a willingness to bear the consequences — never through silent circumvention.
These people swore an oath, not to their feelings but to the Constitution. If they believe the law is wrong, then we urge them to stand up against it publicly. When they do, they must be prepared to accept what comes. That’s what separates reformers from opportunists.
Civil disobedience is not the evasion of justice; rather it is the willingness to face it.
PETER DEMOS
Author, “On the Duty of Christian Civil Disobedience”
Murfreesboro, Tennessee
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