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Disobeying The Government In The 18th Century

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“The Constitution is not an instrument for the government to restrain the people, it is an instrument for the people to restrain the government - lest it come to dominate our lives and interests” ("Patrick Henry Quotes") said Patrick Henry, a Founding Father of The Declaration of Independence in the 18th century. The government should be a tool of the people, rather than the converse. Though the government supposedly serves the well-being of the people, it does not satisfy every individual’s needs and can ignore opinions which may be of value and moral righteousness. With this being said, it is indeed appropriate to defy the government under certain conditions. To begin, disobeying the government should be considered necessary as long as the people peaceably act and reasonably state their opinions. Citizens were given several freedoms provided by the First Amendment of the Constitution. “Congress shall make no …show more content…

Some may argue that the government should be strictly respected because they provide and protect our basic freedoms and needs. Others may disagree and state that it is appropriate to not only rebel, but overthrow the government no matter the condition due to a lack of trust and a sense of individuality that these defiant citizens feel they possess and must preserve. I feel that these two views are too extreme and that there is no sense in having too much or too little trust in the government. People should be cautious, and should not act unless there is a sense of intense corruption within the government which can be reversed through peaceful actions, brought on by voicing an opinion, even if it is not deemed valuable by the

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