Thoreau -- Civil Disobedience Historians‚ philosophers‚ and authors have spent decades contemplating the relation between government and citizens. Though the question sparks many thought s‚ it is rarely met with sufficient answers. However‚ a theorist known as Henry Thoreau has offered many works that have shown deep insight on viewing man as an individual instead of a subject‚ through analyzing the ways citizens should live out their lives. Thoreau ‘s most famous work Civil Disobedience expresses
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history of civil disobediencmovement. The Gandhian concept of civil disobedience and satyagraha is the greatest contributionto mankind in our times. Albert Einstein said‚ “It is my belief that the problem of bringing peaceto the world on a supranational basis will be solved only by employing Gandhi’s method on alarge scale.” Martin Luther King Jr. said‚ “From my background I gained my regulating Christianideals‚ from Gandhi‚ I learned my operational technique.”Gandhi called his concept of civil disobedience
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As the word civil is included in "civil disobedience" these things are professed in a calm and nonviolent way. Henry David Thoreau once said "If a plant cannot live according to nature‚ it dies; and so a man." This quote is related to how the government is ran. If the conditions aren’t right and equal‚ the man will suffer. In 1849‚ Thoreau wrote an essay called "Civil Disobedience." Henry disagreed with slavery and fought to end it. In his
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well known Irish essayist‚ and novelist‚ “Disobedience‚ in the eyes of anyone who has read history‚ is man’s original virtue. It is through disobedience that progress has been made‚ through disobedience‚ and through rebellion”. Although one may disagree with such an opinion‚ keeping in mind that society is taught at a very young age of what is wrong and what is right‚ sometimes obedience and disobedience fall under the same category. Like obedience‚ disobedience can also be seen as a virtue. The human
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David Henry Thoreau‚ through his writings‚ influenced the Martin Luther King‚ Jr. in his quest for equal rights. Not only is this evidenced in King’s actions‚ but King partially attributes his methods to the inspiration of Thoreau. In “Civil Disobedience‚” Thoreau promotes resisting unjust government actions. Although not opposed to violent solutions‚ Thoreau encourages less aggressive measures. Specifically‚ Thoreau gave the example of refusing to pay certain taxes. Following this idea‚ King writes
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march to the sea in protest of the British monopoly on salt‚ resulting in the largest democracy in the world‚ it has been witnessed that peaceful resistance to laws is an effective method of gaining freedom‚ independence‚ and equality. Although civil disobedience is effective‚ it only is so if it is peaceful and dissidents should be careful not to be blinded by their passions and harm anybody neither directly nor indirectly. One of the most publicized authors
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violence and harsher rules from their imperialist rulers. This lead Gandhi to perform an act of civil disobedience by marching thousands of miles‚ with an equal amount of followers‚ to turn salt water into pure salt. Ignoring the tax and going around it resulted in Gandhi being arrested‚ but even then his followers continued to march to the ocean‚ continuing to follow Gandhi’s teachings of civil disobedience. Because of this‚ British imperialists eventually lifted the tax on salt. The British could not
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Civil Disobedience is the act of opposing the law for one’s own beliefs. It might cause a storm of arguments‚ but it is far from wrong. People should not be forced to do things that they think are wrong. And some things helped change America for the better. The right being able to protest against the law is not a idea that is harming society for the worse. America drafting was something that Muhammad Ali stood against for. Instead of running away from the law he stood strong and said "Just take
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Society would not have ever evolved the way it has without brave acts of civil disobedience by selfless individuals we have had as members of American society. To think that women would not have the right to vote‚ African Americans would still be discriminated against‚ or homosexuals would not have the chance to be married is crazy. All these things were changed by complex acts of civil disobedience that carried our country to value equality and personal liberties. That is why I think that peaceful
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citizens have the right to take actions. Peaceful resistance to law positively impacts all societies in the world‚ no matter the era. Rewinding almost 150 years‚ we turn towards a man who believes that civil disobedience is actually a necessity in society. Henry David Thoreau defended civil disobedience by stating it is a citizen’s responsibility to act against a corrupt government. In his time‚ he protested vehemently against a greedy government who was seeking dominance. His refusal to pay a poll
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