...Civil disobedience has been used throughout history, sometimes with the outcome of desired change, and others with no outcome. This protest makes an impact. It makes people think about why, and causes them to understand magnitude of ones peaceful actions. This form of protest is positive for our society. It is not harming anyone physically, and shows that people want change. Civil Disobedience directly aligns with freedom of speech and our American freedoms to have unique thoughts and opinions. In the constitution it is stated that Americans have the right to protest something that goes against their personal values, or they feel goes against the constitution. In addition, it is a major enlightenment ideal. During the formation of our country, and our Constitution, there was a time of enlightenment. France and Haiti were also going through revolutions. Many thinkers such as Adam Smith, John Locke, and even Thomas Jefferson were encouraging revolution, and governments for the people. All were backed by the ideals of protest when necessary....
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...Conformity as it pertains to the Military Baker College 1.0 Introduction Conformity is the practice of involving attitudes, opinions and behavioral characteristics that are applicable to a specific group, in this context the military. It entails the application of these norms to match the culture embedded in the military society. The conduction of such habitual traits assumes the control by the environment and social stimuli. These stimuli manipulate the way in which the military society conditions its performances. The military not only practice conformity in their society, but also to the general public. Conformity pertinence in the military acts a guide to military sociology by enforcing their obedience to the governments in which they serve and to how their conduct their training and operations in their role of ensuring international security of global territories. Conformity is instilled into soldiers in the advent of their recruitment in the forces and the control of their social relations in the military society. 2.0 Indoctrination Process The indoctrination process involves the inculcation of ideologies and attitudes towards a certain notion to change a person’s behavioral characteristics. In the military context, soldiers are stripped their previous personalities and develop new personalities by internalizing new values. Several techniques are applied during the indoctrination process in relation to the social psychology...
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...From times long before those of great empires and nations, civil disobedience has been practiced by revolutionaries, reformers, martyrs and idealists. A mature and honorable form of practicing protest, it paves the way for the awareness of injustices and changes that need to be made. From the dawn of civilizations to the times of the American Revolution, and forward into the modern reform movements, civil disobedience has been an effective tool of bringing about reform through personal sacrifices and an awareness of right and wrong. Even in times before the empires of France and Great Britain, civil disobedience was not a foreign concept to those that spearhead change in the world. Records of civil disobedience originate long before the...
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...Disobedience is the catalyst of social progress; conformity is the hindrance of social progress. Wilde believe that through disobedience society is able to progress in the right direction. In rebelling against the status quo, we are able to produce positive changes to improve our society as a whole. This progress has been shown through the course of time in history as well as literature. In history, there have been countless rebellions, revolts, and revolutions that have resulted in a country’s progress. The Haitian revolution of the 19 th century possess good examples of change being brought about through disobedience. By the 1700’s, Haiti had become a lucrative island in the Caribbean, producing (generating) substantial amounts (supplies) of sugar on...
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...Thoreau is his student, who was also a great essayist and critics. Both men extensively studied and embraced nature, and both men encouraged and practiced individualism, nonconformity and freedom. In Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self Reliance” and Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Civil Disobedience”, both composure thinkers speak about being individual and what changes need to be made in society. Ralph Waldo Emerson and his follower, Henry David Thoreau, both individualists, attacked the religious, political, and cultural values of American society in order to make people aware that they are more important than everything, including government and society. According to Emerson, society is an obstruction against the individuality of its members, “Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater. The virtue in most requests is conformity”. The solution, for Emerson, is self-reliance, meaning that man is only responsible for his own life and he should not be too enveloped in society. The other principles are individualism and freedom, which was expressed in Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience”; “I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation, which I have a right to assume, is to do at any...
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...and "simplify, simplify, simplify"; examine nature to find truths about yourself; human ingenuity will always show itself; trust self before government; man is inherently good. These two men believe that nature is what forces us not to depend on others' ideas but to develop our own. Nature is ever changing so we must keep searching for explanations about human life. They feel that nature is the key to knowing all. In Emerson’s “Self-Reliance”, social responsibility is important. Similar to “Self-Reliance”, Thoreau’s “Civil Disobedience” shares the same philosophical ideas. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self Reliance” and Henry David Thoreau’s essay “Resistance to Civil Government (“Civil Disobedience”), both transcendentalist thinkers speak about being individual and what reforms and changes need to be made in our society Social responsibility is often encouraged and is used to...
