--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Peaceful civil disobedience to unjust…" description: "\"“Peaceful civil disobedience to unjust laws, which I support with every fiber of my being, can sometimes be necessary at any level of government. It fa..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bc/ron-paul-686_civil-disobedience_peaceful-civil-disobedience-to-unjust-la_1488673.png" --- # Peaceful civil disobedience to unjust laws, which I… ![“Peaceful civil disobedience to unjust laws, which I support with every fiber of my being, can sometimes be necessary at any level of government. It falls upon the people, in the last resort, to stand against injustice no matter where it occurs.” quote by Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bc/ron-paul-686_civil-disobedience_peaceful-civil-disobedience-to-unjust-la_1488673.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bc/ron-paul-686_civil-disobedience_peaceful-civil-disobedience-to-unjust-la_1488673.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bc/ron-paul-686_civil-disobedience_peaceful-civil-disobedience-to-unjust-la_1488673.png) > ““Peaceful civil disobedience to unjust laws, which I support with every fiber of my being, can sometimes be necessary at any level of government. It falls upon the people, in the last resort, to stand against injustice no matter where it occurs.”” [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Civil disobedience is justified when laws are unjust, urging people to resist oppression at any governmental level. **In simple terms:** Resist unjust laws through peaceful protest. Key Takeaway Stand against injustice. Themes justice civil disobedience political activism human rights Mood determined hopeful Type political ethical When to use this quote - protests - legal challenges - community organizing - public policy debates Key Concepts nonviolent resistance ethical duty social responsibility Questions to Reflect On - When is civil disobedience necessary? - How can we balance lawfulness with moral duty? A Different Perspective Peaceful disobedience may provoke legal repercussions and societal division. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Civil disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-disobedience/) [Disobedience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience/) [Disobedience Unjust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/disobedience-unjust-5438862/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Last resort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/last-resort/) [Laws Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laws-support-1864463/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Peaceful Civil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peaceful-civil-1479680/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Unjust laws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unjust-laws/) ## Related quotes > [Change comes when people are willing to commit acts of peaceful civil disobedience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/change-comes-when-people-are-willing-to-commit-acts-of-peaceful-civil/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [For as good habits of the people require good laws to support them, so laws, to be observed, need good habits on the part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niccolo-machiavelli/for-as-good-habits-of-the-people-require-good-laws-to-support-them-so/) [Niccolo Machiavelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niccolo-machiavelli/) > [I got a lot of mail from organizations concerned with bike safety. Then I got a couple from people who wanted my support for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/i-got-a-lot-of-mail-from-organizations-concerned-with-bike-safety/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [An unjust law is itself a species of violence. Arrest for its breach is more so. Now the law of nonviolence says that violence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/an-unjust-law-is-itself-a-species-of-violence-arrest-for-its-breach-2/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [One has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/one-has-a-moral-responsibility-to-disobey-unjust-laws/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/one-has-not-only-a-legal-but-a-moral-responsibility-to-obey-just-laws-2/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [There is no justice in following unjust laws. It's time to come into the light and, in the grand tradition of civil disobedience, declare…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-swartz/there-is-no-justice-in-following-unjust-laws-it-s-time-to-come-into/) [Aaron Swartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-swartz/) > [Of course, there is nothing new about this kind of civil disobedience. It was seen sublimely in the refusal of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/of-course-there-is-nothing-new-about-this-kind-of-civil-disobedience/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/unjust-laws-exist-shall-we-be-content-to-obey-them/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Each of us should choose which course of action we must take; education, conventional political action, or even peaceful civil disobedience to bring about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/each-of-us-should-choose-which-course-of-action-we-must-take/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [When I refuse to obey an unjust law, I do not contest the right of the majority to command, but I simply appeal from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/when-i-refuse-to-obey-an-unjust-law-i-do-not-contest-the-right-of-the/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [A unjust law, is no law at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/a-unjust-law-is-no-law-at-all/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/one-has-not-only-a-legal-but-a-moral-responsibility-to-obey-just-laws/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [One who breaks an unjust law that conscience tells him is unjust ... is in reality expressing the highest respect for law ... We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/one-who-breaks-an-unjust-law-that-conscience-tells-him-is-unjust-is/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [Those who deny the right of a jury to protect an individual in resisting an unjust law of the government, deny him all defence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/those-who-deny-the-right-of-a-jury-to-protect-an-individual-in/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) ## More by Ron Paul > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I'm an imperfect messenger, but the message is perfect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/i-m-an-imperfect-messenger-but-the-message-is-perfect/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [History has shown that the masses have been quite receptive to the promises of authoritarians which are rarely if ever fulfilled,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/history-has-shown-that-the-masses-have-been-quite-receptive-to-the/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [The reality is that our military presence on foreign soil is as offensive to the people that live there as armed Chinese troops would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-reality-is-that-our-military-presence-on-foreign-soil-is-as/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Right now, nobody legalized paper money. Where did that come from.