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Thoreau’s Views on Consumerism, Slavery, Freedom and War
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Thoreau’s Views on Consumerism, Slavery, Freedom and War
Henry David Thoreau more than 150 years ago talked about consumerism an issue we are currently facing when it comes to environmental conservation and meeting the human needs. Thoreau consumerism was of the view that people needed to align their needs and thus should pick out just was necessary for them. Thoreau pointed out that an increase in consumerism resulted in picking out unnecessary things that resulted in a burden to their pocked. Thoreau had predicted the impact of consumerism which a lot of it came to pass at the beginning of the 19th century when industrialization begun. He had warned that an increase in consumerism was likely to result in unhappiness as people would become more materialistic. This paper will evaluate Thoreau’s validity on the argument on commercialization and consumerism and his views on slaver, war as well as individual freedom.
His approach on wants and needs was quite clear as he wanted to live a life where he practiced the proper utilization of resources that were available to him. Thoreau was firm in his views and constantly stated that people were being carried by the wind of consumerism. His arguments favored common American people as he did not want a burden on the pockets of Americans due to increase in prices of food as a result of consumerism. In his writing, he argued that property ownership was a hurdle to spirituality which meant that possessions as well as property made people poor from the inside (Lytle, pg. 77-89). Thoreau believed full time employment was also likely to lead to an increase in consumerism this led to him rejecting full time employment. By reducing his wants, Thoreau stated that six weeks of labor was enough for a whole year living. In order for one to attain genuine happiness, then demanding less was key as more consumerism would demand a lot of hassle. Humans were exploiting the earth’s resources in order to make profits including the trees, minerals as well as water commodities causing a strain on earth resources. This can still be seen even today as an increase in consumerism contributes to degradation of earth resources such as deforestation which contributes to global warming.
On slavery, Thoreau wrote a speech in Massachusetts that he delivered in a rally that was on anti-slavery after the passing of the controversial Fugitive Slave Act. The act that required the free slaves from the north to be taken back to their owners in the south. Thoreau constantly expressed his ant-slavery sentiments as he saw it was hypocritical on both the democracy and freedom of Americans. Slavery was against the human rights and the fact that slaves could not be allowed any freedom was ironical because every single American was trying to champion for freedom and democracy but these democratic values were not present in the society because of slavery. Before the civil war, the slaves had to work in the different industries for prolonged periods in very inhumane conditions. In 1853, most slave families were separated from each other as buyers purchased them differently so that they could never see each other. Thoreau poked holes on this form of hypocrisy as Americas values were those against enslavement yet the actions were totally different to what they preached (Glick, pg. 193-204).
Thoreau was a believer of individual freedom and in his writing he was able to awaken people’s thoughts and also portrayed significance of one having a free soul. Thoreau refused to pay poll taxes as he thought this was exploitation of the slaves and his refusal resulted in his arrest but him spending nights behind bars did not make him compromise his stands on various societal issues. His writings had impact and he was a threat to a few people who were not ready for the conversation on why slave ownership was wrong. On individual freedom, Thoreau’s argument is well documented in his book Where I Lived for where he states how he think the men ought to live. According to his philosophies, the physical conditions of life are fundamentally and also inevitably tied to an individual’s spiritual life. The cabin appearance, its furniture, size and more so its location on the shoreline of the pool all add to his mental arousal (Thoreau, p.46).
On war, Thoreau was against the American- Mexico war of 1846. To Thoreau this was a ploy by the southerners to expand their slavery to the south west. In protest to slavery and not paying taxes he was jailed an act he considered as civil disobedience. It was in this period that he concluded being against slavery and war was simply not enough and thus the need for civil disobedience. Henry David in his essay titled, Civil Disobedience, advances his belief that the best government is the one that rules least. A government allows the citizens to conduct themselves without interfering or imposing its will on them. He continues to narrate his belief that most governments are the tool to accomplish people’s wishes. Henry believed that a government that does not meet the needs and aspirations of the citizens has no reason to continue existing as it would have failed in meeting its basic role. He talks of the government’s existence as a condition for the protection of individual rights. As he would later learn from experience, taking up the role of ensuring the government meets the needs of the citizens and choosing not to live by the set government involves consequences. The price of non-conformity to the government can be very heavy on those deemed deviant to it.
