Civil Disobedience

“Civil Disobedience” is a good example of transcendentalist ideas. One of the main topics is about the individual in society, which is one of the biggest points in transcendentalism (Dark). Henry David Thoreau believed that there should be limited to no government because “That government is best which governs least" (Thoreau). As Graves says “Thoreau recognized that government… can sometimes be grievously wrong. I have some problems with a few of Thoreau’s ideas. Transcendentalism works well in writing fiction, but not in politics and government. Thoreau is more about everybody just helping themselves and not caring about the well being of others. If there is no government then anything can happen. It opens the door to corruption, so monopolies and price fixing can occur when there are no regulations. Thoreau says “Let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step toward obtaining it” (Thoreau). First of all everybody cannot always get what they want; secondly this is basically how the Constitution came to be; and thirdly the American government was founded on compromises. Not only was it created by compromising, but that is essentially how it works, and therefore what our country is based on. Thoreau also wants people to break laws if it requires a person to be an “agent of injustice” (Thoreau”). Who defines injustice but each individual with their own moral beliefs? He really embodies the Romanticism style that focuses on nature by saying that plants and acorns are following their own laws, so humans should too. Another idea of Thoreau’s is that “the best thing a man can do for his culture when he is rich is to endeavor to carry out those schemes which he entertained when he was poor” (Thoreau). The problem with this is that a lot of wealthy people were born into their money, so they cannot carry out the beliefs they had when they were poor because they were never poor. Finally he says that he does not want to rely on the State for protection, but if he is disobedient then he will punished. The fault in this is that some people do need help. There are people who need government to help them economically and otherwise, so maybe Thoreau should be like his criticized minority and conform to the majority. Of course one thing that can be agreed with is his stance on abolition. But he criticizes people who oppose it in thought but do nothing in action. People cannot always put their full support behind something they believe. Everybody cannot be like Thoreau, who goes to jail for his beliefs. But he also said “if one HONEST man, in this State of Massachusetts, ceasing to hold slaves, were actually to withdraw from this copartnership, and be locked up in the county jail therefor, it would be the abolition of slavery in America” (Thoreau). Thoreau only went to jail for not paying a poll tax, but he had the potential to follow through with this and end slavery in America. Either he is not an honest man, or he has succumbed to hypocrisy. He is speaking about abolition, but he is not following through with actions to support it.

"Dark Romanticism - ArticleWorld." Main Page - ArticleWorld. Web. 19 Jan. 2012.

Graves, Roy Neil. "Individual and Society in 'Civil Disobedience'." McClinton-Temple, Jennifer ed. Encyclopedia of Themes in Literature. New York: Infobase Publishing, 2011. Bloom's Literary Reference Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?ItemID=WE54&SID=5&iPin= ETL1130&SingleRecord=True (accessed January 25, 2012).

Thoreau, Henry David. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text." The Thoreau Reader. Web. 25 Jan. 2012. .