Civil+Disobedience

When I read this, i was really interested in what I was reading, and I got a better knowledge of what Thoreau thought of the government and how his thoughts related in so many ways to, mine. I think the government is a set up of a group of people who make deicions on what they think is best for out country. I think they try to do everything that they can to make America safe and in order. The government doesn't always make good decisions for every one though. We all know they're doing it to make the country a better place but how is it better if nobody is happay with what's going on. I think more could be done, and it's not hard to see with all the problems we've been run in to in thepast 10 years, from gas prices to the war in Iraq. I think this country needs a good new leader. Let's hope this upcoming election can help us out with that. 1203138603

This passage from Throeau's essay is actually kind of interesting. This essay shows that Thoreau was not afraid to voice his opinions about the government. He is basically saying that he wants a better government than the one in place at the time that he wrote this essay. I cannot say that I blame him. From what Thoreau said in this essay, the gpvernment at this time was not a very good one:

"Yet this government never of itself furthered any enterprise, but by the alacrity with which it got out of its way. It does not keep the country free. It does not settle the West. It does not educate."

In this quote is a list of complaints against the government. Thoreau also seems to be saying that there was no need for the Mexican War:

"Witness the present Mexican war, the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for, in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure."

From this quote, I can guess that there were not very many people who supported the war. This kind of parallels the Iraq war. A lot of people, myself include, think that we no longer need to be in Iraq. Hussein is dead and Iraq does have a government. Apparently, President Bush seems to think that we still need to help them set up their government. To me, it seems like they have already gotten a governmetn set up and that the only reason there are suicide bombings is that Iraqians want us out. The suicide bombings are aimed at American troops and buildings. Do you think their message could be any clearer? Overall, I found this passage interesting because of the way it parallels the Iraq war as well as they way Thoreau freely expresses his opinion of the government.1202164607

I do see the relationship between the two wars that people seem to be talking about but what i don't see is how we need to leave the Iraqi people to be killed by the oppressors we tried to stop by going there. You say that we have no place in Iraq but i have no idea where you are getting this from. If people in Iraq are blaming us for their problems they are not ready for us to leave. They are still trying to fix their problems through terrorism and violence and we cannot leave until this stops. Because if it does continue it will eventually get to the point that they were at before we entered. And if that were to happen again the United States and the entire world would be in great danger. i see this war as a way to stop future violence. That may sound stupid but you can't fight violence with words, because you will end up with a broken nose. 1203040132

WHen i read this i thought that Thoreau had a very weird image of what he thinks is the goverment. Compared to my idea of the goverment being a body of people that protect and represent the people in a country. They are every day people with inititive ideas to make the country they represent a safer and more secrue enviroment. I think that the enviroment that is in practice right now is ok but it can be improved just like Thoreau also had in mind. he is saying that the goverment of his time is not satisfactory enough for the quality of work that he beliefs can be done. He has some strong actions going towards the goverment like Psa said and i agree because if you look at the poster hung on Br.toms room about the speeches that Bush has given and you will see that even today the goverment hides many things from the people and also it has many sentences where it shows how the goverment try mixing things up to make them look good and sometimes repeat the good things about two times. 1202171912

Well im not exactly sure which poster you are thinking of but if its the same one i read everyday then it has nothing to do with the government hiding things from us or them making bad things look good. It is a bunch of misquotes Bush has said over the years because he's a terrible public speaker who might have failed his Freshman grammar course. A huge problem with our country today is nobody trusting our government and turning everything into a fight between Dems and Reps. The truth is that you have no proof that our government hides anything from you except things that could harm us if it leaks. We as a nation need to put more trust into the people we elect as officials because if we can't stand behind our leaders then we will end up standing by ourselves as a very weak nation. This talk of Emerson and Thoreau have of free thinking and opposing the government is all great but when the time comes we all need to be ready to band together behind the decision our leaders make. It is great to be a free thinker and follow your beliefs until it is endangering the nation. Now im not saying that this is going on right now but the trends i currently see in the government and in the media can't continue or else we could end up as a very weak and divided nation. 1203040973

When reading this, not only was I higly interested into what I was reading, but I got a better understanding of what Thoreau thought of the government and how his thoughts related in so many ways to others and at times, mine. Personally, I think the government is a set up of a group of people who make deicions on what they think is best for out country, but not for everyone. It seems as if everyone always isn't %100 satsified with the decisions the goverment makes for us, wether it be to protect us or distress us in any way. We all know they're doing it to make the country a better place but what place is better if no one is happy? I don't think the government thinks things through and puts enough time and thought into the choices they choose to carry out. I think more could be done, and it's quite obvious with all the drama we've been led into in the past 10 years, with the governemt we've been dealing with now. I can't say that we have a perfect governemnt, no one does, but it'd be nice if had one that was acceptable to some extent. But, whitman really showed how he felt about the governent and the people involved in it and how they performed in their duties. 1202234763

