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The Time for Defiance

What do you think is better, a Government who has full control or a Government with little control, in which most of the control goes to the people? Henry David Thoreau's piece, "Civil Disobedience", visits the topic of how a Government should really be. I agree with Thoreau when he says, "That Government is best which governs least." (Thoreau 382). This Laissez-Faire mentality gives full control to the people and allows for true freedom. By true freedom I mean that you have your own conscience and are not manipulated by the Government body. For example, many figures in the Government today are described as "not as men mainly, but as machines," (Thoreau 384). When someone fully gives into the way and the mentality of the Government, they lose their humanity and their true freedom, to the point where they are seen as machine-like. They lose their freedom of actions, thoughts, and voice. In the piece, Thoreau compares the Government to one big machine and he exclaims that in order to stop the continuous cycle and movement of this "machine", we, as citizens and free people, need to present a counter-friction and live our lives as we want to instead of how the Government wants us to. However, in order to do this, we all have to take a stand and make a sacrifice. So the real question is, are you willing to make that sacrifice?

Comments

  1. I loved how you started your blog post with a question and ended it with a question. The first question gave me something to think about while I read your post, and the last question, which was very strong, made me look inside myself.

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  2. I really like how you begin your post with a question. Even while reading it throughout, I still thought about it in my mind. I also liked how implemented the quote about relating the government as a machine, which made me think that instead of producing justice, the government producing injustice instead, and introduces common people's right to revolt against an unjust government.

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  3. One thing that stood out to me was the structure of your post. I liked how it starts with a question and ends with a question. I also liked how you integrated short quotes that were trimmed enough for the quote to get across an idea but not too short that it loses its value. Another thing I liked about your post is that it has a good purpose that suggests that we should actually make a change soon in our daily lives so that we can be taken seriously.

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