Disobedience In History

The appropriateness of civil disobedience in the eyes of the Government of a free and constitutional nation should undoubtedly and irrevocably be preserved, for it is only through civil disobedience that positive change can be incurred. In the present state of America, the question concerning the efficacy of disobedience is a prevalent and impassioned topic. The fact that this question even needs to be posed is an American tragedy; what could be more patriotic than standing up for the beliefs and rights of others? From America’s conception, it was upheld by the great protectors of liberty that civil discord bettered the nation and that ideology has been maintained and preserved amongst that group for more than two centuries. As stated by the great Transcendentalist theologian, Henry David Thoreau, in his book Civil Disobedience, “Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it.” It is through this affirmative action that we have secured the suffrage of women, the equality of race, and the sanctity of same-sex marriage to name a few; the very sovereignty of our nation has only been achieved through civil
People’s views are often clouded to the necessity of change when experiencing things in the present and this enables them to easily cast aside the essentiality of reform. Such can be seen when examining the topic of Environmental Policy. For some, the concern over the vitality of our environment has arisen and because of this concern activists have felt obligated to step forward, for example, the movement created to oppose the Keystone Pipeline