I agree hole heartedly with what you are saying. In today's government they seem to be worrying less and less about what would be best for the country and more and more about politics. Now it would be impossible for everyone in the country to be happy with every decision or bill passed by the government but our leaders should be making decisions based on what would be best for us not what would be best for them or best for the party. Whenever i hear about our congress voting on a bill the results always seem to be the exact percentage of Dems compared to Reps. (I think its about 60/40 Dems) Our government has become so obsessed with making sure that their own party is gaining power they seem to no longer be thinking about us. This is a trend that can't continue. 1203041502

When I read this passage from Thoreau it interested me in what his idea of a govenment. Our thoughts now may be a little different from what his thoughts were. I think that a government is a group of people who make choices and important decisions for the better of the country. Even though everyone may not be happy about the choice they made it usually for the better. Our government is for sure not perfect in anyway they make mistakes hopefully not major ones but we have to understand that they're not perfect because it is impossible to be perfect. Thoreau is a bold man who is not afraid to spreak for what he believes in and especially the government. He said that he basically wants to have a redo on our government and its system. He doesn't like it and wants change to happen for the better in his understanding of it. 1202862618

I for the most part agree with Thoreau on his idea of government. It is hard to deny that if everyone could cooperate, maintain production while not needing a system of hierarchy to tell them what to do, then our world would be a better place. The people themselves are the ones who know what is best for them and they are much more acceptable to implement it being that they are directly effected by it, opposed to someone who may benefit indirectly from solving the problem. Statism and authoritarianism have proven unsuccessful throughout history, people continually use the same solution to fix problems expecting different results, when they have obviously not worked in the past. Why not choose a different method? From the begining government never served the interests of the people, it served the interests of the wealthy elite that controlled the government. It was carefully created to preserve class divisions and maintain wealth for a few, leading people to believe it's existence was practical and necessary. If people recognize these things and realize the potential of cooperation and mutual aid, then government would become completely irrelevant and unnecessary. 1202874662

I think what you have just explained is a perfect government that is the goal of most good hearted people in todays world but sadly i have to believe that this idea s just impossible to achieve. Humans being the very strange creatures they are never come out the same. I think for a large number of people this is obtainable but the problem is the free thinker out there who wants to change things for the better. Yes free thinking can go both ways. If we obtain that perfect society our lives and luxuries would be about equal throughout (somewhat like a communism, everyone would share and provide for everyone else). It would probably be a simple life with little differences in social classes. But as soon as someone starts to think they are better than other people and believe they deserve more or better things than other people in the community the whole thing falls apart. This person gains some followers and then some power and they take over the country and turn it into a dictatorship. Now they may not be an angry tyrant or anything but we would be back with a government and probably worse off then we are now with our functional Democratic Republic style of government. 1203042315

This passage sparked a few ideas in my head about government when i read it. I dont like to get into politics, but i will say that this is an unjust world. The Goverment is getting more ridiculous every day. The laws they make, the taxs they charge, its as if our rights are being taken from us slowly but surely. I do believe government is nessary but only to a certain degree, when they impose in our lives and tell us how to live its starts to get un-american, no matter of fact that is completely un-american. It seems as if comon sense is thrown completely out the window for many diffrent reasons including the main factor, just to make money. I agree i dont believe any country could amount to this one ,but everyone has there problems, and for centuries america has been a refuge for all imagrints and it will continue that path, but the choice lies in the hands of the citizens, we can change the goverment if we bangd together or we can let it control us, we have a choice and thats what makes this land such a great place to live. 1202948284

When I read Civil Disobedience, it made me think about our government today. The quote "That government is best which governs least", makes me think that maybe if our government was less strict, and allowed people to do more of what they wanted, that there would be less crime in our world. When I hear about the wrong doings in the world, like the NIU shooting, it makes me think that if our government was less strict that these crimes would occur less often then they do now. If the people in today's society were more like Transcendentalists and didn't care what others thought, maybe peopple wouldn't commit crimes. Thoreau's ideas proved simplicity, and if we all thought like Thoreau our lives would probably be a lot less complex then they are now. Thoreau wanted to get back to the essentials of life, so with all of today's technology, the lifestyle that he lived would not go over well with the people of today. In some ways Thoreau's lifestyle seems like a carefree way to live, but in other ways, we could never go back to the way he lived because, we have so much already. 1203126569