Journal #20 Henry David Thoreau: Start The Revolution Without Me!

QUOTE:

“The authority of government, even such as I am willing to submit to, - for I will cheerfully obey those who know and can do better than I, and in many things even those who neither know nor can do so well, - is still an impure one: to be strictly just, it must have the sanction and consent of the governed” (Thoreau 1872).


SUMMARY:

Another issue Thoreau has with government is that he never consented to those who are governing him. Even if he admits that the people in power can do a better job than him, he still doesn’t think they have the right to govern.


RESPONSE:

Since Thoreau’s point in this quote is that he never gave the “powers that be” permission to govern him, I want to say that I never gave the United States government permission to govern me! However, do I really want the responsibility the government has? I think that what Thoreau is asking for (as far as everyone governing themselves) would only lead to chaos. All I know is that I don’t trust a lot of people, so the only way I ever feel safe, is knowing that everyone else must follow the same set of rules or codes to live by that I do; if they don’t want to suffer the consequences.

Maybe in Thoreau’s time, the benefits of having a government weren’t easy to see. Anyone who is living sort of cut off from society, let’s say, living in a cabin at Walden Pond, wouldn’t feel like he or she is part of the society the government is holding together anyway. I don’t know if this is what Thoreau thought, or if he really didn’t like the government because of the unfortunate slavery situation, but I think his lifestyle definitely wasn’t helping the government look necessary to him.

It’s so silly, but it’s really easy for me to get worked up, even wanting to join a revolution against the present government from reading Thoreau. However, sometimes I feel pretty dumb and wonder if a lot of it is my brain injury. I used to be so relaxed and “chill,” but now I get so uptight and frustrated at every little thing. I know reading this type of author is good for me though, because I can take the time to really think about why these authors are writing what they write, and realize that the world is really a different place now.