FREE ESSAY ON MORAL OR IMMORAL

MORAL OR IMMORAL

In Martin Luther King Jr.'s essay, A Letter from Birmingham Jail he compares the issues of
Moral acts verses Immoral acts. This essay was written in response to a letter some
clergymen had written after a direct action march Dr. King had participated in. In their
letter the clergymen had praised the local police officers and media for the nonviolent
and calm manner in which the situation was handled. It was this praise that prompted Dr
King to write:
"I have tried to make clear that it is wrong to use immoral means to attain moral ends.
But now I must affirm that it is just as wrong or perhaps even more so, to use moral
means to preserve immoral ends."
The beginning of this statement refers to the idea of using violence to get the result
that you feel you deserve. The second part to this statement refers to doing the right
thing to ensure that an injustice will prevail. It is this issue of moral verses immoral
that Doctor King bases.
The first example of the morality issue Dr. King raises is a just law, verses an unjust
law. In his essay Dr King describes to his readers the difference between the two. "A
just law is a man-made code that squares with the moral law or the law of God. An unjust
law is a code that is out of harmony with the moral law. Here Doctor King is defending
his belief that there is a moral issue in some laws. He defends his statement by giving
an example of Germany during the Nazi rule. King discusses what Hitler had done to the
Jews in Nazi Germany and adds that at the time, this was legal. It was also illegal to
help a Jew and those who did were considered lawbreakers. This is a perfect example of
where a law had existed that was immoral. 
King also struggles with the issues of laws he believes are moral, however they have
immoral consequences. For example, King states, "For instance, I have been arrested on a
charge of parading without a permit." Dr. King believes this is fair and that the law
against parading without a permit is just. However as King continues to discuss his
argument he seems to believe that the law is immoral "when it is used to maintain
segregation and to deny citizens the First Amendment privilege of peaceful assembly and
protest." Here King describes the struggle between his desires to obey the law, while
expressing his need to openly protest those laws in which he views as morally unjust.
The final moral issue Dr. King confronts is the issue of segregation. He remarks in his
essay, "I can urge men to obey the 1954 decision of the Supreme Court, for it is morally
right; and I can urge them to disobey segregation ordinances, for they are morally
wrong." Here is a perfect example of King's struggle with laws and their relevance to
morality. On one hand King supports the Supreme Court's decision to desegregate the
schools because it is morally correct. On the other hand he would urge people to disobey
segregation ordinances because desegregation in schools is only half the battle. Dr. King
argues his position on segregation with the following "segregation is not only
politically, economically, and sociologically unsound, it is morally wrong and sinful."
Here King argues that although the Supreme Court ruling was a small step towards
desegregation it does not eliminate the entire issue. Therefore he cannot urge his
followers to support the immoral laws of segregation.
Throughout his essay Dr. King raises the moral issues of what he was facing when he
helped organize the direct action march. It was his morality that helped to make Dr
Martin Luther King Jr. a great pioneer for his people. He had fought hard to defend the
moral laws and even harder to change the immoral ones.