Henry David Thoreau’s Civil Disobedience heavily criticizes the government for being too corrupt and also argues that the people have the right to refuse allegiance to the State. Because the government is unjust and corrupt, Thoreau calls for a change in how the government operates rather than abolishing the government entirely. Thoreau’s idea of a better government is a government that governs the least. This claim is elaborated as Thoreau states in his essay that the individuals with consciences should rule instead of the government officials that lack said consciences. For example, in part 1 paragraph 4, he mocks individuals such as soldiers and privates for showing respect to the government through marching admirably because they are going
The final verdict of the Rodney King trial in 1992 caused many people to grow anger, and display their anger in different ways. Some people displayed aggression and fury with the riots in Los Angeles, others attempted to get a different resolution for the LAPD officers that were acquitted, and there were also citizens who wrote about the impacts of this trial and other issues. After reading the entries and taking my experiences into account, the three responses were fitting according to the verdict. Riots are normally considered to be malicious acts that are highly frowned upon, but in some cases a riot is necessary. People express themselves in different ways when they grow angry; some people will riot because they can show people that they are upset and they believe this is the best way to get the point across.
In the essay “Civil Disobedience,” written by Henry David Thoreau, he stated, “Government is at best an expedient, but most governments are usually, and all governments are sometimes, inexpedient.” This expresses his opinion about the government that controlled America during the mid 1800s. His essay expresses that the government only addresses how to deal with a majority of the population, instead of finding a way to serve individuals. Thoreau’s viewpoint on the government is why he feels the need for resistance. For Thoreau, resistance means doing what a person believes is morally right.
"If a law is unjust, a man is not only right to disobey it, he is obligated to do so. "-Socrates. Peaceful resistance to laws positively impacts a free society because the society is not free unless it's able to check the government. As long as the protest of the law remains peaceful it is a good thing. It is the public telling the government that they will not let them gain to much power and crush their human rights.
“The Trigger for the 1992: Los Angeles Riots” The riot of 1992 Los Angeles is not the first one to happen throughout our American history. It is the common civilized way for people to protest about any injustices or certain events that they’re unhappy with like for example immigration reform, racism, women’s rights, stamp act and including the 1992: Los Angeles riots etc…. Most of the occasions they tend to turn out to violent and disruptive to the community because they either destroy public property or there issues with the law enforcement. Riots have been successful the best way for a community to be heard on their yearning injustices, but the downfall has been that people have been adopting
The reiteration of the same message, especially one of such importance to the speaker, constructs necessity and pressure to act upon the speaker’s claim. Repetition does not pertain only to a recurrence of the same word or group of words, but rather it can be the recurrence of the same idea or concept. Although Thoreau had no intentions of doing so, Civil Disobedience can break down into three sections, all of which address three different topics that relate back to his dissenting opinion of the Mexican War and slavery. Thoreau states “when a sixth of the population of a nation which has undertaken to be the refuge of liberty are slaves, and a whole country is unjustly overrun and conquered by a foreign army, and subjected to military law... What makes this duty the more urgent is the fact that the country so overrun is not our own, but ours is the invading army.”
American author and motivational speaker, John Canfield once said: “One individual can begin a movement that turns the tide of history. Martin Luther King in the civil rights movement, Mohandas Gandhi in India, Nelson Mandela in South Africa are examples of people standing up with courage and non-violence to bring about needed changes.” True enough, many great changes in history were initiated by individuals who opted not to keep silent in the midst of injustice. Citizens should take action when they feel that the state is implementing unjust laws. But how can you express your objection?
The Los Angeles riots in 1992 were fueled by more than just a single incident, but by a series of actions and abuse over the course of several years that forced a community to make their anger and resentment known. The ruthless beating of Rodney King along with the acquittal of the four police involved may have been the boiling point that tipped the scales. What many are not aware of is that the community of South Central Los Angeles endured years of economic oppression creating tension and frustration. Along with years of police brutality and abuse of power that finally came to a head produced what is known today as the Los Angeles Riots. The riots finally showed the nation just how fed up people were with the social injustices they endured
Although America’s First Amendment protects our right to peacefully assemble and our freedom of speech, the riots that occurred in Los Angeles and also in Ferguson Missouri is socially
The individual's relationship to the state is a concept often entertained abstractly; at variance with this is Civil Disobedience, which analyzes Thoreau's first direct experience with state power in his brief 1846 imprisonment. Thoreau metaphorically detailed his search for virtue in the quote, "The finest qualities of our nature, like the bloom on fruits, can be preserved only by the most delicate handling. Yet we do not treat ourselves nor one another thus tenderly." (Thoreau 8) In Civil Disobedience Thoreau as earnest seeker and flawed captive of the conscience concertedly attempts to correct this shortcoming within the context of slavery and the Mexican-American War.
Major race riots have occurred in the United States at least since the Harlem Riots of 1948. Although the race riots that took place in the United States during the 1960’s were the direct result of the serious grievances of a minority racial group. An already frustrated and angry black population in America's cities violently took that sense of unfairness to the streets in the form of demonstrations, looting, and the destruction of property. Riots continued to happen throughout history including the 1992 riot in Los Angeles, the most destructive United States civil disturbance of the 20th century. As riots still occur in the present
Civil Disobedience is an important moral responsibility of a citizen, however it should not get to the level of illegal activity under any circumstances, because great reform can be brought peacefully not violently. In the title named "On Civil Disobedience" by Mohandas K. Ghandi once said: “No country has ever become or will ever become, happy though victory in war”(Mohandas K. Gandhi , 148). Even that long ago, when war was at high, and people embraced it, he knew that the only thing war brought was death, and depression among civilians. This method of civil disobedience has only resulted into more wars, and no real solutions. The most efficient way to the be civilly disobedient is to be peaceful, but willing to stand up for your cause.
People's justification to engage in civil disobedience rests on the unresponsiveness that their engagement to oppose an unjust law receives. People who yearn for a change in a policy might sometimes find themselves in a dead end because their “attempts to have the laws repealed have been ignored and legal protests and demonstrations have had no success” (Rawls 373). What Rawls says is that civil disobedience is a last option to oppose an unjust law; therefore, providing civil disobedients with a justification for their cause. Civil disobedience is the spark of light that people encountered at the dead end and they hope that this spark of light will illuminate to show that an unjust law should not exist at all. Martin Luther King, Jr, in his “Letter from
Such statements enabled child migration societies to restart their programs and solicit financial support under the Empire Settlement Act . Although the government originally planned to take in a large number of children, only approximately 3000 children formed the post-war immigration to Australia. In contrast to the inter-war years, the British government was somewhat reluctant towards child migration after the Second World War. Sentiments had changed, particularly due to the 1946 Children’s Act and Ross and Curtis Reports which emphasised the rights of the child, the need to maintain bonds with parents and brought up concerns over child care and supervision within Australian institutions. In the wake of the legislation, sentiments
I work at a college radio station currently to get high school credits, and the best way to get your message out in today's society is to have a voice. Whether it be like mine over the FM, or over the Facebook, peaceful protests are what keeps people from becoming outraged, furious and dangerous to those around them. When someone doesn't like something, they won't sit back and do nothing, they will complain, they will act out, and they will protest, and as being American citizens we have the right to do that, but we don't always go to the peaceful routes. Take in Ferguson Missouri for example. While the protests, and acts of rage were not due to that of a law, they were due to the act of hurt and pain for the loss of a community member, they still acted out.