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...April 2013 Civil Disobedience When should civil disobedience be justified? Civil disobedience is defined as the refusal to obey government laws, in an effort to bring upon a change in governmental policy or legislation. Civil disobedience is not an effort to dissolve the American government, because without government our society would result in chaos. Sometimes, when there is an unjust law and the government won't take the initiative to fix it, the public must act as civil disobedient to bring awareness and fix the unjust law. There have been times when citizens have felt the need to revolt against the government because of an issue that is unjust. There were such cases during the time of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Henry David Thoreau made such actions to prove their point. Civil disobedience is justified when its goal is to obtain equal rights and service for everyone, without causing physical damage to people and their property, and without breaking the just laws that are already enforced. It should only be practiced when the government fails to uphold justice and fix laws that don't allow everyone the equal rights already given to some. In his essay, "Civil Disobedience" Thoreau wrote in 1849 after spending a night in the Walden town jail for refusing to pay a poll tax that supported the Mexican War. He recommended passive resistance as a form of tension that could lead to reform of unjust laws practiced by the government. He voiced civil disobedience as "An expression...
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...both men have similar views on nature. The fundamentals of transcendentalism are rooted in the works of Ralph Waldo Emerson. In "Nature", Emerson says "Standing on the bare ground - my head bathed by the blithe air and uplifted into infinite space - all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball" (Nature 367). Here, He is saying nature's simplicity allows him to think clearly and have deeper thoughts. As for society, Emerson states "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members," Society plans to take what makes us individuals by making us into conformists "Self-reliance is its aversion"(Self-Reliance 369). With this quote, individuals are shown how Emerson believes that to combat this conformity people need self-reliance. The ideas of transcendentalism are expressed in Thoreau's In Walden. Thoreau explains his thoughts on nature similarly:"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what It had to...
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...Transcendentalism, a philosophy that follows in the idea that knowledge comes from analyzing our own individual thoughts, rather than what science has proven, has been practiced for over 200 years. Some of the most reknown transcendentalists include Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. I share a personal connection to the ideal of integrity in that as I grow older, it's crucial to my future self that I establish myself as an individual with personal morals, regardless of the status quo. The concept of integrity being the path to internal success is expressed in both Emerson’s, Self Reliance, and Thoreau’s, Civil Disobedience, although perceived in different forms, the notion of individual thought is evidently the common theme. In...
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...Conformity, Obedience and Authority Discipline within the Uniformed Public Services is very important; they have responsibilities to the public concerning their safety and well-being within society. Discipline is used in all sectors of the Public Services; this means that they are more likely to do what is required of them even if they disagree with what they’ve been asked to do. However, it can always be written in the report afterwards so it is made clear to those in the higher ranks who may read it. Discipline ensures that all Uniformed Public Services and the public are not put in unnecessary danger. The need and role of discipline within the Police In the police the role of discipline is essential. This is because should Members of the police wish to abuse his or her power, they can’t do so as easily as there are consequences that have been put into place to reduce it happening. For example, if a police offer pulled someone to the side and requested to search them, the individual has the right to request a reason for the search. The officer would need to have a good reason. Good reasons may be the individual looks like a suspect pending investigation or they have a strong reason to believe that the individual is carrying illegal substances on their person. This is a very good thing because the police used to be able to stop anyone without giving reasons. During 2010 and 2011 in England the number of stop and searches that then lead to arrests was over 60020 individuals...
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...Obeying rules, both unspoken and spoken, is second nature to mankind. It has become habitual to conform to the orders of authority in order to promote obedience as a social virtue. This often leads man to equate disobedience with sin, which traces as far back as the biblical account of Adam, Eve, and the Serpent. However, neither disobedience nor obedience could exist without the power of an authority figure to dictate the rules and restraints of submission. In his article “The Perils of Obedience,” Yale psychologist Stanley Milgram asserts that authority as a whole is an essential component of social living and that obedience to this authority is a social behavior unknowingly entrenched in a majority of the population. Milgram’s scientific review explores this claim as he shares data from his experiment in which subjects blindly obey someone they believe to be an expert, simply due to his prompting. Supported with reactions...
