On The Duty Of Civil Disobedience Rhetorical Analysis

Henry David Thoreau is one of the most influential individuals with the ideas he expresses through his writing. In “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” Henry Thoreau goes into great detail about how our government system isn’t what it needs to be and what he wishes the government would change rather than completely getting rid of the government. Thoreau’s main point in this essay is that we simply need a better government. “...I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government.” (pg. 1017) Thoreau gives many points that he wishes the government would change, and he is right about every single one of them. The government is quite the opposite of what our world needs and there needs to be a change in it eventually. Thoreau’s most important points throughout his essay that relates to today’s situations is an honest man can change the state, the state should respect an individual, and most men act as machines with no moral judgement. One of Thoreau’s most important points in his essay that relates to today’s situations is when he is talking about an honest man changing
If the government changed half of what they do now, and followed what Thoreau has said, we would have a better government. Having moral judgment, respecting an individual, or even just standing up for what they believe in may not seem like it’s all that important. However, when you think about figures like Martin Luther King who stood up for his community, or figures like Trump who repetitively makes decisions without any moral sense, it really shows you just how effective those things can be. Our African-American community probably wouldn’t be what it is now without MLK, and our country may not be in as much trouble as it is with Trump’s decisions. The government is the most powerful thing in our country. So as Thoreau says… “...I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better