Introduction
The relationship between the state and the citizens has been subject to various interpretations. At the same time the role and power of the state over its subject has received wide coverage. The core question under such a circumstance is whether people reserve the right to control the affairs of the state or not. Should the citizens subject themselves to the rule of the state at all times or not? This and many other questions have attracted a number of theories and ideas on how the state should function in relation to the welfare of its citizens, as a result many theories and thoughts have been advanced that tempt to propose the manner in whish the citizens of a state should play a role on the affairs of the state. Civil Disobedience is one very significant contribution to the works concerning the relationship between the sate and citizens. Written by Henry David Thoreau, the essay advocates for remedial action on the part of the citizens when the sate fails to satisfy their needs.
Civil Disobedience
Civil disobedience refers to the resistance of the people to the sate. This happens when the sate fails to fulfill the needs and serve the purpose for the citizens. Under civil disobedience, the citizens reserve the rights to defy the authority of the state when in their opinion the stat is taking them n the wrong direction. Under normal circumstance the relationship between the state and the citizens is skewed in favor of the state. This means that the state reserves the right to impose its will on the people. However, to avoid tyranny and injustice, civil disobedience advocates for strict action by the citizens upon the state when the state becomes a perpetrators of injustice. The concept of civil disobedience was proposed by Henry David Thoreau. One of the key motivators for the proposition of this concept was the events of politics and conflict in the united sates and Mexico. Thoreau observed that the United States government became an engine of oppression and injustice. One major observation made by Thoreau that also led to the proposition of civil disobedience was the slavery. According to him by entrenching slavery into the law the government had ceased being a guarantee of civil liberties and freedoms (Thoreau, p. 23). As a result the people were no longer safe with the government since it had turned against them.The remedy to such situation according to the civil disobedience concept is for the people to rebel against the government. As much as the government is a people institution, Thoreau advocated for the breaking of the sate law when the law ceased to guarantee the freedoms of the citizens.
Thoreau knew very well the consequences of the disobedience. He had been subject to imprisonment at one point during his lifetime when he refused to pay tax. However, he strongly believed that disobedience to the sate was the best tool for the citizens to free themselves from the tyranny of the sate. Even if the actions led to imprisonment, Thoreau believed it was better that submitting to the barbaric rules of the state. In his opinion, the sate requires the support of the conscience of the citizens. As a result those citizens who don’t exercise their rights and merely follow the declarations of the sate are of no importance in the society and state. Therefore the citizens should stand for their rights even if the consequences are severe. Thoreau described the government as a tool of injustice and oppression. He found the government to be the highest form of barbarism and harassment. These according to him were going to cause people to rebel. Therefore those actions of the sate were going to necessitate a revolution. This revolution was to take the form of civil disobedience. Through civil disobedience the people were going to stand up against the brutality and injustice of the state. Through civil disobedience the citizens were going to free themselves.
Civil disobedience is therefore a means through which the citizens retain their right to derive freedom and protection from the state. In case the sate fails in its obligation and begins oppressing the citizens then they rebel from its authority by challenging its statutes. Without civil disobedience the citizens of a state will have no freedom, no rights and they will be at the mercy of the rulers of the states. Civil disobedience us still effective even if t is being perpetrated by the minority. According to Thoreau the rule of the majority does not guarantee justice, freedom and wisdom. As result no matter the number of those citizens who are dissatisfied with the actions and rules of the sate civil disobedience is still effective. In his opinion the right to disobey the state is not limited by democracy in which the majorities win. Therefore the right to rebel against the sate is the best way for the citizens to asset their freedoms and press for justice. The government having lost its role as the guarantor of the freedoms and rights of the citizens has no right to impose its will upon the subjects (Thoreau, p. 31). Through civil disobedience therefore the citizens have a solution for the rampant acts of corruption, injustice and oppression by the government. As Thoreau observed the government has been a monster which oppresses its people by the use of the laws of the sate. Thus the people have to device another method of bringing about the desired sate in the society. The best way to conduct such a revolution is through a direct rebellion of the laws of the sate so as to have no effect of the same in the livers of the citizens.
