The Basis of Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience"

   Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" espouses the need to prioritize one's conscience over the dictates of laws. In order to justify his claim, Thoreau uses several principals to advocate the moral need for civil disobedience. The first principal Thoreau stresses on to prove his point is "the right to resistance." Thoreau believes that resistance is the highest form of patriotism because it demonstrates a desire not to subvert the government, but to build a better one in the long term.  He asserts it is more important to develop a respect for right rather than respect for law, for people's obligations are to do what is right. Thoreau also discusses the idea of "individual conscience and mortality." He develops the idea that civil disobedience is a necessary expression of individual conscience and morality, an attempt to reconfigure the relationship between the individual and the State by making the latter more equitable and less burdensome in its treatment of the former. For government inherently lends itself to oppressive and corrupt uses since it enables a few men to impose the moral will of citizens on majority, rather than allowing people to actually express their will through it.  Finally and most importantly, Thoreau discusses the importance of a "limited government." Thoreau pushes this line of thinking to its logical limit by envisioning a society in which government is eliminated altogether because men have the capacity to be self-regulating and independent. Through such principals Thoreau is able to successfully condone his belief that government is best which governs least.

     In today's society, there are several diverse topics that have attracted society's neive ways of thinking. This is because society tends to follow the crowd rather than trust himself or herself. For society feels safer when conforming to such ideas because they would rather put their trust in society's "logical" ways of thinking rather than their own intuition. For example, today, people feel the need to use modern technology. Even though some may disagree with its use, people still buy it because they feel it is a necessity in order to be accepted by society. Another aspect concerning conformity is the influence the media has on today's society. The media has made the public conform to their ideas that everyone should look a certain way. As you flip through magazines, stick thin models cover the pages saying how you can get the perfect hair, skin, make-up, and body. If one does not engage in such interactions, he or she is considered to be a social outcast. Yet a self-reliant person would trust himself or herself and would object to such ideas if he or she truly thought that they were wrong. For a self-reliant person refuses to conform and does not fear the opinions of others but those of his or hers.