..You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, it is rather strange and paradoxical to find us consciously breaking laws. One may well ask, "how can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer is found in the fact that there are two types of laws: There are just and there are unjust laws. I would agree with Saint Augustine that "An uniust law is no law at all.

Question

..You express a great deal of anxiety over our willingness to break laws. This is certainly a legitimate concern. Since we so diligently urge people to obey the Supreme Court's decision of 1954 outlawing segregation in the public schools, it is rather strange and paradoxical to find us consciously breaking laws. One may well ask, "how can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?" The answer is found in the fact that there are two types of laws: There are just and there are unjust laws. I would agree with Saint Augustine that "An uniust law is no law at all.

- Martin Luther King Jr., "Letter from Birmingham Jail," April 16, 1963
Which statement most accurately summarizes the main idea of the passage?
. Following moral principles is sometimes more important than following the law.

Answer 1

The main idea of the passage is that there are both just and unjust laws, and that it is sometimes more important to follow moral principles than to strictly obey the law. Martin Luther King Jr. argues that unjust laws should be challenged and disobeyed in order to bring about positive change and uphold principles of justice and equality.