Henry David Thoreau's On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience

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In the riveting text On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, I must admit that I have come to agree with many of the concepts and ideas that Henry David Thoreau has proposed. One pivotal idea that has stuck with me is found when he states, “The only obligation which I have a right to assume, is to do at any time what I think right” (“On the Duty of Civil Disobedience”, p.5). In a perfect world, this concept would be absolutely ideal. The government would have never been able to oppress the slaves for the decades in which they did, and more modern issues such as gay marriage would have never been evident in our idealistic “utopia”. With this being said, I think it's important to remind ourselves that we do not live in a utopia. As a matter of fact, we are never going to live in a utopia, regardless of whether or not a form of government is present. Why? There are crazy people out there, and there will always be crazy people. If we all were to live by the general idea that “I have a right do at any time what I think right,” our world would be chaotic. …show more content…
This institution was readily governed along with education, economy, and any other “normal” operation of the land. Thoreau challenges the idea of government for immoral operations like this. In his writing, he asks, “Can there not be a government in which majorities do not virtually decide right and wrong, but conscience” (“On the Duty of Civil Disobedience”, p.4)? I do not believe so, because conscious is rooted in man. Unfortunately, I cannot envision a day where man's inhumanity to man is ridden from the world. Although this is true, I would be lying if I said that I don't believe that a structured form of government can help regulate

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