Good Samaritan vs Civil Disobedience in Law

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Introduction

Civil Disobedience is the act of disobeying a law on grounds of moral or political principle. It is an attempt to influence society to accept a dissenting point of view. Although it usually uses tactics of nonviolence, it is more than mere passive resistance since it often takes active forms such as illegal street demonstrations or peaceful occupations of premises.

The classic treatise on this topic is Henry David Thoreau’s “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” which states that when a person’s conscience and the laws clash, that person must follow his or her conscience. The stress on personal conscience and on the need to act now rather than to wait for legal change are recurring elements in civil disobedience movements. The U.S. Bill of Rights asserts that the authority of a government is derived from the consent of the governed, and whenever any form of government becomes destructive, it is the right and duty of the people to alter or abolish it.

Good Samaritan: 9/11 First Responders

The acts of random kindness are not performed due to legal issues or threat of punishment in case of refusing to help those who are in need. The process of acting in accordance with Good Samaritan principles can be considered one of the types of human behavior not pertaining to the legal actions, law enforcement, or threat of punishment.

One of the examples of Good Samaritan act includes 9/11 First Responders which concerns the people that found it necessary to help those who suffered from the terrorist attack September 11, 2001. When a lot of people were panicking and did not know what to do, these brave men acted as heroes though nobody asked them to risk their lives and help get the victims out of debris of the ruined buildings.

Good Samaritan: Katrina and Haiti

The nature can be beautiful and destructive at the same time due to its power that people are not able to fight. However, some catastrophes bring disasters and ruination of buildings, living areas, and leave thousands of people without a place to live in. This concerns the hurricanes that made people homeless. The hurricane Katrina ruined the coast of the United States of America in 2005 though many people appeared to act as Good Samaritans and helped people to save their lives from the effects of natural disaster.

The earthquakes bring another terrible natural disaster that cannot be predicted on time and people cannot get prepared for losses. The Haiti 2010 earthquake brought a lot of devastation and made thousands of people homeless. At the same time thousands of people died in that disaster. I would certainly help people in the case of any disaster because I know that such thing can happen to anyone and I would be glad to receive any support even from strangers.

Acts of Vigilantism: Committee of Vigilance in San Francisco

A Committee of Vigilance that operated in San Francisco in 1851 (Stewart, 1964) and 1856 (O’Meara, 2009) was one of the first documentary recorded examples of acts of vigilantism that was used to enforce the law. As such, people that committed some crimes but were not sentenced to death in the court underwent the procedure of vigilantism when people punished them in their way.

Violation of laws to enforce the law was used by citizens to make the streets safer and get rid of criminals to establish the law. I do not believe that establishment and enforcement of law is possible through its violation though I think that some people should be punished regardless of bribes and conspiracies. As for the people in that organization, they had no other way to establish order in the city.

Vigilantism: A Vigilante of 1980s and Ranch Rescue

Bernhard Goetz in 1984 was saving his life and property from the four men that were trying to robber him in the subway train but he prevented them and killed them with the firearm he illegally possessed. This was one of the examples of vigilantism in criminal New York in 1980s when people suffered from criminal acts whereas police were ineffective. I believe that acting in this way has its advantages as well as disadvantages because a person can save his/her life but the society would criticize this action as highly unconstitutional or lawless.

The beginning of the twenty-first century in the states of the USA that share the border with Mexico was marked with the rise of The organization or movement that consists of ordinary people, who live there and want to protect themselves from the illegal aliens who damage their property while crossing the borders illegally. As the authorities do nothing to protect civil citizens, they try to protect themselves as they can. If I noticed some aliens on my property, I would do something to protect from the invasion because it is my constitutional right.

Civil Disobedience: Rosa Parks and Wisconsin Collective Bargaining

Throughout the history of the U.S., civil disobedience has played a significant role in many of the social reforms that we all take for granted today. Peaceful demonstrations as well as Some of the most well known of these are the following:

Rosa Parks was one of the first black people who made an act of civil disobedience when she refused to give her seat in the bus, as required by contemporary rules and regulations, to a white passenger. Though she was the first, her action draw a wide response in society and gave rise to the increase of population awareness of their intended rights and the fight for their rights; this was one of the actions that contributed greatly to the development of movement for rights of black people in the United States and, later, in other countries of the world.

Another case that can be labeled as Wisconsin Collective Bargaining is the peaceful demonstration that took place in March 2011 near Wisconsin Capitol where tens of thousands of public workers and their supporters were demonstrating their dissatisfaction with the decision to deprive them of almost all rights as workers related to collective bargaining (Caisley, 2007). Peaceful demonstrations may be effective only if they receive wide response in society and lead to changes adopted in laws and regulations.

Civil Disobedience: Suit Against Arizona Immigration Law

If the police officers in Arizona suspect someone of not having the legal basis for being in the country, they can ask the person to show the immigration documents, if any. This is not a plot of a new movie on rights of immigrants where the only law abiding citizens tries to protect the rights in accordance with principles of justice. A new law called SB 1070 was passed in Arizona to entitle the police officers to verify the immigration status of people they suspect of being illegal immigrants.

The acts of civil disobedience were observed in New York where 16 people were arrested due to participation in peaceful demonstration. Sometimes, demonstrations and controversial acts are not treated appropriately; “Our traditional approach to controlling crime seems more comfortable when addressing familiar criminal behavior in such areas as burglary, robbery, and assault” (Braswell, McCarthy & McCarthy, 2008, p. 347).

