The Logic Behind The Assertion Essay, Research Paper

The Logic Behind the Assertion

In Martin Luther King Jr.?s ?Letter from Birmingham City Jail,? he argues the commonly believed assumption that activating our rights as human beings precipitates violence. Even though these actions may be nonviolent, those individuals who have tried to bring about the truth have been condemned because their quests were believed to be a disturbance among society. The logic behind this allegation is in some way reasonable. Those who condemn the rebellions urge society to be respectful due to the necessity of keeping law and order. If society revolts against the traditional orders, then it is believed that chaos will occur. Even though the actions are peaceful, society is urged not to participate in these efforts. Government is afraid that these actions will lead society into even more harmful activities, such as war. They are even willing to go against our basic constitutional rights in order to halt the events before they develop into violent attacks.

Within King?s ?Letter,? he backs up his argument by providing prime examples of innocent, non-violent occurrences. He disproves ?this assertion? by showing how those condemned are innocent people who tried to bring about the truth. In his first example about a robbed man, King reveals that the man should be condemned because he, having money, caused the violence to occur. This statement cannot be true because the man did not cause the robber to steal his money. It is the robber?s fault that this incident occurred because of his immorality. The robber should be punished as opposed to the man, who was just holding onto his possessions. Another key example of King?s is Jesus? dedication and attachment to his God-driven will. King describes that Jesus? harmless devotion to God should not and would not be the cause of his crucifixion. He was purely following God?s way and leading the way into true salvation. In no way was Jesus causing violence through his teachings, although that is why he was crucified. The actuality is that Jesus was merely showing forth a unique lifestyle, which had frightened others to put him to silence.

Logic and rhetoric have a very simultaneous relationship. With logic, a path of reasoning is followed which shows forth a truth. In order to prove the truth, rhetoric must be applied to present that argument. Therefore, rhetoric debates how logical a matter can be. In King?s ?Letter,? he asserts rhetoric to contest the logic behind punishing peaceful actions. King sees that it is not logical to punish those who speak out in a peaceful manner, for they are the ones who are the innocent. In King?s ?Letter,? his rhetoric shows how inclined this statement appears.