quote from civil disobedience

Civil Disobedience

My favorite quote from the first couple of paragraphs was,“ I think we should be men first, and subjects after.” I believe Thoreau’s thinking behind this quote was men were treated as government’s projects, instead of being themselves. From this quote the reader is able to see how men had no freedom and were treated like slaves of the government. They were forced to do things the government wanted them to do, instead of doing things they liked to do. Thoreau also shows that the government put themselves before any citizens, to get things accomplished. If that meant reduce the freedom of the citizens, they shall do so. The reason this is my favorite quote is because it relates to us today, only in the school system. Teachers and advisers force us to do many things instead of us having the right to go our own way. I believe this quote is a nexus to the students because we are kids first and students after. We have the freedom to do things outside of school, and everything does not have to be based on school. This quote shows that the people, and especially the students, have the right to say no and do things on their own. I believe that the men who became subjects of the government, felt just like us students do today, trapped, harassed, and useless. This quote represents how it is incumbent for students to stand up and do things for themselves, instead of being forced to do things by teachers. Thoreau uses this quote to show how the government was corrupting society and taking over the lives of many free citizens.