Thoreau On Civil Disobedience

He also feared that conditioning would overcome the importance of the individual. Huxley was intelligent and rational, but people debate if his fears came true in accordance to present day times. With free thought comes disagreement, and with disagreement comes change in society. That is why, when Aldous Huxley wrote Brave New World, he emphasized the terrors of having no dissension in a civilization. In the

I do believe in civil disobedience, as a citizen and thoughtful human being. As citizens of countries, such as the United States, we should be expected to abide by the law. We live in a country where laws were created for protection and order. However, when I notice that our laws are not being followed by the people that we elect into office or public servants like police officers, I believe citizens should stand up against these officials. In this instance, my thinking matches that of Thoreau’s.

Exercising Autonomy: people have a right to control their lives and choose their own means of dying. The idea of autonomy, which literally means self-rule, is a foundational component of a free society. So long as my actions don’t harm others. A criticism of this argument is that, while autonomy is an important moral ideal, no one has full autonomy. Our actions are always restricted by competing interests of society.

But there are also those who are displeased with the results, and who are currently exercising their right to protest in public. Those are the ones who are strong, and fearless enough, to go out into the world and protest against their government. They are the ones who do not sit around and allow others to “remedy the evil” for them. They are the ones who exercise their “Moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws”. And best of all, these are the people that know that one must fight for their own rights, for they will not be willingly granted to them.

It comes down to ethics, and what will truly benefit the people while providing basic human rights. Although, especially in a democratic society, if it is the people being governed and feel the need to push for something then it is completely acceptable to try to get it accomplished, even if it is completely wrong. Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Disobedience is the true foundation of liberty.” A common, albeit cliché, example of civil disobedience having been necessary would be the American Revolution. Although rebellion to that extent is not usually necessary, if they had not rebelled they would not have been able to create that new government that provides its’ citizens with the rights they

Near the beginning of his renowned essay, "Civil Disobedience," Henry David Thoreau appeals to his fellow citizens when he says, "...I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government. " This request serves as a starting point from which the rest of "Civil Disobedience" emerges. Thoreau 's essay is particularly compelling because of its incorporation of rhetorical strategies, including the use of logos, ethos, pathos, purposive discourse, rhetorical competence and identification. I will demonstrate how each of these rhetorical techniques benefit Thoreau 's persuasive argument. Thoreau uses logos throughout his essay to strengthen his argument with reasoning.

Howard Roark is the ultimate embodiment of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivism. Objectivism advocates for the rejection of altruism and the pursuit of self-happiness, which is precisely how Roark lives his life. According to Rand, Roark “struggles for the integrity of his creative work against every form of social opposition.” Roark is Rand’s depiction of the ideal human being due to his indefectible pursuance of rational self-interest. Rand regards as ideal for a human being because he is the epitome of a freethinker.

Thoreau believes that people should be ruled by conscience and that people have the right to overthrow the government once they corrupt

“The first alternative finds its philosophical basis with the anarchists’ presumption” (Teacher) that given that coercion is converse to human freedom is naturally bad so it must be steer clear of, “even at the cost of the very existence of the political entity itself” (Teacher) On the other hand this alternative that focus’ solely on the abolition of coercion has the risk of being ineffective, neither on “philosophical premises” (Teacher) society requires coercion to remain controlled and provide protection for the communities. Therefore another alternative is to investigate the ways and means to normalise the use of coercion rather than abolish it altogether. The state must be democratic in order to normalise coercion, so that it may be used in the combined interest of the

Another aspect that angered Thoreau was the fact that “Unjust laws exist: shall we be content to obey them, or shall we endeavor to amend them” (393). This again goes along with the belief that man has the ability to know what is just, given by God, and does not need a government to decide for them how to live, especially when those ways are not true. In summation, Thoreau wants the government to lose the power it holds over the people so they can practice the morality and justice they know to be true due to man's connection with the

John said, “I believe in non-violence as a way of life, as a way of living” (“Do one thing-quotes for a better world”). John believes fighting should not be a part of life that it will not solve anything. He believes to go about things in a non-violent way. Lewis explains how staying peaceful everyone will be happier when he said, “If you’re not hopeful and optimistic, then just give up. You have to take the long hard look and just believe that if you’re consistent, you will succeed” (“life hack quotes”).

We should all respect and accept the fact that having different views is okay because that is how we learn from each other in order to continue grow as a great

Henry David Thoreau was an author whose transcendental philosophies functioned as an inspirational guidance to paramount historical figures of social reform. Thoreau vehemently bolstered civil liberties and advocated for peaceful demonstration in the essay Civil Disobedience. The idiom “civil disobedience” was established by Thoreau in 1848 as, “a public, non-violent and conscientious breach of law undertaken with the aim of bringing about a change in laws or government policies” (Brownlee). Thoreau, resisting governmental domination, declined to remunerate a poll tax as a protest against what he deemed to be an unmerited war with Mexico by a governmental design to expand slave territory. He was arrested and had a one night stint in jail before

The government's flawed state can be corrected by the action of an individual. Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience heavily reinforces this idea by presenting novel concepts regarding the role, responsibilities, and options of individuals, as they pertain to government, throughout the course of the text. The text was written in 1894 during the time of the Mexican American war when the US government, and the people it represented, found itself in a turbulent, uncertain state. Thoreau’s mission was to inform other transcendentalists and civilians in the United States about the actions they could and should have taken against government when unacceptable forms of rule arose. Although many Americans believed achieving reform was impossible through the actions of individuals, Thoreau’s belief was that independent and just strides could be enough to make considerable change; this becomes clear when Thoreau says, “It is not as important that many should be as good as you, as that may be some absolute goodness, for that will leaven the lump”

Fifth Harmony is a group of five girls who were brought together through a talent show called X-Factor. On the show each of the singers failed to impress the judges individually but together they received lots of recognition. The five girls all work very well together and tried to help themselves feel special since they work in such a judgemental and often negative industry. In some of their songs including “Who Are You”, they explore how being yourself is more important than following a crowd. Multiple of their songs include a concept called transcendentalism which is defined through the writings of Henry Thoreau and Ralph Emerson.