Thoreau's Argument Against The Government

Many people watch the news every day, and some wonder why they aren’t in Washington making laws that would be more beneficial to their lives. Unfortunately, that’s not how the government runs now or ever did. Henry Thoreau believes that no citizen should give in to the government, if they don’t agree with an unjust law or statement. He uses methods such as the right of revolution or basic human rights, and protest, to resist a corrupt and over-reaching government. Thoreau strongly believes that every man has the right to express their feelings about the government in any form or fashion. He begins stating an argument that the government rarely proves itself useful and that it derives its power from the majority because they are the strongest group. He states that people have the right of revolution and people’s top priority is to do what they believe is right, and

I feel that protesting is a weak form of resisting the government, it might catch some attention, but not enough to take the argument anywhere. I also disagree with an individual having the right to resist government, because every American citizen has to abide by some set rules or laws, so it wouldn’t be fair to have one or multiple people not abiding by those requirements. I feel that society would be more chaotic if everyone had the right choose what they wanted to follow.

In a perfect world, Henry Thoreau’s methods of civil disobedience would have been a great idea, depending on what laws one was refusing to obey, but in his time period and in ours it just wouldn’t work having everyone doing what pleased them. That’s why the government, as stubborn as it can be and as much as we may disagree with it at times, has to instill laws so that the world can be a calm and orderly