3 - Civil Disobedience

In Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau tells his thoughts about his heavy disliking of the government and how see wants to see society ideally run, that is to have a government that does not restrict the freedoms of the people and a government that is enjoyed by the majority of the population. He sees the current American government as an entity acting only for its interests disregarding the people, with the army being “only an arm” of the government, used for enforcing this minority rule.

 I do agree with him on some of his stances, mainly due to the condition of the US government at the time. The government did not speak for the majority, as only white men could vote during the time period. There was also the practice of slavery that was going on at the time, which was against the ideals of the American government at the time. Thoreau emphasizes that the voices of the minority should be used to challenge the American system and to not let your voice be assimilated into the content majority. 

I do disagree with some of his points, however. He says that revolution could be achieved by not taking part in the government, exemplified by him stating that government workers should resign their office in order to achieve peaceful revolution. I believe that this would be a useless form of protest as this would put them in great economic harm at the cost of minimal damage to the government. In large quantities, there is potential for some damage to the government, but most workers will be too complacent to risk losing their livelihoods. I believe there are better ways to achieve revolution, such as electing government positions that could benefit the people. 

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