Civil Disobedience in 21st-Century America

Henry David Thoreau’s (1817-1862) essay "Civil Disobedience," written in 1849, made the convincing case that a person is morally obligated to disobey unjust laws of the land.

Thoreau’s exhortation has stood the test of time. He advocated fearlessness in the face of tyranny and injustice. The two issues that engaged him were the immorality of slavery and the war President James Polk waged against Mexico. 

Thoreau showed his courage by not paying taxes to the U.S. government. It landed him in jail, and even though it was only for a night, it helped make his point that unless one was true to one’s conscience and stood up for one’s principles, life was not worth living. As Thoreau wrote in Civil Disobedience, “Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.” He also wrote, “There will never be a really free and enlightened State until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority were derived, and treats him accordingly.”

Two historical figures who continued Thoreau’s legacy, Gandhi in India (1869-1948) and Martin Luther King (MLK) in the United States (1929-1968), used nonviolent resistance to bring down the Colonial British Rule and expose the world to the cruelty and barbarity of racism, respectively.

These nonviolent movements were not driven by naive pacifists but by people fearless in their convictions, and even though violence was used against them in the most murderous way imaginable, the people prevailed in the end.

We face a similar situation in 21st-century America under President Trump, who has unleashed a vicious and violent assault on the foundational values and critical organizations of America, including the rule of law, freedom of speech, freedom to assemble and protest, funding basic research, revoking visas of and deporting international students from our campuses, instigating reckless trade wars, attacking healthcare, social security, climate change, environmental protection agency, national park service, national institutes of health, internal revenue service and many more.

Trump and his enforcers are not only deporting immigrants without due process of law, they are also abducting innocent Americans in broad daylight and locking them up in inhuman prisons here and abroad. Those who have seen videos of these abductions on social media are compelled to ask if America is turning into a failed republic where lawlessness rules under a despotic president whose thirst for vengeance and skill as an extortionist are visible to anyone without blinders.

Threat, intimidation, and divide and conquer are Trump’s weapons of choice. Several well-known but spineless law firms and cowardly universities like Columbia caved to Trump’s threats, surrendering their self-respect and principles to a president whose main goal in life is to ensure not only that the executive branch dominates and overwhelms the legislative and judicial branches but also unquestioningly his illegal commands.

Harvard, the world's leading university and 140 years older than the United States, forcefully said ‘no’ to Trump’s threats to dismantle departments promoting diversity and freeze federal funding. As Harvard president Alan M. Gerber said, "No government, regardless of which party is in power, should dictate what private universities can teach, whom they can admit and hire, and which area of study they can pursue."

Other institutions should take a cue from Harvard, not sacrificing principles at the altar of expediency, when Trump and his arrogant acolytes threaten to curb academic freedom and hinder the quest for truth.

So, who will continue the legacy of MLK in 21^st-century America, the America of the Emancipation Proclamation and the Manhattan Project, to name only two awe-inspiring milestones from our history, and save our nation from Trump?

The two who currently offer a ray of hope are Bernie Sanders, the 83-year-old Independent senator from Vermont, and his 35-year-old Democratic protégé, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) of New York.

Recently, the two completed their “Fighting Oligarchy” Tour, comprising seven events in five days. The turnouts were exceptional, including deep-red states. About 150,000 Americans, angered by Trump's brazen abuse of the law, mass layoffs, the closing of humanitarian and essential services, and arbitrary deportations and abductions, attended. Los Angeles, California — 36,000; Coachella Valley, California — 35,000; Salt Lake City, Utah — 20,000; Nampa, Idaho — 12,500; Bakersfield, California — 4,450; Folsom, California — 30,000; and Missoula, Montana — 9,000.

What Sanders and AOC have demonstrated is that a majority of Americans are upset and angry with the reckless and destructive policies of Trump. They are eager to support worthy and competent leaders who can defeat Trump and the supine Republican Party in the midterms in 2026 and in the presidential election in 2028.

Americans have rejected the current, mostly old and feckless, Democratic leadership. They are looking for new, young Democrats with fresh ideas to take on Trump and the Republican Party. Ironically, an 83-year-old is drawing huge crowds, irrespective of party affiliations, to save America from Trump and his unelected and incompetent cronies. There’s a reason why. Bernie Sanders is not a prisoner of political correctness. He is fearlessly stating the truth, which is that America is turning into a cruel and lawless country under Trump. Unless we force a change in how our country is governed, this nation will degenerate into a kakistocracy and ultimately collapse. 

However, the stark truth is that Sanders is in the twilight of his career. An octogenarian has no chance whatsoever of becoming the next president. Same goes with AOC. She is young but Americans will not rally around a woman, especially one of color, to defeat Trump. That's the brutal reality. Democrats must field a young, white male with a reasonable reputation to take on Trump for a realistic chance of defeating him. 57-year-old Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, was a viable candidate but his recent bizarre podcasts with infamous right-wingers have diminished his prospects. He may recover but the field is open for the right Democratic candidates to emerge, hopefully in the next few months.

We have surmounted existential threats to America before, most notably a Civil War (1861-1865) that took almost 700,000 lives. What we need now is this: At least 5% of the United States population of 340 million, that is, 17 million Americans, must mobilize in all 50 States to defeat Trump and his unjust, inhuman, and immoral policies. Bernie Sanders and AOC are showing us how this can be done. The 50501 website ("Fifty Protests. 50 States. 1 Movement.") is one of the platforms we can use to mobilize across America.

May we awakened Americans do everything we can to save our nation from a dangerous demagogue through mass rallies, lawsuits, strikes, boycotts and other potent forms of protest, from sea to shining sea.