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...
