This week in class we analyzed "Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau. The first time I read this piece I was skeptical. I agreed with a lot of things he was saying, such as:"That government is best which governs least", but I also disagreed with him when he encouraged people to openly break the law. Eventually the more and more I analyzed and thought about the matter the more and more I realized he was right. Think about all the change that would not have happened if people didn't participate in civil disobedience. What if Rosa Parks stood up and gave up her seat on the bus? What if the Boston Tea Party wasn't formed and didn't throw tea over the harbor to protest British rule and taxes? What if Susan B. Anthony didn't illegally vote in the house of representatives to protest female disenfranchisement? The point is clear, we would not be as free of a country that we are today without people standing up to unjust laws and breaking them.
Civil disobedience is needed and it is justifiable. Civil Disobedience is needed to publicize an issue. For instance, let's take Colin Kaepernick's actions and the black lives matter movement into account. Without Colin taking a knee and the black lives matter movement forming, there wouldn't be nearly as much talk about police brutality in the country. Thanks to these movements there are measures being taken to help prevent more cases like Freddie Gray from never happening again. There are now cameras that some police forces require their officers to to wear at all times, and there is more dash cameras on police cars. Though, the issue is far from over, without civil disobedience there wouldn't have been any progress made. So all in all, as Thoreau would say; "BREAK THE LAW!"
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