The Role of Intervention in the American Identity
The American society was born out of rebellion against the established state, the British Empire. As such, the emphasis on defending liberties and rights was great, as demonstrated in the Constitution. Henry David Thoreau was a big proponent of liberties superseding the state’s authority, even going so far as to claim that the government’s right to collect taxes and govern over its citizens should be earned.
If said government continues dealing injustice, then no citizen of good conscience ought to obey and support such a government (Thoreau, 1906, p. 905). This idea is very popular in the US, which has a history of government oppression of various peoples, ranging from union workers to Native Americans and blacks. At the same time, no significant change in the world came without some revolution, oftentimes violent. To quote Langston Hughes (2023), “Democracy will not come today, this year, nor ever through compromise and fear.”
Arguments and Questions Regarding Intervention Against Injustice
While the student generally agrees with Thoreau’s motivations and arguments, some significant flaws must be addressed. The first question is – how significant should an injustice be in justifying rebellion against the government? The second question is about ends versus means – the dissolution of the government and society with it ought to bring greater degrees of injustice to some of the most vulnerable population groups.
Finally, there is the question of the scale of rebellion. Should a person shoot the judge if they believe the sentence was unjust? The answers to these questions are unclear and require a case-by-case deliberation rather than blanket statements like the one Thoreau provided.
Limits and Boundaries of Intervention
Here are some of the proposed criteria to limit resistance to the government while keeping it a viable tool to keep the state in check. First, injustice has to affect many people to justify rebellion. Second, injustice has to be a sufficient threat to their lives and livelihoods. Third – all political, diplomatic, and other non-violent means must be exhausted. Only then would resistance be capable of producing positive change rather than throwing the country into lawless anarchy.
References
Hughes, L. (2023). Democracy. Web.
Thoreau, H. D. (1906). The writings of Henry David Thoreau (Vol. 1). Houghton, Mifflin.