Review of On the Duty of Civil Disobedience by Thoreau

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Henry Thoreaus essay on civil disobedience illustrates his perspective on the prevalence of an individuals conscience and personal moral standpoints over the majoritys law and opinion. The authors acceptance of the principle that government is best which governs least could have implications for his involvement in protests if he was alive today (Thoreau, 2012, p. 330). Being clearly opposed to the American governments intrusion into its citizens personal lives, he could be involved in protests surrounding the issues of personal beliefs, including those of minority groups, going against the nations needs. Thoreau (2012) is critical towards a government in which the majority rules in all cases, which implies the need for justice and the freedom of will expression for minority populations (p. 331). Therefore, it is likely that the author would be involved in protests if he was our contemporary.

The kind of causes and protests that Thoreau would be involved in is a thought-provoking question. Even without knowing about Thoreaus beliefs regarding the limits of personal freedom, it can be assumed that he would be supportive of various protest actions aimed at expanding individuals self-identification opportunities. For Thoreau (2012), being regarded as a member of any incorporated society which I have not joined is almost insulting, which points at his preference towards free and conscious self-determination (p. 339). This position would probably make particular causes and actions, for instance, events to promote gender self-identification and the protection of children from religious propaganda, of interest to the author. Also, he supports anti-war moods and opposes the use of human bodies as assets. From his perspective, wooden people in law enforcement and defense agencies have the same sort of worth as horses and dogs (Thoreau, 2012, p. 331). Based on this, apart from personal freedom matters, he would probably encourage modern anti-war movements protests and actions to reconsider and redistribute the countrys military budget. Therefore, Thoreaus views would make him active in promoting justice.

Reference

Thoreau, H. D. (2012). On the duty of civil disobedience. In D. Hennessy (Ed.), Classics of American literature (Vol. 1) (pp. 330-345). Broward College.

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