Ethics

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Harvard University *

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Nov 24, 2024

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Surname 1 Student’s Name Professor’s Name Course Number Date Ethics M artin Luther King Jr. and Frederick Douglass are two of the most prominent figures in American history, both known for their views on morality, government, and religion. King was a Baptist minister and civil rights leader who fought against racial segregation and discrimination, while Douglass was a formerly enslaved person who became a prominent abolitionist and orator. In King's view, a moral society required a commitment to the values of love and fair treatment for all people. He believed that the government had a duty to safeguard its people's liberties and that legislation should align with their moral principles. Martin Luther King Jr. looked to religion for moral direction and inspiration and thought that public policy should reflect religious beliefs. "Every wrongdoing endangers the global fight for fairness. Our friendship and the ties of destiny bind us together like invisible threads. All of us are indirectly impacted by the actions of a single individual " (King Jr 1). King's belief that everybody shares the pain and that we must fight to eliminate injustice wherever it exists is represented in this remark. On the other hand, Douglass believed that morality did not need to be rooted in any one religion and could instead be derived from reason and common sense. Ethics, law, and faith are all topics he considers. Douglass saw morality as everyone's duty, not just their own. He thought

Surname 2 it was the government's duty to ensure the safety of its people and to further their pursuit of justice and equality, regardless of their background or affiliation. He considered slavery immoral and thought that the state was responsible for ending it (Douglass and Harrie 5). Rather than being a source of moral instruction and inspiration, Douglass regarded religion as a tool of oppression and control. In my opinion, King and Douglass were correct regarding ethics, religion, and government. The government is morally committed to preserving its people's rights and promoting justice and equality since morality is a universal ideal that should serve as the basis for government and society. On the other hand, religion may play a significant role in creating moral norms so long as it does not violate the rights of others or foster inequity. For instance, King's Civil Rights Movement was guided by Christian charity and fairness ideals. To a large extent, it facilitated the end of racial segregation and discrimination in the USA. Ultimately, religious teachings may be a helpful tool in pursuing a more equitable and moral society. Abolitionists like Douglass, on the other hand, were motivated by nonreligious ideals of fairness and equality as they worked to end slavery. It contributed to the end of a moral evil that had been allowed to persist for too long. King and Douglass agreed that morality should serve as the cornerstone of government and society, despite their divergent views on the influence of religion on morality. Douglass saw morality as a universal norm independent of religion, whereas King viewed it as a source of inspiration and direction. Each of these individuals believed that the government must ensure the safety of its people and advance social fairness. Both King and Douglass believed morality is essential to human existence and should not be limited by any one institution, including the state or religion. In addition, they held that it was the government's duty to ensure the safety of all its

Surname 3 people and advance social fairness and equality. King saw religion as a source of instruction and inspiration, but Douglass saw it as apart from morality.

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Surname 4 Works Cited King Jr, Martin Luther. "Letter from Birmingham Jail (1963)." Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and the Civil Rights Struggle of the 1950s and 1960s: A Brief History with Documents (1963). Douglass, Frederick, and Harriet Jacobs. Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave & Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl . Modern Library, 2000.

Ethics

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