Thoreau's Descriptive Essay: Riots On The Streets

Riots on the streets. Gas, blinding gas that brings tears to your eyes and makes you feel as if you are slowly suffocating. You attempt to stand defiant before the black clothed oppressors, but the gas is simply too overpowering. You cough and splutter, trying to remain upright in the surge of the crowd as the world spins slowly around you. Then the clash occurs. Bodies slam back, elbows pinching into ribs and legs braced in defiance against the ever approaching black soldiers. The shields come up and they march as one, a formidable wall that simply wants to push you back. But you will not be pushed back. People jostle against the hard, plastic shields. Fiery eyed protestors stare into the helmed face of the officers, refusing to give up ground.
Did Thoreau attack others, cause pain and suffering, for the causes he believed in? The answer is in fact no. Thoreau’s actions were guided by what he believed in, in order to change the fate of the nation in the direction he believed it should be. Today, this peaceful protest is one of our most powerful tools in furthering our country. I remember the day vividly: June 26th. I was sitting in a small kitchen in Germany, reading a newspaper when I heard the news: same-sex marriage was ruled legal in all fifty states. I was ecstatic. Some of my best friends would now be able to marry the men and women they loved, a basic human right that should be guaranteed to all. This would not be possible without the years of protests: the hand drawn signs, the chants, the prayers, the rainbow flags waving in the DC breeze. Finally, the American people won a victory: without violence, without tear gas or black-clad soldiers, without the screams of choking protesters and thump of batons. Peaceful protest will always have a positive impact to a free society, allowing the people to have a voice and not simply the officials they elect. It is a basic right, guaranteed and crucial to the United States of