Benefits Of Civil Disobedience

“If society is tranquil, it is not because it is conscious of its strength and its well-being, but because it fears its weakness and its infirmities; a single effort may cost it its life. :
― Alexis de Tocqueville

Throughout history, resistance has been analogous to change; from the American revolution to modern day global decolonization, the introduction and diffusion of new ideas is integral in a society intending to improve. In a free society, peaceful resistance prevents stagnation-- it is not only beneficial, it is essential.
A free thinking society ought to exercise its right to think freely; without doing so, civilization halts at a precipice. For instance, Thoreau, in his argument for Civil Disobedience, argues that citizens simply
During Germany’s Third Reich, govemment and high ranking military officials found out about a new scientific development: methamphetamines. Trying to find any edge that would win them their war, they quickly found that these drugs could keep their soldiers awake for days, force their gestapo officers into cruelty, and keep their war machine running smoothly. This was obviously a short term solution-- the adverse effects of methamphetamines, and the resulting illnesses within the military, especially among high ranking officials and critical army personnel quickly brought to light the impossibility of Germany’s permanent victory: it was only short-lived. Without the protest of the citizenry, the drug induced mania of the soldiers and officials catalyzed the near impossible. Slowly, and then all at once, Germany succumbed to the wishes of a sociopathic fascist, one who killed millions, and left the country in both literal and economic ruin. Just as in Germany, the powerful challenged the rights of the citizenry in American during the late nineteenth century during the industrial revolution. Workers were not paid, often working for eighteen hour days in dreadful conditions. It took the formation of a coalition of workers to challenge the power of the wealthy, who had, essentially, purchased the power of the people in the legislative body. Without their collective power to protest, and peacefully demonstrate their importance to the tycoons and government, the workers would continue to be exploited indefinitely. Without controls on their power, the powerful will always challenge the bounds of morality, just as in Germany, and in the American industrial