Thoreau acknowledges that nonconformity to government set regulations that may be unjust comes at a price. If a citizen decides that because the government does not give him the services he needs, then it is the role of that citizen to avoid at all costs no to pay taxes to the same government. Governments are likely to use your taxes to execute what your belief is unjust, and that makes you part of the system. He encouraged people to boycott paying taxes in such cases and f they were imprisoned, it would be a worthy course. He suggested that prison would be the best residence of any man within unjust society (Thoreau, pg. 2).
Thoreau outlines that you cannot achieve justice if people think they can achieve it passively through voting. He outlines practicing just like the convenient way of having a just society. People should consider their obligation not to support the execution of unjust acts or give it any practical support. In his essay, Thoreau narrates that the minority can be agents of unjust by conforming to the demands of the majority. He refused to pay the poll tax to the government he considered corrupt this led to his arrest and imprisonment for a day (Thoreau, pg. 3). After spending a day in prison, someone paying for him the tax and he was set free. He narrates of the ordeal in prison and the trouble he had to go through just because he refused to conform to the unjust system. They serve prisoners with breakfast through a hole in the prison door in small pans made from tins. The pans could only hold the brown bread, a piece of chocolate and an iron spoon given to them. He even narrates the hard life in prison where a comrade seized his vessels as he was returning bread remains. The comrade advised to keep the bread for lunch or dinner and even informed him that he has to work in a hay field within the neighborhood.
In conclusion, Thoreau was a philosopher wo was too brave during his time. he addressed issues such as slavery, freedom and war topics that most philosophers would not because of fear of government actions including jail time which he served. It is his philosophies that may have helped the black people fight for their freedom and rise up in protest against slavery. Thoreau did not rule out violence in fighting for one’s freedom. He defended John Browns attack to the federal arsenal at Harper Ferry in Virginia an attempt to spark slave revolution. Thoreau’s views on consumerism are still applicable today and we should probably borrow a few of his ideals.
Works cited
Glick, Wendell P. “Thoreau and the” Herald of Freedom”.” New England Quarterly (1949): 193-204.
Lytle, George W. “Just Say No to Consumerism: The Continuing Relevance of Henry David Thoreau.” Hwa Kang Journal of English Language & Literature 2 (1996): 77-89.
Thoreau, Henry. Where I lived, and what I lived for. Vol. 37. Penguin UK, 2005.
Thoreau, Henry David. “Resistance to civil government.” Revista Filosofía UIS 15.1 (2017).
Thoreau, Henry David. Collected essays and poems. Vol. 124. Library of America, 2001.
Critique, Helen Fishers Anatomy of Love
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Critique
Helen Fisher’s Anatomy of Love
There are inherent differences in gender that determine how men and women deal with challenges at different levels. In her Women, Men and Power, it is certain that women have better approaches of problem resolution than their male counterparts. The relative approaches are diversified and flexible to ensure that every party is given a chance to voice their concerns. Such an environment promotes dialogue and negotiation that is imperative for sustainable decision making and problem resolution. Notably, men are not equally empowered in this regard as their choices tend to be fixed and definite. Often, they are uncompromising and will in most instances assume extreme measures when resolving issues. However, it is worth acknowledging that differences in personality also influence this. In other words, the prepositions in this respect could not be factual.
From an anthropological point of view, humans have evolved from a humble background. Notably, nature has provided an ideal living environment for humans since historical times. In particular, the trees and caves protected humans from the harsh weather conditions that could have otherwise compromised their very existences. Other animals were not only a rich source of food and company, but they also promoted the aesthetics of the human environment. Over time, humans have evolved and changed their habitats although they continue to rely on nature for survival. In this consideration therefore, it is certain nature is integral in human existence and to enhance sustainability, humans need to protect it. It is important for the relationship in this regard to be mutual so that both parties derive optimal benefits from each other.
Alan Wheelis “How People Change”
In the Grass, the sole intention of the father in exposing his son to the harsh conditions is to inculcate ideal values in his behavior. These are essential for virtuous living and harmonic co existence within the society. Much as the values are imperative, their inculcation needs to assume sustainable forms in order to be effective. In this regard, it is certain the mode of punishment compromised the parent-son relationship. This made the child liable to negative external forces and he found it difficult to share the close relationship with his father. Thus as much as virtuous behavior is vital; parents need to factor in the needs of the children while administering punishment.
In the visions of change, the son recounts the negative effects of the father’s punishment and does not live a comfortable life. The psychological implications are undoubtedly immense as they make him to recoil to another world and lose control of his personality as well as identity. This implies that punishment needs to be administered effectively in order to yield optimal results. Failure to limit this and make it flexible is likely to have lasting adverse effects on the child.
