Description
Post responses to both prompts.
Post 1:
Look at Henry David Thoreau’s “Resistance to Civil Government.” ?He claims that it is not just our right as Americans, but it is also our duty to defy unjust laws. ?This is a very American idea. ?Part of the American identity involves intervening in the face of injustice. ?Do you agree with this point? ?What boundaries should exist to those interventions? ?Support your claims using “Resistance to Civil Government” AND one of the other assigned readings from this week.
Criteria:
- Include two properly and integrated quotations (one from each work) to support your claims. ?You may use either direct or paraphrased quotes. ?See the Literary Analysis Tools Modules in Weeks 1 and 2 for information about integrating and citation quotes.
Post 2:
Respond to a classmate. ?Do you agree with your classmate’s perspective? ?Why or why not? ?Be specific. ?What is the most convincing part of your classmate’s post and why?
Peer 1:
Sidney Dambreville
Role of the individual in societyWhen we hear the word resistance a few things can come to mind, for example, a fish swimming against the current, or maybe trying to push a heavy object when the weight is resisting the pushing effort. In society we usually use the word resistance to talk about a counter effort against a government, to show disagreement with a law or system put in place. This is not new to us humans, history is filled with such resistance, we have resistance against slavery in America, apartheid in south Africa, to cite only those. In his essay David Thoreau talks about civil disobedience to resist the government?s unjust laws or actions. But he not only talks about it, but he also provides a real-life example of that by choosing not to pay his taxes. In this essay he explains the role of a government is to satisfy the needs of the people, since it was created by the people. In the case of a government abusing its power, the people have the right to oppose, like in this passage ?? All men recognize the right of revolution: that is the right to refuse allegiance to and to resist the government when it?s tyranny is great?? (David, 1849/2017, p 905). ?This is to show how society should be actively involved in what the government is doing.Is resistance to the government the best option to address political issues? There is no clear answer to that. In the case of David, he refuses to pay his taxes because he does not agree with the Mexican war. Taxes are used by the government to cover expenses for public work, like schools, roads, police, etc. The government also uses tax money to support war. By refusing to pay taxes all the government works cited early would be impeded, which would cause other problems. On the other hand, not doing anything can cause as much damage as doing something. ?Resisting the government can also be the right thing to do when they become inexpedient. Otherwise, the people would have to wait till the next elections to choose someone else, during that time much damage would have been caused. Martin L. King is a modern-day example of civil disobedience when he used nonviolent way to protest the government. Injustice can come from different avenues; in the case of ?women, it can come from their partner. In the story ??Women hollering creek?? Cleofilas was a victim of injustice after she married Pedro. This situation is common among women, especially minorities. Some cultures give the husband the right to abuse his wife, without repercussion. In the story Cleofilas was abused for a long time until one day she finds an escape route. She could not stand this situation anymore, that is not the image she had of the American dream, like it shows here?? Cleofilas thought her life would have to be like that, like a telenovela?? (Sandra, 1991/2017 p 1620). ?She was ready for a change. Her motivation paid off when she finally escapes from her abusive husband. Here again we see a form of resistance, not against a government but against injustice.It is necessary to resist injustice from whatever source it may come from, but that will require a lot of effort, and there should be a limit to that. When emotions get in the way this is when it turns to violence and gives to opposition a reason to criticize. Government is important to create a stable society, when they make decisions that goes against the people?s ways, civil disobedience can be a way to protest but not the only solution.References:Sandra Cisneros (2017). Women Hollering creek. In R.S Levine, M.A. Elliot, S.M. Gustafson, A. Hungerford, & M. Loeffelholz(eds). The Norton anthology of American Literature (shorter 9th ed.) (vol 2, pp 1614-1622.) Norton. (Original work published 1991).Henry D. T. (2017). Resistance to civil Government. In R.S Levine, M.A. Elliot, S.M. Gustafson, A. Hungerford, & M. Loeffelholz(eds). The Norton anthology of American Literature (shorter 9th ed.) (vol 1, pp 903-918.) Norton. (Original work published 1894).
