"Civil Disobedience": First Step to Individualism

Introduction

Disobedience happens when the contrast between one’s inner beliefs and society’s norms collide. However, it can be seen as a starting act for an individual. It marks the beginning of an action that aligns with Emerson's Transcendentalism. Such transcendentalism in America gradually allows the separation of the individual from the community and encourages a person to think in a present continuous manner. Ultimately, this leads to the ability to choose—a Holy Grail, perhaps, to take on within one’s life. As it highlights how seeking a choice grants authority to the self, it brings an individual to a powerful state.

"Civil Disobedience": First Step to Individualism

In “Civil Disobedience,” for example, the individual estranges oneself from an unjust community that acquiesces to slavery and the Mexican war. This sheds light on the realization of the tyranny a majority can consist of. Indeed, to Thoreau, the prevalent agenda coming from the majority, especially from an unjust government, was seen as engulfing individual rights and liberation, which climactically led to conformity. To change this, his words offer a preferable, good leeway that shifts from the existing thoughts the era inevitably held. Such an example would be: “They take too much time, and a man's life will be gone. Note I have other affairs to attend to. I came into this world, not chiefly to make this a good place to live in, but to live in it, be it good or bad. A man has not everything to do, but something; and because he cannot do everything, it is not necessary that he should be petitioning the Governor or the Legislature. . . its very Constitution is the evil” (Thoreau, 1849). Thoreau’s argumentative tone uses the personal pronoun “I.”

As the reading develops, “I” continuously represents the importance and significance in Thoreau’s claim and thought. This personal pronoun echoes his message about the significance of voice and authority of an individual. Hence, the grave act to “make” the world a “good place to live in” is condemned as it is an act for change in the outer, communal realm. This loses focus on the individual who simply wishes to “live in it.” Therefore, by expressing such words, it mobilizes each reader to understand that they too have the significant choice not to “do everything” seemingly crafted by one’s undesirable majority. It delivers a choice that a person may simply live whether “be it good or bad.” It is a starting point of individualism that concentrates on the stage of the personal realm and conveys to the Americans of the 19th century a choice they too could perceive.

Democracy and Choice

Furthermore, the communal “they” describes democracy’s voting system. It criticizes how social compliance, or perhaps the sole system dictated by a majority, not only consumes inefficient time for the individual but leads to the betterment of the undesirable government. This sentence also reflects more substantial gravity in one’s life than a communal deed. The emphasis on individual choice raises the question of whether true democracy is achieved when the majority's will suppresses individual autonomy.

Conclusion

Thoreau concludes this as he pinpoints that “Constitution is the evil” (Thoreau, 1849). "Evil” is dramatic, somewhat subjective, but very effective in portraying his dichotomous thoughts. The opposite of such “evil” signifies an active, “choice-sensitive” individual identity that rings as an ideal of America then, and today. Hence, what may have been treated as Thoreau’s personal rant was accepted by the people and further embodied towards an American ideal. During an era of slavery and especially the Mexican war, “Civil Disobedience” opportunely focused a shift in whatever acceptance from the outer realm to the inner activity of choice. It was timely to question the people on what one may initially do, act, or choose. Thoreau's work continues to inspire those who seek to challenge the status quo and assert their personal agency.

References

• Thoreau, H. D. (1849). Civil Disobedience.