Role of Gandhi and Luther
Mohandas Gandhi was the leader of Indian independence movement. Walker & Bay (36) asserts that, “during the time when India was a British colony Mohandas Gandhi played a pivotal role in the India to independence.” Gandhi was a strong admirer of Thoreau’s works especially that regarding to the civil disobedience. Gandhi believed that it was Thoreau’s contribution that led to the abolition of slavery. As a result Gandhi held the works of Thoreau in high esteem. Mahatma Gandhi himself believed in the role of citizens in emancipating themselves from the rule and injustices of the state. He was in favor of Thoreau’s argument that citizens who feel dissatisfied with the conduct of the caste should rise to the occasion and challenge the rule of the state (Walker & Bay 43). Through civil disobedience Mohandas Gandhi believed that the role of emancipation les with the people themselves and they must practice this right if they want to be free from oppression. In his campaign for free India; satyagaraha Gandhi practiced the civil disobedience to the India n situation. He is the man who is credited with leading India to independence through nonviolence. Non violence was the concept Mohandas embraced thru8gh out the struggle for freedom n India. However the nonviolence was an advanced for of civil disobedience since it involved going against the will of the sate. Mahatma led his people in India to rebel against the laws put in place by the British government during the colonial period. The practice of civil disobedience had a lot of consequences for Mohandas Gandhi; he was jailed on several occasions due to his activities that contradicted the British imperial will in India. However this did not deter Gandhi from his strong believe in the freedom and emancipation of the people at any cost. In fact Mohandas Gandhi gave shi life for the course of emancipation and freedom of the people. His belief in civil disobedience finally led to his assassination.
The thoughts of Thoreau on civil disobedience were of great influence to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Both in his writings and revolution activities Luther embraced fully the concept of civil disobedience. In his autobiography Luther expressed admiration of the work of Thoreau and how hit influence his role. Through hi career during the American civil rights movement Luther practiced civil disobedience. Luther is credited as being the dominant figure behind the American civil rights movement (Bedau, p. 195). One of the things Luther campaign against was the sates brutality towards blacks by allowing slavery. Slavery had been entrenched in the constitution and it was therefore illegal for anyone to campaign against slavery. However Luther led African Americans in a series of protests with the aim of disobeying the sates position on the slavery and other issuers of freedom. The African Americans had no rights in the Americans society and states. They were considered as lesser humans in comparisons to the whites. As a result the official state position elevated the whites at the expense pf the blacks. As much as the blacks were minorities Luther led them to undertake several acts of disobedience. Luther strongly believed in the role of the citizens who feel oppressed by the state to free themselves. His believed was that the people had the right to free themselves from the oppressive hand of the sate. As a result Luther gave his life for the cause of freedom. He lived and died pressing for the recognition of the rights of the oppressed in the society. He followed in the footsteps of Thoreau by being a living practical example of civil disobedience.
Critique
Civil disobedience is an approach that seeks to empower the citizens against the injustices and inappropriate acts by the sate. Under normal circumstances the state reserves the right to impose its rule upon the subjects. Sometimes this rule might be barbaric and discriminatory but it was once considered that the will of the state should be followed by all and sundry. This kind sate prevailed for along time through which the oppression of the citizens by the sate became rampant. As a result the sate turned from being a guarantor of freedoms and rights to the perpetrators of al evil. At this time the major question that arose was whether the citizens are bound by the acts and decisions of the sate no matter the implication. What about when the sate oppresses its sown citizens. Since the oppression of the people by the sate and government became rampant, a remedy had to be found. The citizens had to be cushioned from the injustices f the state. Civil disobedience which was proposed by Henry David Thoreau came in the right time. This was the solution the people needed. The citizens of the state needed a forum through which their rights and freedoms would be guaranteed. Civil disobedience provides for a forum through which the citizens of the state can cushion themselves from the oppression of the state. Through civil disobedience the citizens can aster their will against the state. Through this that can bring about the desired change in the society.
Works Cited
- Bedau, Hugo. Civil disobedience: theory and practice. California: Pegasus, 1969.
- Thoreau, Henry. Civil disobedience. New York: Forgotten Books, 1964.
- Thoreau, Henry. On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. Washington: Wilder Publications, 2008.
- Walker, Charles and Bay, Christian. Civil disobedience: Theory and practice. New York: Black Rose Books, 1975.