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/right-now-nobody-legalized-paper-money-where-did-that-come-from/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge the government when it's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/real-patriotism-is-a-willingness-to-challenge-the-government-when-it/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Expect the rapidly expanding homeschooling movement to play a significant role in the revolutionary reforms needed to build a free society with Constitutional protections.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/expect-the-rapidly-expanding-homeschooling-movement-to-play-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Intellectually and compassionately explaining the reason freedom works is required for credibility.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/intellectually-and-compassionately-explaining-the-reason-freedom/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Governments have nothing. They can't create anything, they never have. All they can do is steal from one group and give it to another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/governments-have-nothing-they-can-t-create-anything-they-never-have/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Why is it is claimed that if people won't or can't take care of their own needs, that people in government can do it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/why-is-it-is-claimed-that-if-people-won-t-or-can-t-take-care-of-their/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [It is dissent from government policies which defines the true Patriot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/it-is-dissent-from-government-policies-which-defines-the-true-patriot/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-moral-and-constitutional-obligations-of-our-representatives-in/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [I will veto any spending bill that contains funding for Planned Parenthood, facilities that perform abortion and all government family planning schemes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/i-will-veto-any-spending-bill-that-contains-funding-for-planned/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Prices are going up. Unemployment is continue to go up. And we have not had the necessary correction for the financial bubble created by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/prices-are-going-up-unemployment-is-continue-to-go-up-and-we-have-not/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Scientifically, there's no debate over whether the fetus is alive and human.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/scientifically-there-s-no-debate-over-whether-the-fetus-is-alive-and/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) [Explore all 411 Ron Paul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) ## More Civil disobedience quotes > [ \[Putin\] is a bully. And bullies only understand when we punch them in the nose, but we need to do that economically. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-ayotte/putin-is-a-bully-and-bullies-only-understand-when-we-punch-them-in/) [Kelly Ayotte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelly-ayotte/) > [The world - and America - has been defined by people who haven't necessarily abided by the laws and the rules. Civil disobedience is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-kennedy/the-world-and-america-has-been-defined-by-people-who-haven-t/) [Rory Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rory-kennedy/) > [When you say 'no' and you get on the streets and you do an act of civil disobedience, it changes your psychology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-bradbrook/when-you-say-no-and-you-get-on-the-streets-and-you-do-an-act-of-civil/) [Gail Bradbrook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-bradbrook/) > [There is all the difference in the world between the criminal's avoiding the public eye and the civil disobedience's taking the law into his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/there-is-all-the-difference-in-the-world-between-the-criminal-s/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [Racial discrimination in elections in Texas is no mere historical artifact. To the contrary, Texas has been found in violation of the Voting Rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/racial-discrimination-in-elections-in-texas-is-no-mere-historical/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [My first civil disobedience arrest for social justice was in 1986 for protesting the SDI.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sheen/my-first-civil-disobedience-arrest-for-social-justice-was-in-1986-for/) [Martin Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sheen/) > [Even here in America, we felt the cool, refreshing breeze of freedom when Nelson Mandela took the seat of Presidency in his country where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/even-here-in-america-we-felt-the-cool-refreshing-breeze-of-freedom/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Civil disobedience is a stimulation for the fighters and a challenge to the opponent, in the present instance, authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/civil-disobedience-is-a-stimulation-for-the-fighters-and-a-challenge/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“The only word these corporations know is more,” wrote Chris Hedges, former correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor, National Public Radio, and the New York…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-marrs/the-only-word-these-corporations-know-is-more-wrote-chris-hedges/) [Jim Marrs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-marrs/) > [A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/a-wise-man-will-not-leave-the-right-to-the-mercy-of-chance-nor-wish/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/i-became-convinced-that-noncooperation-with-evil-is-as-much-a-moral/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [New concepts should be introduced by the power of imagery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coop/new-concepts-should-be-introduced-by-the-power-of-imagery/) [Douglas Coop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coop/) > [Civil disobedience can help to focus attention on a particular injustice. It was used historically to highlight wrongs in society - turning ancient redwood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-brune/civil-disobedience-can-help-to-focus-attention-on-a-particular/) [Michael Brune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-brune/) > [I see a lot of individual action when it comes to environmental questions really as a form of politics as a way of communicating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-jamieson/i-see-a-lot-of-individual-action-when-it-comes-to-environmental/) [Dale Jamieson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-jamieson/) > [“Our legislators have not yet learned the comparative value of free-trade and of freedom, of union, and of rectitude, to a nation. They have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-legislators-have-not-yet-learned-the-comparative-value-of-free/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 248 Civil disobedience quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civil-disobedience/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Peaceful civil disobedience to unjust laws, which I support with every fiber of my being, can sometimes be necessary at any level of government. 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