Civil Rights

Tristan Griffith
Mrs. Spiridigliozzi
Pre A.P. English, Period 5
3 April 2014
Unification for a Common Good
Imagine a place where a child cannot get a proper education or where a citizen has to get off the bus because a different race wanted their spot. A place like this is becoming harder and harder to come by, but would be quite common without the courageous and brave people who commit civil disobedience and work for change. Civil disobedience is necessary for any change to occur; the act of civil disobedience can change anything from civil rights to equality, and everything in between, as long as humanity stands up and takes action against what it feels to be wrong. Anything can happen and anything can change for the better.
Civil disobedience can change a government and its interference with the countries and communities it governs. Henry David Thoreau states, “I heartily accept the motto, ­­­ ‘That government is best which governs least’.” The more the government controls, the more it refrains humanity from shining its brightest. If the world has any hope to change for the better, the government needs to let its people speak freely and voice their opinions. The government is such a weak power. A single man could bend it to his will if he contained the intellectual ability to persuade those around him (Thoreau). It is explained that “The mass of men serve the state thus, not as men mainly, but as machines…there is not free exercise whatever the judgement or of the moral sense… same sort of worth as horses and dogs…” (Thoreau).
Mankind bows down to the government like some sort of divine affinity. Humanity fears to stand up against it, but, if they hope for any change, they must. People live in a world of

unspoken ideas and revolutionary thoughts, yet have not the courage to stand up and speak of them.
Civil disobedience can end oppression and bring about a new era of equality and peace to those in need. There is a simple story of oppression that everybody knows, the story of Rosa Parks, it starts simply as a woman who got on a bus and sat down. She was asked to move, but was tired of the oppression she was faced with on a daily basis. The reason for the man having the audacity to ask for her seat was that he was white, and that was all the reason he needed (Dove). Dove states that “These humiliations were compounded by the fact that two­thirds of the bus riders in Montgomery were black.” Later on 34,000 handbills were mimeographed for distribution to all the black schools in order to keep them off the busses.
That was it. All they had asked was for them to stay off the busses as a boycott (Dove).
Mankind cannot hope to move forward in society if it is unable to learn to accept everyone regardless of differences. Every single person has different opinions and beliefs, however the ability for humans to adapt and accept others for those differences is what separates us from common animals.
Civil disobedience can save the environment and all of its inhabitants that are required for the continuation of human life. Lovejoy states, “I wasn’t opposed to nuclear power… I convinced myself more and more that it was a horrendous idea” (Terkel). Lovejoy wanted to remove the tower from the vicinities, however he could not do so before the utilities needed came in. Those utilities needed one full year of environmental data before they could get a license (Terkel). Lovejoy states, “I didn’t decide on civil disobedience until a month before. I did some political reading and got into Thoreau” (Terkel). Someone does not have to be against what is happening in order to protest, however they must be able to see the harm in which the actions will cause. Sometimes the proper action takes time, yet many times there is

no time to wait. Men and women must be able to see the outcomes from taking action now and later and weigh their options. People are uniting under the words of Thoreau. His actions and support brought civil disobedience into its initial view and allowed others to follow in his footsteps. Civil disobedience can give an education to those in dear need of it. There is no better example than Malala Yousafzai who states, “The power of education frightens them” (“The
United Nations Speech”). “Peace is necessary for education”” she states, “In many parts of the world… wars and conflicts stop children to go to their schools… many schools have been destroyed… poverty, ignorance, injustice, racism, and deprivation of basic rights…” (“The
United States Speech”). Education is the only solution to these problems, education must come first (“The United Nations Speech”)! Education is the only saviour to the current and future generations. There is no hope for acceptance, growth, change, or development if mankind can not allow the younger generations to learn from the elder’s mistakes and choices. If they are not taught them then it can only end in the disaster that is total corruption.
Those who cannot learn from past mistakes are doomed to repeat them.
Civil disobedience is the structure on which the world grows and changes. It allows them to view what humanity needs and deserves. It is the best way to pave the roads that will serve as the foundation for which change will come in on.