Henry David Thoreau was a very opinionated man. He felt that our government was not needed and claimed "that government is best which governs least (Thoreau Section 1)." For thee most part, this saying could be true, but on the contrary it could be completely wrong. Just like every other human being on this earth, you tend to mess up and sometimes people need governing. with having an established government, the different branches and people are able to help guide us in the right direction. They set guidelines that we must follow for our safety and regulation of life in America. If we choose to not follow these rules struct punishments come into effect until we decide that it is worth it to follow the rules set before us. Paying our taxes is always a huge thing to us Americans because we feel that we are being over charged and it is unfair. I agree 100% with this, but I wont get into it now. Usually if you dont choose to cooperate with the state or federal's rules you will lose your belongings, be fined a significant amount of money, or even thrown in jail for an unknown amount of time before your court date.
This essay had a ton of Romanticism in it because it was all opinionated. Thoreau went on and on about what he felt was right and wrong with our government. Personally, I got confused sometimes with what Thoreau was saying because there was so much information he was throwing out that was against our government. I dont get why he feels that we would be better off without a government at all, but if thats what he wants to think he has the rights and freedoms to think that way. As of now, I dont mind our government. Yes, there are some things I think they should do differently, but that is always going to be the case with people because someone can not be completely satisfied unless they are doing it themselves. Overall, our government is fairly stable and strong. I don't mind our government because it doesnt really affect my every day life at all. If it were to change my daily routine and get outrageous and strict, I would have a problem and probably rise up with the millions of other Americans against the government and its ways. Henry Thoreau proved to be a persistent man, but without the support of other people to back him up, he was just one out of millions of Americans that had something to say about our government. Many tempers can strike when war is present because war is an ugly thing and can be very ugly and graphic. Thoreau's reasoning for being so mad about the government is a fair reason. If the United States was trying to support slavery, I too would be disappointed and find a way to protest and get the foolish acts of it to stop, but I wouldn't stop paying my taxes. If there is one thing that I have learned about the United States government it is that they don't tolerate people that don't pay their taxes.
Thoreau, Henry David. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience." The Thoreau Reader. Richard Lenat. Web. 1 Feb. 2012.
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