Violation of Ethical Standards: Unethical Teaching

As suggested in the study by Braswell, McCarthy & McCarthy (2008), “People who know they are being watched often act differently, especially when unethical, deviant, or criminal behaviors are involved” (p. 395). As such, unethical behavior involves violation of ethical standards that are important components of some professions.

Though the case discussed in the article by Mokgosi, Kgosidialwa, and Dube (2011) focuses more on the use of Ritalin, the authors also dwell on unethical behavior by teachers in Botswana concerning poorly-achieving students that should be approached in a specific way. I think that it is more appropriate for health care professionals to decide whether a student is stupid while the educator should support the student and help him/her achieve the best results.

Unethical Behavior: Negligence or Sexual Harassment?

Mayra Cabrera had delivered a son Zac in 2004 though she cannot see him growing up because she died the same day because of the heart attack. Her death was the result of the nursing negligence that is treated as the unethical and highly unprofessional behavior which, in this case, led to death of an innocent person. I do not believe that an experienced nurse that makes epidural anesthesia can make such a fatal mistake as injecting the wrong drug. The hospital administration should be more attentive with qualification of their staff members.

One of the largest and well-known companies in the world Hewlett-Packard lost its CEO due to his involvement into sexual harassment. Mark Hurd had to resign because he violated the sexual harassment policy established in the company to protect its employees from inappropriate conduct of senior. Colleagues (PTI, 2010). I think that resigning is the best way to avoid ruined reputation while many people try to keep their position and remain the target of criticism.

Important Values: What Are They?

I believe that health, safety, and family are the most important values from the suggested list; especially, it is important to know that all the members of your family are in safety and are healthy. The only similarity that can be seen between my values and values important for the group includes family while other important values for the group are honesty because a person should be honest with him-/herself and others and friendship because a person who has good friends and can be a good friend to somebody is powerful.

The least important values for me are risk because I believe that we should assess the possible benefits and exclude any risk, religion is not important for me because I think that this should not be the value that influences people’s decisions taking into account the historic experience of Crusades when Christian soldiers massacred peaceful settlements of Muslims. Another unimportant value for me is the pleasure because just actions are not always pleasant.

The group agrees with me concerning the pleasure; other unimportant values for the group are wealth because a wise healthy man who has friends is already wealthy and recognition because a person confident in his/her beliefs does not need acknowledgement.

Family and safety are the values similar for actors, me, and group; recognition is the similar least important value for the actors and group.

Values for Law Offenders and Good Samaritans

9/11 First Responders, Katrina, Haiti – altruism and duty were the major values that influenced the actors in these cases as people wanted to help strangers; friendship and family are also possible values because they helped their families as well;

Committee of Vigilance – justice and safety – as actors wanted to make the city safer and reach the justice;

Bernhard Goetz and Ranch Rescue – safety; in case of Ranch Rescue, some patriotism and duty may be traced because they defend their property;

Rosa Parks – honesty and independence – as she wanted to show that they are independent and should enjoy equal rights with white population;

Wisconsin Collective Bargaining and Suit Against Arizona – justice – to make sure that they get their rights back;

Unethical Teaching, Mayra Cabrera, HP Unethical Conduct – power – as power abuse was the major crime in these cases.

The least important values for Good Samaritans are recognition; for vigilantes – altruism was the least important value; for civil disobedience actors – power was the least important value; for unethical actors – knowledge, duty, and justice were the least important values.

Conclusion

Good Samaritan law should not be the basis for all jurisdictions because it is more pertaining to moral side of behavior rather than to something legal. If a person can help others, he/she should do that, especially in critical situations. I happened to bring the cat down from the tree though I do not think that it is a Good Samaritan-like behavior. When people try to use me, I refuse to help them because they ask for help not because they are in need but because they are too lazy to do something on their own.

Vigilantism should not be permitted when criminal system fails though self-defense is the concept that should be widely supported. If vigilantism is permitted, it will reflect ineffectiveness of laws whereas vigilantism in current conditions would only enforce the law. I would violate the law if I have to protect myself or my family from illegal actions, assault, or other misdemeanor.

Civil disobedience was effective historically in changing the law not because separate case of civil disobedience was effective but due to the echo of those actions in public and support received from different segments of population. I think the laws that contradict the common sense should be violated.

Commission of unethical behavior is often related to power abuse or criminal negligence in the various professions, other than criminal justice professions. For instance, a teacher can offend students because they are threatened by his/her authority and perspective of poor grades. I do not believe that American society is the only one that has cases of unethical behavior o it is not disposed to unethical behavior. To reduce ethical violations among professionals, it is necessary to make the corporate policies that establish the rules of ethical conduct in organizations more strict and more related to criminal liability.

Reference List

Braswell, M. C., McCarthy, B. R., & McCarthy, B. J. (2008). Justice, crime, and ethics (6th edition). Newark, NJ: Lexis Nexis.

Caisley, K. T. (2007). Collective bargaining. Auckland: CCH New Zealand Limited.

Mokgosi, L., Kgosidialwa, D. R., & Dube, T. (2011). Do our students need drugs to learn? Mmegi Online, 28(57). Web.

O’Meara, J. (2009). The Vigilance Committee of ’56. Teddington, Middlesex: Echo Library.

PTI. (2010). HP chief quits amid allegations of sexual harassment. Web.

Stewart, G. R. (1964). Committee of Vigilance: revolution in San Francisco, 1851. Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin.

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