"Take long walks in stormy weather or through deep snows in the
fields and woods, if you would keep your spirits up. Deal with brute nature. Be
cold and hungry and weary."
(Henry David Thoreau)
"Freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be
demanded by the oppressed."
(Martin Luther King Jr.)
The two statements had great inner bonding in them. It's like one is
being the seed in the soil and the other is just getting flourished with time.
Thoreau suggested several times to be enthusiastic and bold against breaking
any kind of laws related to ill-treatment on any groups. And it's like Luther
King Jr. is walking on the same path made by Thoreau to reach the summit of
achieving their vision. Having the principle concerning the distinction between
right and wrong or good and bad has always remained as a nonviolent protest
that enhances an individual's growth and raises the possibilities to cause a
new revolution. And if we go through the history we can find two real heroes,
Henry David Thoreau through his "Civil Disobedience" and Martin
Luther King Jr by his "Letter from a Birmingham Jail" have raised
their voices against segregation and the selfish interest of the government to
establish on individual's freedom.
The civil disobedience stands for peaceful protests or nonviolent
resistance against the government. It is equated with an active professed
refusal of a citizen to obey certain laws, demands, orders or commands of a
government or occupying international power. According to Thoreau, the
individual is the final judge of right and wrong. In Civil Disobedience
Thoreau's basic premise is that a higher law demands the obedience of
individualism. Human law and government are subordinate. In cases, these two
are at odds with one another. Thoreau urges all citizens have to disobey unjust
government policies. They should express their views through acts of civil
disobedience such as refusing to pay taxes. He cites two examples of unjust US
government policies: the continuation of the institution of slavery and the
prosecution of the Mexican war. Thoreau demands the citizens of good conscience
should oppose these policies through non-violent resistance. They should even
be willing to go to jail rather than yelled to immortal or unethical government
laws and activities.
The Letter from A Birmingham Jail was written from a jail cell in 1963 by
Martin Luther King Jr after he and his fellow mates got arrested at Birmingham
jail as they nonviolently protested segregation. Many people acknowledge that
the Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed by Congress has been heavily influenced by
Luther King's letter. He got motivated to write the letter because of a
statement made by 8 Alabama Clergymen at a newspaper. They insisted and
encouraged the protestor to wait for an urges them that they are sympathetic
towards the injustices, but they should be resolved on the courts and not through
any kind of protest. They also asked not to follow any sort of tension created
by Luther King and his fellow mates. What Luther King exactly wanted at the
letter from a Birmingham jail was a marching, bold and non-violent direct
action. This non-violent direct action to create a crisis and tension that a
community starts to confront the issue of segregation.
Therefore, after analyzing and reviewing the aspects of both Thoreau and
Luther king Jr the Similarities that we find are:
1. Both wanted to raise voice against the ill-treatment of the
government.
2. Both believed People are more powerful than any kind of laws and
visions proposed by the higher authority.
3. They urged being silent will not help anyone's course, it's high time
a change is in the cards.
Differences:
1. Luther King demands all should be in a negotiation role to fight
against the odds, whereas Thoreau said one man is enough to raise the voice if
he/she thinks they are right.
2. Thoreau welcomed the concept of Jails and punishments at will, whereas
Luther King Jr is a bit more defensive and non-violent to his proposed act of
breaking the shackles.
3. Civil Disobedience is written to bring out the quick wit and solve the
unsolved wrongful ritualistic laws, whereas the Letter from a Birmingham jail
is more about the emotional understanding of breaking the segregation and
brutality against the Blacks.
Martin Luther portrays Socrates once urged to create a tension in the
mind so that it could rise from the bondage of myths and half-truths to the
realm of creative analysis. The author acknowledges the fact that we all have
to rise from the dark depths of racism and prejudice to majestic heights of
understanding and brotherhood. Luther King wanted to open the door of
negotiation from all the parties. He pointed out at the incidents such as it
gives pain to him when mobs lynch someone's parents at will and drown someone's
sisters and brothers at whim. Surely it is traumatic to witness the hate-filled
policemen cursing, kicking, brutalizing and killing black brothers and sisters
with impunity. It breaks the heart when 20 million Negro human being is
smothering at a cage of poverty amid affluent society. He added his tongue
started stammering to define why your 6-year-old daughter cannot go to the
amusement park shown on the TV. All over nagging the signs "whites"
and "coloured".
Ordinary people's rebellion against this ill-treatment is more powerful
than any kind of rigid law provided by the government. Laws are not the issue;
rather citizens must raise voice against those groups of government that
promote their selfish interest at the expense of racism, morality, ethics and
individual rights. Thoreau believed every being has the basic intellect to
violet the wrongful ritualistic laws rather than or rejection of the system as
a whole. He refers to if a law is of such a nature that it requires you to be
an agent of injustice to another, then I say break the law. They might imprison
you to put you in a disaster situation but Thoreau welcomes the punishments as
the answer against government ill-made laws. Majority rules in a democracy, but
there is no guarantee that the majority will have virtues such as wisdom and
Justice. So an individual should first understand what is right and wrong and
if that results in revolution Thoreau welcomes it with open hands. Government
rules and laws are made by people, so it can be rechecked and reshuffled if the
circumstances demand. People are more powerful than government according to
civil disobedience.
Though one is fighting against universal ill-made laws and on contrast
other is negotiating for breaking the segregation. Though the motif is quite
the same more broadly. Few rules have to be checked and they both urged it with
a very melodious non-violent way. Still, Mr Luther King Jr had to be in the
jail and surprisingly Thoreau claimed in his writing that it might end someone
in the back of the cells, still, it's a win for the humanity.
References
David, Henry, Thoreau. "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience."
1849.
Luther, Martin, King. "The Letter from Birmingham Jail." 1963.
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