Blog #6

Ola Omar
                                                                     Blog #6
          The quote that I have selected is from the essay Civil disobedience by Henry Thoreau. The quote that I have selected is "What I have to do is to see at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn." (Thoreau, p. 226).
           Thoreau is saying that if the government is passing laws that are injustice towards society and do not effect the society that the government governs in an equal way, then the society that the government is governing should rebel against those unjust laws. Thoreau argues that civil disobedience should be exhibited by society when the government is passing laws that are not right. For example, Thoreau himself challenged authorities when he refused to pay taxes because he believed that the tax money was being used for immoral reasons. What Thoreau is trying to tell his readers is that even though the government has power over us and controls how the law is used, we the people have a control over the government as well. The government can only do what we the people allow the government to do. If we see that a law is wrong or not being abided by, then the U.S citizens should do something about it, such as protesting, holding rallies, writing the government letters stating our opinions, spreading the word around, and more.
          Therefore, I for one agree with Thoreau when he says to "let every man make known what kind of government would command his respect, and that will be one step towards obtaining it." (Thoreau, p. 222). Thoreau is saying that we (the citizens) need to make our voices heard when we see something wrong. If the government actually sees U.S citizens actually taking a stand and not putting up with their unjust ways, then they will change the ways in how the laws are abided by. Sometimes, U.S citizens think that what the government says is how America will run, but they are wrong. The important thing is that U.S citizens help each other. Sometimes, U.S citizens think that since it does not effect them, then they do not need to speak up for others who are being negatively impacted by the way the government governs the U.S. If the U.S citizens do not take care of each other, then how will the government respect the U.S citizens when we the U.S citizens do not respect each other. However, if the government sees that U.S citizens stand together, then I am sure that they will take the complaints of U.S citizens more seriously.
          I selected this quote because I like Thoreau am not happy with the way the government runs the U.S at times. I do not think they are doing such a bad job, but some things are not fair in the U.S The constitution claims that there should be no harsh punishments, there should be freedom for speech for U.S citizens, or that slavery is abolished, but yet cops killing black children seems to be a problem nowadays and U.S citizens still feel like something is missing. I feel like if U.S citizens see that the government do not abide by the laws that are in the U.S constitution, then they should start petitions or do anything, but if the U.S citizens just allow the government to influence or accept the unjust stereotypes that the government has placed upon them or if the U.S citizens accept the government' s wrong way of interpreting the law, then the government will feel even more superior. The main thing that I believe will not allow the government to gain too much power of their people is when the U.S citizens stand together as one.