Essay about Thoreau Right or Wrong - 757 Words

Websters dictionary defines civil disobedience as refusal to obey governmental demands esp. as a nonviolent and usu. collective means of forcing concessions from the government. Henry Thoreau wrote an essay titled Civil Disobedience that has through the years become the authoritative argument on the subject. People as distinguished as Martin Luther King and Gandhi have used this essay as a cornerstone in their respective movements. However, I see Thoreau more as a hypocrite and an anarchist. While his goals might have been noble, like most theorists, he does not take into account the realities of the world we live in. I will convince you in this essay that Thoreaus argument was not valid for several reasons, but mainly due to his†¦show more content†¦Webster defines anarchist as one who believes in or promotes anarchism and defines anarchism as political theory holding all forms of government authority to be unnecessary and undesirable. Thoreau begins his essay with the mot to That government is best which governs least . Those two sentences pretty much mean the same thing to me. Maybe you can see a difference. Now I admit that I am not the happiest person in the world with how our government runs. Maybe if my priorities currently were not concerned with raising a family, making a living and school I could do something to help improve our system. This is where theory and reality diverge. Even in Thoreaus world, one person could not possibly have been able to run a country. The system would need an executive, judicial, and legislative branch as does the government system he already distrusted. Today you cant even run a city without some form of government. Bureaucratic slowness and stupidity is rampant today as it was in days of yesteryear. Thoreaus answer is to become friction in the cog of the machine. Yes, lets solve the problem by creating an even bigger problem. No thank you Mr. Thoreau. It would be nice if you directed your energy into figuring out a solution instead of whining about the current state of affairs. Lets talk about the way Thoreau lived his life. Did he leave behind a family to continue on his beliefs and legacy? Did he contribute to the societyShow MoreRelatedThoreau Civil Disobedience Analysis812 Words   |  4 Pagesfor more people to adopt this way of thinking. Thoreau explains throughout how an individual must conduct civil disobedience to begin a change that is morally correct. He talks a lot about the government and heavily criticizes it as the main cause to incite civil disobedience. It is mostly political and governmental reasons that Thoreau believes should be opposed. Thoreau directly states this, â€Å"All men recognize the right of revolution; that is, the right to refuse allegiance to, and to resist, theRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau Essay976 Words   |  4 PagesThe essays by Martin Luther King Jr., â€Å"Letters From Birmingham Jail† and Henry David Thoreau, â€Å"Civil Disobedience† show how one can be a civil person and protest against unfair, unjust laws forced upon them. Both authors are very persuasive in their letter writings. Henry David Thoreau and Martin Luther King Jr. write about the injustice of government laws, of right and wrong, and one’s moral and upstanding conscie nce of a human being. Martin Luther King Jr. is a religious, peaceful man who usesRead MoreCivil Disobedience In Antigone By David Thoreau958 Words   |  4 Pageslaw. Antigone thinks that it is the right of every man to be buried, but the people of Thebes do not view Polynices as a man. Antigone must decide between what she thinks is right, and what is considered right by the law. Although the actions of Antigone are considered legally incorrect, when in comparison with the excerpts from â€Å"Civil Disobedience†, an essay by David Thoreau, one is able to see how Antigone and Thoreau follow the same â€Å"life rules† such as the right to revolt, to cultivate a respectRead MoreThe Need For Civil Disobedience Essay1172 Words   |  5 PagesBut conscience asks the question, Is it right? And there comes a time when one must take a position that is neither safe, nor politic, nor popular but because conscience tells one it is right.† Conscience is the main sense of human being that helps to distinguish what is wrong and what is right. Thus, conscience has to be a main driving force when people encounter unjust laws of government. One of the philosophers who favored this idea was Henry David Thoreau. Specifically, he proposed a theory thatRead MoreEssay The Incredible Henry David Thoreau1081 Words   |  5 Pagesyet settled, the South was still a confederacy and unity was just a dream. The country was torn by slavery. And some men began to question the integrity of their government. Henry David Thoreau was one such man. Henry Thoreau was born in Concord, Massachusetts to a successful pencil manufacturer John Thoreau and a strong-willed, quick-witted mother, Cynthia. Early on Henry enjoyed reading books and observing nature in solitude. He inherited the gift of gab and intellectual inquiry from his motherRead MoreCivil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau Essay1160 Words   |  5 Pages That government is best which governs least. Or is it? Should the American people be free to rebel against laws they consider unjust? Henry David Thoreau addresses these issues in his essay, Civil Disobedience. Thoreau wholeheartedly accepts the declaration that the government is best which governs least, and would like to see it acted upon. One day, he hopes, we will be able to carry it out to the point where men can have a government that does not govern at all. Government never of itselfRead MoreLetter From Birmingham Jail Rhetorical Analysis961 Words   |  4 Pages1. In his letter from Birmingham jail, Martin Luther King Jr., a civil right activist a Baptist Minister and the creator of â€Å"In Letter from Birmingham jail.† King uses concepts of logos, pathos, and ethos to convey his points. Racial tension was high during Martin Luther King’s time, and he was the voice of the black community. He articulated his words carefully and had use methods of civil disobedi ence to convey his point. One of the first appeals he makes in his letter is from a logos perspectiveRead More The Impractical Philosophies of Self-reliance and Civil Disobedience1096 Words   |  5 Pagesnbsp; The philosophies of Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson would work well in a society comprised only of highly intellectual, healthy individuals who were willing put forth the effort needed to thoroughly examine themselves and formulate their own opinions about every issue pertaining to them. Emerson said that all members of society should think for themselves and formulate their own opinions rather than conforming to a popular belief. Thoreau said that the best government was no governmentRead MoreMartin Luther King Jr And Henry David Thoreau1393 Words   |  6 Pages Martin Luther King Jr and Henry David Thoreau were both two important men in our society that ultimately changed things for the better or at least had some part in our stride for equality in the United States. Whether it be in the Transcendentalist Era of the early 19th century in which Thoreau composed one of the most prominent documents of his time â€Å"Civil Disobedience†, or during the 1960’s fight for racial equality in which Dr. King wrote his powerful â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†, both seekedRead MoreThoreau On Civil Disobedience1458 Words   |  6 PagesPortman Philosophy 2010 4 December 2015 Thoreau on Civil Disobedience In Civil Disobedience, Henry Thoreau asserts that one should prioritize one’s conscience over the dictates of law. Thoreau begins his essay by arguing that government is rarely useful and that its power comes merely from the fact that the government is the strongest group, rather than because they hold the most correct viewpoint. He believes that people are obligated to do what they think is right and to refuse to follow the law as