Civil disobedience
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| '''Civil disobedience''' encompasses the active refusal to obey certain [[law]]s, demands and commands of a [[government]] or of an occupying [[power (international)|power]] without resorting to physical violence. It could be said that it is [[compassion]] in the form of respectful disagreement. Civil disobedience has been used in [[nonviolent resistance]] movements in [[India]] ([[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi's]] social welfare campaigns and campaigns to speed up independence from the British Empire), in [[South Africa]] in the fight against [[apartheid]], and in the [[American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|American Civil Rights Movement]]. | '''Civil disobedience''' encompasses the active refusal to obey certain [[law]]s, demands and commands of a [[government]] or of an occupying [[power (international)|power]] without resorting to physical violence. It could be said that it is [[compassion]] in the form of respectful disagreement. Civil disobedience has been used in [[nonviolent resistance]] movements in [[India]] ([[Mahatma Gandhi|Gandhi's]] social welfare campaigns and campaigns to speed up independence from the British Empire), in [[South Africa]] in the fight against [[apartheid]], and in the [[American Civil Rights Movement (1955-1968)|American Civil Rights Movement]]. | ||
| - | The [[United States|American]] author [[Henry David Thoreau]] pioneered the modern theory behind this practice in his 1849 essay ''[[Civil Disobedience (Thoreau)|Civil Disobedience]]'', originally titled "Resistance to Civil Government". The driving idea behind the essay was that of self-reliance, and how one is in morally good standing as long as one can "get off another man's back"; so one doesn't have to physically fight the government, but one must not support it or have it support one (if one is against it). This essay has had a wide influence on many later practitioners of civil disobedience. In the essay, Thoreau explained his reasons for having [[tax resistance|refused to pay taxes]] as an act of [[protest]] against [[slavery]] and against the [[Mexican-American War]].[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/{{PAGENAMEE}}] [May 2007] | + | The [[United States|American]] author [[Henry David Thoreau]] pioneered the modern theory behind this practice in his 1849 essay ''[[Civil Disobedience (Thoreau)|Civil Disobedience]]'', originally titled "Resistance to Civil Government". The driving idea behind the essay was that of self-reliance, and how one is in morally good standing as long as one can "get off another man's back"; so one doesn't have to physically fight the government, but one must not support it or have it support one (if one is against it). This essay has had a wide influence on many later practitioners of civil disobedience. In the essay, Thoreau explained his reasons for having [[tax resistance|refused to pay taxes]] as an act of [[protest]] against [[slavery]] and against the [[Mexican-American War]].{{GFDL}} |
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Civil disobedience encompasses the active refusal to obey certain laws, demands and commands of a government or of an occupying power without resorting to physical violence. It could be said that it is compassion in the form of respectful disagreement. Civil disobedience has been used in nonviolent resistance movements in India (Gandhi's social welfare campaigns and campaigns to speed up independence from the British Empire), in South Africa in the fight against apartheid, and in the American Civil Rights Movement.
The American author Henry David Thoreau pioneered the modern theory behind this practice in his 1849 essay Civil Disobedience, originally titled "Resistance to Civil Government". The driving idea behind the essay was that of self-reliance, and how one is in morally good standing as long as one can "get off another man's back"; so one doesn't have to physically fight the government, but one must not support it or have it support one (if one is against it). This essay has had a wide influence on many later practitioners of civil disobedience. In the essay, Thoreau explained his reasons for having refused to pay taxes as an act of protest against slavery and against the Mexican-American War.
