Is it Appropriate to go Against the Government?

627 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Rosa parks my story problem and solution

There are many things in this world that people have to decide for themselves. One major choice would be deciding to go against the government if they are believed to be in the wrong. Certain circumstances where opposing the government is okay are when they deny individual rights and when they can’t be trusted. One cause to disobey the government may be because they are taking away individual freedom. Rosa parks was denied her individual freedom of sitting in a particular bus seat because of her skin color. (Dove) Another individual freedom that many people defend is religious freedom. The Bill of Rights was formally adopted in 1791, and since then America has enjoyed the legal protection of religious freedom. This is also stated in the U.S. Constitution. Today, it is being threatened to all come down in one big sweep. The culprit: Obamacare. President Obama’s health care law will make it mandatory that religious hospitals, charities, and schools abandon their religious beliefs and provide employees insurance coverage of abortion-inducing drugs, contraception and sterilization. This...

Show More
Related

  • Theme Of Collectivism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

    1045 Words  | 3 Pages

    Similarly, it is a problem to disagree with the government in the novella Anthem. In this novella, the government is represented by a House of Scholars. Consider this quote, "And if the Councils had decreed that you should be a Street Sweeper, how dared you think that you could be of greater use to men than in sweeping the streets" (Rand 71-72). This quote is stated by Collective 0-0009, one of the members of the World Council of Scholars. Meant to resemble America's president, Collective 0-0009, tells the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, that he best not disagree with the ...

    Read More

  • Lawrence V. Texas

    1308 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...ection against the government. Others believe that courts must be more active and open to expand the ideas of liberty even if it is required to strike down the majoritarian law in order to protect the minority group from government interference.

    Read More

  • Hunger Games vs Red Scare

    1280 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...n a government is the group that states what is to be socially acceptable and what is not, it greatly hinders a person ability to act as an individual. Whether it is the fear of being classified as abnormal, false or unjust imprisonment, or making a show out of large groups of the abnormal people, it is all in order for the government to maintain control. Within both of these contexts it is more important for there to be a strong central government than to allow a person to truly be an unique, which in return takes away what is considered to be a persons right.

    Read More

  • Summary Of The Film 'This Is What Democracy Look Like'

    1274 Words  | 3 Pages

    As rational individuals, we do certain things that are beneficial towards us as we are individuals who are self interested. We can also stand up for things we believe in since we have the right. In the film “This is what democracy looks like”, we witness non-violent protestors who are protesting against the WTO and are being stripped of their right of freedom of speech and freedom of association just because the state has a problem with the type of protest that is occurring. Non-violent protestors are being arrested during the WTO meeting without a causal reason. I will argue that the state did not follow the criminal justice system’s liberal principles properly and by looking at the actions of the state against the citizens, citizens were stripped of their liberty and rights. On one hand the citizens are

    Read More

  • Tyranny in the United States

    560 Words  | 2 Pages

    The government uses many forms of psychological control to trick citizens into giving away their rights, ‘for their own good’. They play on our emotions to make it seem like they are always just trying to help us, or make things easier, safer, better, etc. etc. They distort things to make them seem sad or scary so that we will have a stronger reaction to them and demand results from the government. The main emotion that the government plays on is fear. When you put fear into people they are more eager to ask for ...

    Read More

  • Why the Government must, at times, infringe upon Individual Liberties such as Abortion

    1312 Words  | 3 Pages

    ... people have an absolute right to voice their opinions and protest as long as it is done without trampling upon the legal rights of others. However, when any one, or group, attempts to violate the legal rights of others the government not only has the duty but has the Constitutional responsibility to intervene

    Read More

  • Influencial Acts of Civil Disobedience

    1241 Words  | 3 Pages

    To illustrate, a famous man of literature and a leader of civil disobedience acts is Henry David Thoreau; he wrote the essay “On the Act of Civil Disobedience” as a realist to state his views on the government. He felt the government unjustly taxed the people to pay for a war with Mexico. He encouraged acts of civil disobedience against these unjust laws – laws that did not agree with their conscience (1-4). He felt the human race should act upon what their conscience tells them to do; they should not let a government say what they should or should not do. Thoreau stated, “The only obligation I have a right to assume is to do anytime what I think right” (1). He thought the government had too much power over the people and wanted them to rebel (1-4). He saw that the people obeyed because they felt they were supposed to and were too afraid to do anything about it. The law he was opposing was that the people should pay taxes because they lived on the land and they were a part of that society so they had to pay whenever and whatever they were told by the government. Thoreau was jailed for not paying his taxes for one night and felt that he was ...

