Custom «Letter from Jail» Essay Paper Sample

The article 'The Letter from Birmingham' is addressed to the clergymen who tend to believe that those in jail are the wrongdoers. It is addressed to the entire community that also believes that the demonstrations that are continuously carried out are not justified. The writer of the letter is bitter because of the happenings in the society such as racism. He speaks to the leaders who sit back and do not intervene for those people who are discriminated against. The writer of the letter also speaks to the men of God and asks them why they make empty promises. He is angered by the fact that these same people are the ones judging him and other people in jail yet they continue to do wrong things in broad daylight.

The writer also directly speaks to the layman. He pesters on asking why people prefer doing things the hard way. However, he has his reasons. This is due to the fact that he understands the people in leadership are not easily approachable. Therefore, the discriminated must push their way to the top so that they can be heard. This explains why their message must be passed on through demonstrations rather than negotiations. The speaker engages the layman by reminding him that freedom has never been achieved with ease.

Generally, the letter passes on a message that the people in jails are considered the worst in the bunch. However, what the people on the outside fail to understand is that even those who are locked up deserve a second chance. Therefore, instead of judging them, they should be given an equal chance. In the end, the entire society will benefit because these people will be better individuals in the society.

The author speaks of the experience that those in jail go through. He speaks of how much those detained long for a wonderful time with their families. He wishes that their rights were put into consideration. He reminds the reader that irrespective of the laws that they might have broken, they also have a right to disobey unjust laws. This implies that it is wrong to treat detainees unfairly because they are lawbreakers. Doing this is breaking the law of human rights. The writer pushes for the need for the detainees to enjoy equal rights of expression as fellow citizens. This is because doing otherwise would promote injustice to the oppressed.

The writer is also deeply angered by the white middle man who despises the blacks. He says that racists have no place in the society. He says that discrimination due to race is an injustice. Generally, the writer seeks to point out the injustices that are committed to the detainees just because they were unjust at one point of their life. According to the writer, nobody is perfect. He points out that people need to treat each other with respect irrespective of their positions in the society.