Civil Disobedience in Today’s Society
Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” was a response to his views on slavery and the Mexican-American War. The government’s unjustified actions reflected the way Thoreau perceived how an individual should react to injustice, which was exercising the act of civil disobedience. By practicing nonviolent resistance, an individual does not necessarily revolt to the point where a revolution erupts, but the person does refuse to follow the law by distancing his/herself from the government. That is one aspect Thoreau mainly believed in, a main point declared throughout his essay. Reflecting on the conditions of today’s society, Thoreau’s ideas of civil disobedience to distinguish injustice are appropriate responses, opposed to violent protests, because of the way severe conflict is prevented and the probabilities of civilization falling apart are small.
Thoreau employed his experience …show more content…
Many of his ideas contribute to how an individual can respond to prejudicial actions from today’s society. For example, if the government prohibited the right to read books, in Thoreau’s vision, a person would not confront anybody. Instead, a person would not follow the government’s regulations by continuing to read books in order to prevent any violent problems from breaking out. Those people who perform civil disobedience are precisely nonviolent, and are willing to face the penalties. Thoreau’s words, “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison” reflect the way that civil disobedience is vital when compared to violent forms of protest because non-violent forms of protest result in less deaths. The same can be said about Thoreau, himself, as
Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience” was a response to his views on slavery and the Mexican-American War. The government’s unjustified actions reflected the way Thoreau perceived how an individual should react to injustice, which was exercising the act of civil disobedience. By practicing nonviolent resistance, an individual does not necessarily revolt to the point where a revolution erupts, but the person does refuse to follow the law by distancing his/herself from the government. That is one aspect Thoreau mainly believed in, a main point declared throughout his essay. Reflecting on the conditions of today’s society, Thoreau’s ideas of civil disobedience to distinguish injustice are appropriate responses, opposed to violent protests, because of the way severe conflict is prevented and the probabilities of civilization falling apart are small.
Thoreau employed his experience …show more content…
Many of his ideas contribute to how an individual can respond to prejudicial actions from today’s society. For example, if the government prohibited the right to read books, in Thoreau’s vision, a person would not confront anybody. Instead, a person would not follow the government’s regulations by continuing to read books in order to prevent any violent problems from breaking out. Those people who perform civil disobedience are precisely nonviolent, and are willing to face the penalties. Thoreau’s words, “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison” reflect the way that civil disobedience is vital when compared to violent forms of protest because non-violent forms of protest result in less deaths. The same can be said about Thoreau, himself, as