    Read More

  • Thoreau's Role In Civil Disobedience

    387 Words  | 1 Pages

    reasons why is that the government bases its actions according to the majority, even if it is

    Read More

  • Absolute Power: A State of War Against Its People

    1132 Words  | 3 Pages

    is at odds with the idea of a civil society since it is illogical to think that people would consent to be governed by a government that is worse than the state of nature. A society in which the government is above or outside the law remains in a state of nature because there is no security against violence and oppression. Therefore, this exercise of arbitrary power again puts the absolute government in a state of war against its people because, as Locke writes:

    Read More

  • The Government vs. Conscience

    981 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of my main issues with the government is they are too involved with people’s private lives. There should not be laws pronounced only because of the sole reason of there being a majority vote. We should not have to vote on a personal/private matter. The government does not allow us to rule ourselves. We are not allowed to use our conscience. They overrule us. In Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience from Part I” he states, “ It is truly enough said that a corporation has no conscience, but a corporation of conscientious men is a corporation with a conscience.” This is arguably interpreted as the government thinks for us. They do not leave it to ‘the people.’ Also Thoreau states the following, "Now what are they? Men at all? Or small movable forts and magazines, at the service of some unscrupulous man in power?" The government puts men in war who did not wish to be there. They should leave it to the men and women who volunteer. We ar...

    Read More

  • Thoreau and King, Jr.

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    There are times throughout the history of the United States when its citizens have felt the need to revolt against the government. There were such cases during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau, when there was unfair discrimination against the Afro-American community and Americans refusing to pay poll taxes to support the Mexican War. They used civil disobedience to eventually get legislation to stop the injustice brought against them and their nation. Civil disobedience is defined as refusal to obey civil laws or decrees, which usually takes the form of passive resistance. People practicing civil disobedience break a law because they consider the law unjust, and want to call attention to its injustice, hoping to bring about its withdrawal.

    Read More

  • The History Of Disobedience

    971 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history, changes and movements have come in many different and unexpected forms. One form of change, disobedience, has continued to dominate the others in terms of effectiveness. Some of the greatest alterations made to the world have stemmed from some form of disobedience, such as the founding of the protestant church under Martin Luther and English Reformation. Often, the disobedience resulted from conflicting religious beliefs and interpretations of religious works. The history and formation of the United States of American provide an example of how disobedience shapes a nation. Disobedience of unjust laws, based on divine authority, laid the foundation of the American identity.

    Read More

  • Everyone Has the Right to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness

    869 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is up to the citizens to decide. If the yearning to be free overcomes the fight to grasp power, then a new wave of democracies will begin overcoming the old authoritarian rule. Everyone has the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness.

    Read More

  • Disobedience Right or Wrong?

    583 Words  | 2 Pages

    Thomas Chandler Haliburton states, “Whenever there is authority, there is a natural inclination to disobedience.” There are tons of reason why people go against authority and disobey what is set in forth, one major reason is independence. When someone wants attention they disobey authority so everyone can have their full attention. Also, as humans we try to find a place within a social group and this is natural as we our sociable creatures. However, disobeying authority is sometimes the right thing to do as there is discrimination or the inclination of superiority of one's race. As illustrated in The Crucible and Montgomery Boycott people such as John Proctor, Reverend Hale, and Rosa Park, often rebel for just and appropriate reasons in order to improve society.

    Read More

  • The Power Of Obedience

    1254 Words  | 3 Pages

    This is described in a citizen’s point of view as: “As long as I am obedient to the power of the state, the church, or public opinion, I feel safe and protected…my obedience makes me part of the power I worship” (Fromm 127). However, this creates a dangerous unity of a belief. This power is authority. Authority is anyone or anything with the capability to determine the outcome of issues/decisions over a group of people. The most poignant authority figure of today is the government. The government gets stricter based upon the needs of their people; however, with terrorist attacks, the government is the main entity people turn to. Everyone bands together and goes along with the government, but what if the government is wrong? What if the government’s idea of safety is not in the best interest of their people? Disobedience may be the only answer to some of the problems in today’s society. However, since disobedience has such a negative essence in society, most people try to stay away from it. The people who have made the biggest differences have been the most disobedient. With that said, obedience could be the biggest roadblock in the future of safety. Overall, “what is

    Read More

More about Is it Appropriate to go Against the Government?

Open Document