Topic > A reflection on Henry Thoreau's views on civil disobedience

“Disobedience is the true foundation of freedom. The obedient must be slaves." Henry Thoreau wrote this statement in his essay “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience” which corresponds to his book “Walden”. The disobedience he refers to in this quote is the civil disobedience he talked about in both his book and his essay. Civil disobedience constitutes an ethical violation of the law. It is an act of refusing to follow laws, regulations or an authoritarian person but with a peaceful approach to achieve specific requests. The non-violent methods used in civil disobedience are picketing, peaceful protest, boycott and refusal to pay taxes. Civil disobedience and protest are a right in every country where its society has freedom of speech. I believe civil disobedience is the ultimate civilized way to express rejection of injustice laws and rejection of people in power. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essayThoreau opens his essay with "that government is the best that governs the least" believing that government should be an expedient for citizens to achieve their needs and rights and the minimum number of governments means the maximum freedom. This justifies the moral necessity of civil disobedience because the government has no right to impose laws on citizens that are contrary to their principles, beliefs, morals and values. He also sees that there is a moral difference between practicing injustice and failing to prevent the injustice explained by the Mexican War. The Mexican War was created by prominent individuals who manipulated the government for their own benefit against the will of the citizens. According to Thoreau, this is an oppressive and corrupt act on the part of the government since a moral will has been imposed on all citizens, whether they are for or against. He also believes that people who are against the war in Mexico but pay taxes are part of this injustice and have a role in the war but should instead boycott the taxes imposed by the government. Citizens can express and protest their government's desire for war by refusing to pay taxes in the same way that soldiers refuse to fight an unjust war. Thoreau believes in three types of men in every country: those who serve with the body as soldiers and martyrs, those who serve with the brain and head, and finally those who serve with the knowledge that it is the best way to serve because they do it . with their mind and are aware of acts of injustice and oppose it (Thoreau, 1849). It also ensures that a responsible man does not avoid punishment or prison for his mistakes but instead breaks the law and is imprisoned for breaking the law that supports unjust decisions or actions by the government. He advocates the need to prioritize personal ethics and values ​​over government-dictated laws. Like Thoreau, I believe civil disobedience is acceptable because it is our duty as citizens to stand up and accept only what we believe (Thoreau, 1849). Just as Rosa Parks as a citizen refused to give up her seat on the bus because of the color of her skin and as Martin Luther King Jr. led protests and marches in defense of civil rights, all of these events caused social change through acts of disobedience civil. Civil disobedience is the duty of every citizen to fight for what is right and fight against what is wrong even if it is an unjust law. Right or wrong acts are not justified by laws, not all laws prohibit what is wrong and promote what isRight. It is every person's duty to break the law if they believe the law is unjust, it means defending their values ​​and what they believe in. Thoreau refers to civil disobedience in his essay as a duty and not a duty. just because he believes that it is the citizen's right to consent to his taxes being paid for the war. He also believed that individual freedom surpassed individual freedom and state freedom. Henry Thoreau, a canonical American literary figure, in his essay asked what an honest citizen should do about a president he wholeheartedly opposes but who has won a majority. Should those who are against him remain silent? This is the case that Lebanon currently experiences. On the 17th of Nomeber, after thirty years of silence on the unjust acts in which the government has taken part, from the deprivation of the fundamental rights of the Lebanese to the embezzlement of money that occurs among parliamentarians, the Lebanese citizens have decided to rebel against all parties politicians and every member of parliament in a peaceful manner. This act by Lebanese citizens is a form of civil disobedience as it consists of peaceful protests to demand their rights even after the government has attempted several times to distort or politicize the revolution. Ultimately the Lebanese decided to fight the passive democracy they experienced through civil disobedience. The protests and actions that have taken place over the last month across Lebanon have made a very positive change in our country compared to the 30 years of oppression that citizens have been living under. In the last month, all citizens who are part of the revolution have decided to take off their political hats and leave their religious shawl at home, taking to the streets demanding freedom and the resignation of the government. For the last thirty years the Lebanese have depended on the government to keep their promises, but then they got tired of their lies and decided to take action and demand their fundamental rights as citizens. The Lebanese decided to be noble citizens by not respectfully subordinating themselves to their government but they thought with their own heads about the life of an administration and that is how they began to think independently, independent of religion and independent of political parties. They have become patriots, not those who blindly follow their government, but those who follow their own conscience and their own principles of reason. They came to the conclusion that they were serving the devil unwittingly, paying taxes and following him to their deaths. It is true that the government is the one elected a couple of years ago, but this does not mean that everything the government does is upright and fair and all we have to do is wait for the next elections. The Lebanese people decided to do something, they decided to rebel and defend because it is not a crime to be an individual and ask for your fundamental rights. Peaceful protests, such as those currently taking place in Lebanon, exist or have previously existed around the world, with some succeeding and others failing. The current peaceful, peaceful protests by citizens taking place across Lebanon are acts of socio-economic and not geopolitical revolt. We are used to seeing political protests in Lebanon for the sake of one political party against another, but this time it was different. It was for all citizens to unite to raise their voice under one goal that the government should abandon as for the last thirty years in general, and for the last three years in particular, it has failed to ensure their fundamental rights. The government not only failed to provide citizens with their basic rights, but also increased taxes, and for what in return? Not at all, literally,.