In ‘The Upward Spiral’, the author’s assertion that change occurs in a harmonic manner can be contested. In this respect, it should be appreciated that humans are social beings who are endowed with different capacities. This is advantageous because then they are able to complement each other. However, it is notable that lack of homogeneity culminates to different conflicts. These stem from the various limitations that characterize human nature and behavior. Likewise, change of behavior is likely to yield conflicting situations as values and ideals would conflict.
Richard Bach’s “One”, Chapter Ten
Seemingly, there is a link between humans and their world of spirits. More often than not, a close relationship with the spirit to the extent of interacting with the same requires that respective humans assume virtuous behavior. In this chapter, this is likened to purity and the ability to uphold values and virtues that are presented by the spirit world.
Leonard Cohen “Poetry and Song”
In ‘A Thousand Deep Kisses”, it can be deduced that love is an emotive feeling that drives the individuals involved in their own world. However, the concept of ‘happily ever after’ can be contested because of the fact that such emotions just last for a very short period of time. The lyric ‘Anthem’ provides solace for individuals who face various challenges when upholding patriotism. Citizens in this regard need to lay emphasis on the relative beneficial effects and carry on the respective activities persistently. With respect to democracy, it can be ascertained that this state has not been attained by the American society. This can be attributed to the inherent inequalities that characterize the population; only the middle and upper class are involved in governance. As such, the needs of the minority are not addressed accordingly. By referring to be biblical personalities, ‘Hallelujah’ succeeds in informing the society that power leads to triumph and it is spiritually inclined.
Wittman’s “Sing the Body Electric”
The human body in this respect is complex yet intricate and each part has a vital role to play in the existence of humanity. There is also an apparent relationship between the human soul and body. All these need to exist in harmony in order to enable humans to perform different functions in an effective manner.
There is no hope for perfect research
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There is no hope for perfect research
Research is the periodic analysis of different topics that is important to the development of a particular area of study. The conduction of research is essential in that it provides more innovative methods that are more effective than the previous ones. As a student who intends to become a professional in a respected area of study. It is t therefore essential for me to equip myself with the correct method of research so that my work can be credible. The notion that there is no credible research has taken centre stage due to the fabricated research that is produced in present day. It is thus ideal for student to identify between perfect research and fabricated research.
The purpose of this paper is to provide an opinion on the notion that states that there is no hope for perfect research. The paper provides evidence of two credible papers that prove the existence of perfect research. It then provides a concluding paragraph that summarizes the whole paper by making recommendations on the way forward.
Muscular dystrophy: hope through research
Research can be conducted on any topic that is of use to the education of the society. Medicine is one of the areas that require intensive research so as to find new cures that are important to the health of the society. One of the latest forms of research is on muscular dystrophy; this type of research involves the research of genetics and its role in its contribution of cell degeneration. When conducting research on such a sensitive topic, it is vital to monitor the technique in which one applies during the process. This research was conducted using patients who had different genetic modifications. This was essential so as to consider the different genetic variances in each patient. The results showed that the application of muscular dystrophy increased the chances of survival for majority of the patients who underwent the procedure (National institute of health, p. 23).
The brain is the basis of the of cognitive and social movement
Another subject that has been accustomed to a number of researches is psychology. Psychology deals with the study of the mind of the human being. It is vital to provide credible research in that most of the new innovations because they are practical on individuals. Cognitive psychology is one of the principle topics that make up the basics of the subject. The latest form of research concerning cognitive psychology involves the relationship between the brain and its role in processing information. Although this sounds like a common topic, tremendous progress has been made which involves gauging the personality of a person to the time they take to process newly registered information. The participants who took part in this research were 200 in number. They were randomly selected from different communities so as to remove the bias that is associated with surveys. The results of the research were uniform in that majority of the participants responded positively to the analysis (Carver, p. 22).
In conclusion, research is essential for the discovery of new ideologies. These new ideas assist the researchers in determining a particular type of theory. Over the years, majority of the research has been fabricated due to the lack of accountability. Despite this, the notion that there is no hope for perfect research is an exaggeration. Through the provision of the two examples, I maintain my stance on the opposition of this notion thus stating that there is indeed perfect research.
References
National institute of health. National institute of neurological disorders and stock. Rutledge. 2011.
Carver, Leslie. The brain is the basis of the of cognitive and social movement. NY: New York, Rutledge.