Civil Disobedience (Part 1)

Henry David Thoreau:
    "Law never made men a whit more just; and, by means of their respect for it, even the well-disposed are daily made the agents of injustice,  A common and natural result  of an undue respect for law is, that you may see a file of soldiers, colonel, captain, corporal, privates, powder-monkeys, and all, marching in admirable order over hill and dale to the wars, against their wills, ay, against their common sense and consciences, which makes it very steep marching indeed, and produces a palpitation of the heart.  They have no doubt that it is a damnable business in which they are concerned; they are all peaceably inclined.  Now, what are they? Men at all? or small movable forts and magazines, at the service of some unscrupulous man in power?"

    In this passage, Thoreau is stating that the law does not make a man more just, because without even realizing it, service men are made to be a major part of the injustice that the government imposes on the military.  These men will obey by marching to these wars, knowing that their government may not be one hundred percent right for declaring or participating in war.  They become robots who simply follow rules and directions because they are taught that this is right and patriotic.  By doing this, their sense of self is diminished.  They become pawns in a game of chess played by the government.

    I chose this passage because I don't always agree with those who voluntarily join the military.  While it IS honorable for a person to want to sere his/her country, sometimes they are forced to do things which they disagree upon morally but don't want to go against a government who has "stood by them" for the sake of "liberty and freedom."  I don't necessarily agree with decisions made by our Presidents or governments, but like most people, what can I really do about it? Nothing, which is what most Americans do.

Two of the passages "Christian Arguments against Slavery" and "Plea for the Suppression of the Slave Trade" both relate to the writings of Thoreau because they both argue that if one does not partake in an act, it cannot exist.  For instance, with the Christian Arguments, they state that a man should not be denied his rights to be free.  Christians should not encourage slave trade activities.  Also, I have to agree with the statement made in the Plea for Suppression that states that the slave trade cannot exist if slave owners did not trade slaves!  This has to be the most simple and clear statement thus far.  Obviously, if no one demanded slaves, there would be no market for it.  Although this thought would not end slavery, it would be a stepping stone towards it.  This relates to Thoreau because he is stating that if soldiers did not partake in war, there would be none to fight.