Why does the author say openness is not 'a technicality'?
Civil disobedience is often confused with ordinary lawbreaking, but the two are different in kind. The ordinary lawbreaker hides, hoping to escape punishment. The civil disobedient acts openly, accepts the penalty, and appeals to the community's sense of justice. This openness is not a technicality; it is what makes the act a form of speech. A person who blocks a road and then walks away has simply caused an obstruction. A person who blocks it, states the reason and submits to arrest has asked a question of the society that is arresting them. The distinction also gives courts a principled basis for leniency: not because the cause is right, which judges cannot decide, but because the defendant has shown respect for the legal system while disputing one of its rules.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Because it is what turns the act into a form of communication to the community
- Step 1: The sentence continues: 'it is what makes the act a form of speech'.
- Step 2: Openness is therefore essential to the meaning of the act.
Answer
Because it is what turns the act into a form of communication to the community.
Why not the others: The passage does not mention legal duties to announce, guaranteed acquittal, danger, or proof of justice.
Practise more Protest and the law.
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