Outlook on Protest

Outlook on Protest by Cameron Van Horn

Decisions are ubiquitous. Every action is based on a decision— what you eat, where you go, how you get there, who you are altogether. Each decision is based upon some sort of inspirational thought, or person that the decider aspires to mirror. Ever heard of an archetype? An archetype is, essentially, the origin story. The notion is that every collection of words is based upon some origin that inspired several derivatives. Beyond that, authors have often inspired other people to stand up for things they believed in and that have, again, altered the ways of things as we see them today. Henry David Thoreau is but one of the many inspirational writers, however his words inspired active protests across the world and left a mark on history that will not soon be forgotten.

Henry David Thoreau was born and raised in Massachusetts where he spent a great deal of time writing. His main focuses were placing attacks on social customs of America and voicing his love and respect for the simplistic life of nature. He was widely encouraged by a friend and mentor, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson introduced Thoreau to the Philosophy of Transcendentalism; “Any philosophy based upon the doctrine that the principles of reality are to be discovered by the study of the processes of thought, or a philosophy emphasizing the intuitive and spiritual above the empirical” (Dictionary.com). This philosophy largely impacted Thoreau’s work. Emerson allowed Thoreau to live with him on multiple occasions, one of which, he decided to live in solitude in a shack just off the Walden. Living in this location inspired Thoreau to write possibly his most famous work, “Walden”.

“Walden” was written as an account of Thoreau’s time spent living near Walden Pond. I believe Thoreau was making experimental observations on self-reliance and the simplicity of living. Thoreau seemed to enjoy his time alone; however he still valued the company of others. He was able to be alone and still find joy in the simplicity life had to offer. Later in his life, “Henry D. Thoreau was arrested and imprisoned in Concord for one night in 1846 for nonpayment of his poll tax. This act of defiance was a protest against slavery and against the Mexican War, which Thoreau and other abolitionists regarded as a means to expand the slave territory” (Wesley Mott). Some believe that this was the situation that provoked Thoreau to write his protest “Civil Disobedience”. “Civil Disobedience” was first published under the title “Resistance to Civil Government” in 1849. A brief and descriptive summery found on Sparknotes states:

Thoreau's Civil Disobedience espouses the need to prioritize one's conscience over the dictates of laws. It criticizes American social institutions and policies, most prominently slavery and the Mexican-American War.

This essay is less about Thoreau’s personal belief than the simple “demanding of moral Purity” (Wesley Mott). Thoreau states in “Civil Disobedience”:

If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth — certainly the machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.

It is clear that Thoreau had large feelings towards injustice in the government. Thoreau’s writings against inequity became popular in the act of protest all around the world.

            The protest is popular more now than ever before. Thoreau inspired many famous “radicles”, or as I like to call some of them “patriots”. Thoreau was the stepping stone for many peaceful protestors like Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Gandhi stated: “Thoreau was a great writer, philosopher, poet, and withal a most practical man, that is, he taught nothing he was not prepared to practice in himself”. From research into Thoreau’s works and theology, this is a true statement. Thoreau was definitely a man who practiced what he preached. Martin Luther stated in his autobiography:

I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good. No other person has been more eloquent and passionate in getting this idea across than Henry David Thoreau. As a result of his writings and personal witness, we are the heirs of a legacy of creative protest. The teachings of Thoreau came alive in our civil rights movement; indeed, they are more alive than ever before.

One can conclude based off these statements that Thoreau impacted some of the greatest minds of the modern protest.

            There is the possibility of a non-peaceful protest. There are people in this world that take the term protest to a new level. Extremists like Malcolm X are a good example. To summarize Malcolm X, he was a man who was against the oppression of African Americans. He preached that African Americans should resist the government by whatever means necessary. Malcolm X’s take on violence can be put into one statement:"I am for violence if non-violence means we continue postponing a solution to the American black man's problem just to avoid violence". The question arises; is resistance by any means necessary such a bad thing? The answer is not so simple. Yes people should have the right to resist, but do they have the right to use any means necessary? I feel Thoreau would suggest no based strictly of his moral values.

             With peaceful protestors like Gandhi and Martin Luther vs. The more radical Malcolm X we see many kinds of resistance. Thoreau has inspired these men to get up and make a stand for what they believe in. Whether it was for the good, or the bad, Thoreau’s words have ignited a flame; that is active protests across the world and he has certainly left a mark on history that will not soon be forgotten.

Works Cited

"Henry David Thoreau." Encyclopedia of World       Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. Biography 

in Context. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.

"Henry David Thoreau." Poetry Foundation. Poetry Foundation, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2015.

“SparkNote on Civil Disobedience.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. n.d.. Web. 20 Apr. 2015.

"Malcolm X." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2015.

Mott, Wesely. "About Thoreau: Civil Disobedience | Walden Woods." About Thoreau:

Civil Disobedience | Walden Woods. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.

Thoreau, Henry D. Resistance to Civil Government. N.p.: Cambridge UP, 1996. Print.

Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com, n.d. Web. 05 May 2015.