What is the individual’s responsibility regarding supporting the government when it is wrong?
Henry David Thoreau wrote Civil Disobedience in the eighteen hundreds. This was a long time from present day, but reading his speech about government was surprisingly true to present time. His beliefs were strong so he made this speech to try and persuade his audience to understand and embrace his point of view on what to do with an unjust government.
His speech, although wordy, is very impacting. What I believe makes his speech powerful, as well as any writing attempting to persuade in general, is that he states his argument with sound details and points. Then he states the opposition or other side to his argument which lowers its value by beating the opposing side to the punch. He gets to their points first and by doing this he can maintain control of the debate. He also makes it powerful by talking to the people instead of over them. The argument concerns the citizens and he fully engages them in the discussion and urges them to take a stand for what they believe is right. He also urges them to stand up against what they think is wrong. He quotes “Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it (Thoreau 138).” Thoreau makes each individual feel empowered which leads to a better turn out of standing up against the government.
The individual’s responsibility regarding supporting the government when it is wrong is simply that they should not. They are responsible for letting the government know they are wrong and that the individual will not support them if they do not believe in what they are doing. The key is to actively stand up and refuse to support them no matter the consequences. With actively stepping up, the government will have to take the hit or reform its ways. Waiting around for votes and vetoes take far too long, but refusing to obey the authorities when they are wrong could pull for a quicker change.
He argues a great point. Maybe it could work now, for our current war issue. Many Americans want the troops home for insufficient reasons on why they are there in the first place. If we all refuse to obey the government until they are returned home, we could possibly force the government into making quick decisions and corner them into bringing home loved ones.
Thoreau, Henry David. "Civil Disobedience." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Trans. Stephen Mitchell. 7th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martins, 2006. pp133-158.
3 comments:
If we all refuse to obey the government until they are returned home, we could possibly force the government into making quick decisions and corner them into bringing home loved ones (Kristy’s Blog). How can we do that? I think that will create a bigger problem than the war itself. I thing people should let the government know the mistake that they done and give them a chance to correct it. Also people should do that in a peaceful way or method.
I agree that while wordy, he makes his point known through his numerous examples, and by including the rights and responsibilities of the people. It is up to the people to voice their opinions and make the injustices known. If no one ever speaks up about the injustices that take place, then they will never change for the better.
I think cornering the government would not necessarily work because in most cases the government would figure out the people are putting up this behavior on a temporary bases and its all a matter of time when the people stop, and begin to live their normal lives again.
Post a Comment