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...It seems to me that Twain is actually satirizing adult or "learned" behavior, or perhaps conformity in general. Notice how he treats several topics, such as obedience, deference or respect, and lying. He inserts certain words that betray the stated purpose. For example, he writes, "obey your parents, when they are present," because they "think they know better than you," actually implying that parents do not know more. Regarding respect, he writes, "Respect your superiors, if you have any...," as if to say there may be none superior to you. His discussion of lying is very interesting. He warns youth "to be very careful about lying," or else "you are nearly sure to get caught." He then continues the discussion of how we should not lie until we've grown & learned enough to become "perfect" liars, with "confidence, elegance, and precision." He then continues to further support his theme of the adult world that so admires a "lie well told" that it rewards the liar with profit & accolades. Twain advises youth to start "early" to learn "this gracious and beautiful art...If I had begun earlier, I would have learned how." One view might be that he is advising youth to prepare to join & be competent in adult life, in which disobedience, disrespect, and lying might be considered survival skills. However, considering that the true purpose of satire is to try & bring change, it is more likely that Twain is satirizing the "do as I say - not as I do" adult world. I believe his comments are...
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...It seems to me that Twain is actually satirizing adult or "learned" behavior, or perhaps conformity in general. Notice how he treats several topics, such as obedience, deference or respect, and lying. He inserts certain words that betray the stated purpose. For example, he writes, "obey your parents, when they are present," because they "think they know better than you," actually implying that parents do not know more. Regarding respect, he writes, "Respect your superiors, if you have any...," as if to say there may be none superior to you. His discussion of lying is very interesting. He warns youth "to be very careful about lying," or else "you are nearly sure to get caught." He then continues the discussion of how we should not lie until we've grown & learned enough to become "perfect" liars, with "confidence, elegance, and precision." He then continues to further support his theme of the adult world that so admires a "lie well told" that it rewards the liar with profit & accolades. Twain advises youth to start "early" to learn "this gracious and beautiful art...If I had begun earlier, I would have learned how." One view might be that he is advising youth to prepare to join & be competent in adult life, in which disobedience, disrespect, and lying might be considered survival skills. However, considering that the true purpose of satire is to try & bring change, it is more likely that Twain is satirizing the "do as I say - not as I do" adult world. I believe his comments are...
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...Have you ever found yourself blindly following random orders from a friend or co-worker? Well, Sarah seemed to know all about following the rules, however, she had never broken them in the past. This shows the presence of blind obedience, which is not necessarily a bad thing. The main reason Sarah acted in disobedience and decided to go to a party that she was invited to, instead of following the curfew set by her parents, would be because of peer pressure and the necessity of feeling like she belongs. Additionally Sarah had never been to a party before so curiosity and wonder may have played a role into her decision. After acting in disobedience and attending the party, Sarah seemed to be wrestling with two opposing ideas or perhaps concerns would be a better term. One was that she knew she should have followed the rules and curfew set by her parents and that she should be home instead of going to a party with her new friends. Perhaps this led to Sarah’s anxiety or concern about getting “caught in the act.” From experience, usually a sense of guilt or anxiety rushes over after disobeying rules. On the other hand, she was still enjoying herself at a party and was happy that she had agreed to go to interact with new friends. These opposing views could be considered cognitive dissonance. Agreeing with the idea, that she would be missing out by not attending the party, Sarah conformed to her peers believes. The reason Sarah may have conformed to peer believes could have been...
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...self-sufficiency is apparent through his usage of diction as well as natural imagery as metaphors. In this way, this passage is typical of the wider text. Firstly, Thoreau implores the reader to strive to do his or her best under any given circumstance and not be affected by insignificant events, or societal pressures. The passage opens by requesting we “spend one day as deliberately as Nature” and not be distracted by “every nutshell and mosquito’s wing”. In nature, there is only survival of the fittest and everything happens with purpose. By requesting we live “deliberately as Nature” Thoreau is perhaps appealing for the reader to find purpose in life and give his or her best in working towards it each day. Thoreau also questions conformity, wondering why we should “go with the stream”. These ideas coincide with Thoreau’s belief that through pursuing meaningful work one can truly become self-reliant and thus attain fulfilment. Secondly, Thoreau’s usage of natural imagery as metaphors serves to criticise the superficiality and pretensions of society he disagrees with as well as reveal his reverence for nature. Thoreau appeals for the reader to look past the “mud and slush of opinion, and prejudice, and tradition, and delusion, and appearance… which covers the globe”. Only in doing so, he believes, will we arrive at “a hard bottom… which we can call reality”. Mud and slush are generally seen as of little worth and alluvion refers to the substance carried and then deposited...
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