On Self-government
Lillian Chen
12/19/97
Period 2
Speculative Essay
Self-government
Imagine the world of Martin Luther King, a place where no hopes can be shunned and no thoughts nor actions can be repressed. In this world, a man does what he thinks best of himself and his people, no matter what society nor government thinks of him. Without a hint of doubt, anybody can do what they think is right and carry out their self-governing ways. To point out the same argument, Thoreau writes "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 time what I think right." (Thoreau 221) Thoreau believes that every human should do what they think best every second of the day and not force themselves to follow the rules of society. They should put their personal ideas and beliefs above the government's rules and regulations and live freely. From reading Thoreau's essays, one can reasonably predict that many different effects could occur from implementing this value into their daily life. Changes in personal opinions and actions as well as variances in rules and principles could result from this alteration. One can argue that in order to be self-governing, men should think individually and resist against being subject society and government to change the way they are controlled.
If people live implementing this value of individuality and liberty, they will gain personal freedom and rights to free thought and actions. This can be seen from a letter between Thomas Jefferson and Roger C. Weightman in 1826. "That form [of self-government] which we have substituted [for that which bound men under the chains of monkish ignorance and superstition] restores the free right to the unbounded exercise of reason and freedom of opinion." (Coates) Jefferson emphasizes the point that if a person governs himself in an independent manner, he will gain his privileges to free judgment and opinions. When he is in the "chains of monkish ignorance," he is not allowed his rights to freedom and thought, so he must choose for himself. Also exercising this thought, Mohandas Gandhi speaks about non-cooperation with the government, "Civil disobedience presupposes willing obedience of our self-imposed rules, and without it civil disobedience would be cruel joke." (Benson) Explaining the importance of self-government, Gandhi shows how people must obey their personal standards to keep their morals. Without using their own minds to create their own rules, people can not live by their original ideas. But if people do implement their individual standards into their lives, they will acquire their freedom to act and think.
As people begin to become self-governing, they will judge what is right for themselves and act the way they choose to as individuals, not living to society's standards. One example to explain this idea is an unacceptable act against society that was exerted by Rosa Parks, a quiet black woman. "Ms. Parks had been arrested on December 1, 1955, for sitting in front of white passengers, a violation of Montgomery, Alabama's segregation laws. To secure the humble right to sit where they pleased, Montgomery's blacks staged a lengthy and eventually successful boycott of the city's bus lines -- and in the process launched the modern civil rights movement." (Kennedy 584) Determining what was right for herself, Rosa was self-governing and valiant enough to resist against society's standards. She deliberately made her point as she defied Alabama's customs and eventually allowed her fellow black citizens to rebel against unrightfully imposed laws. In a similar case, black minors took his case to a Kansas Supreme court and brought to attention some unlawful discrepancies concerning segregated education. "Black resistance in the US received a tremendous impetus in May 1954 with the supreme court decision in Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka that "separate but equal" schools for blacks were unconstitutional. Encouraged to resist all other forms of discrimination, blacks began demanding equality in employment, housing, and the use of public facilities." (Archer 146) From this case, one can see that the plaintiffs judged what they thought was right and acted against what they thought was wrong. They opposed society by complaining about the social injustices performed against them. With Rosa Parks' decision and the settlement of the Board vs. Board of education case, people judged what was right for themselves and chose to protest the set values in society.
As all these values are adapted, the government which resides over them will change to cope with its self-governing people. As shown in our past, many people have rebelled against their governments, as in the case of Russia. "The power of passive resistance has been strikingly illustrated in Russia (1905-6). She has had three "general strikes," and only the first one was truly, magnificently successful. It was absolutely pacific; it was of the sort that Tolstoy has been urging for years. Workmen, clerks, professional men, even government employees and dvorniks (janitors converted into spies and informers), simply dropped their tools, briefs, documents, and what not, and refused to carry on the activities of industrial and political life. The result, on the government's side, was panic. A constitution was granted; a whole series of reforms - on paper - followed." ("Passive Resistance") This quote shows that governments can fall into the hands of its people and are forced to change in favor of the revolutionists. If people take their own values into action, they have the power to change their governments to suit their own needs and desires. An additional example of governments responding to the people is the American Revolution. As the Americans rose against the unjust British rule, they defeated the British army and demanded independence. (Faragher 127) The British government allowed the Americans to become independent from them and responded to their cries of unfair treatment, but only after the Americans became self-governing and spoke for their individual rights to free thought and action. With their own judgments, the American colonists and Russians attained their freedom and put away the standards of their opposing governments.
By utilizing the values of their own interests, people can be self-commanding and guard against the values of their society and government. Even modern views can be applied to this situation as we progress through time, such as individualism and the fight for personal freedom to think and believe what you want. Liberty can be achieved in that way, and people still must be able to stand up for themselves and judge what is right for them. If everybody does live implementing the value of self-government, resistance against unlawful attempts will be easier to carry out. As more and more people like Martin Luther King begin to fight for their personal freedoms, life for all people will be changed, and individuals' different opinions will be able to change the world.
Works Cited
Archer, Jules. Resistance. Toronto: George J. McLeod, limited, 1973.
Benson, Sandy Harding. "M. K. Gandhi Institute: Gandhi's Words." (18 Dec. 1997)
Coates, Eyler Robert Sr. "Jefferson on Politics & Government: Civil Rights." (18 Dec. 1997)
Faragher, John. Out of Many. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1995
Kennedy, David, and Piehl, Mel. The Brief American Pageant. Massachusetts: D. C. Heath and Company, 1996.
"Passive Resistance." (18 Dec. 1997)
Thoreau, Henry David. "Resistance to Civil Government." Elements of Literature. Eds. Anderson, Robert et al. San Diego: Holt, Reinhart and Winston, Inc., 1989.
