A Stripped Gear in the Societal Machine

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This week in 11 AP, we read an excerpt of the essay Civil Disobedience  by Thoreau, which was Thoreau-ly boring. In all honesty, a part of the essay stuck out to me, Thoreau says "Let your life be a counter-friction to stop the machine." What Thoreau is saying is that each individual has to be the thing that goes against the government; each individual has to be what forces the government to change its ways; each individual has to not be submissive, but fight for change.

There are so many examples of people who fought against the government and common stereotypes. A common example is racial prejudice; MLK fought against racism; Douglass fought against slavery. You might be wondering what do I mean by a stripped gear, a stripped gear is simply a gear whose teeth are misshapen due to excess wear and tear. How does this stripped gear play into the metaphorical machine?

Well its quite simple, this gear will turn and turn, unknowing that it has absolutely no effect to its surroundings. Hence, this stripped gear represents people who think that they are making a difference in society, while in reality they are doing nothing. The people in reference are Facebook moms with their thoughts and prayers, presidents who denounce terrorism, etc. These are the people in society who believe that they have an impact, but don't. Instead of simply sending thoughts and prayers Facebook moms, why don't you do something about whatever went wrong? Why not reach out to your local representative and enlighten them about the issue; instead of simply denouncing terrorism, do something about it, you're the president for god's sake; To any unmentioned issue, don't be a stripped gear, don't just sit there thinking you are making a difference, when in reality, you're not.

Comments

  1. Matthew ChenSeptember 22, 2019 at 12:15 PM

    Good job Varun. You did a great job of interpreting Thoreau's civil disobedience and applying it real life. You also presented a great argument for Thoreau's ideas which is definitely true. I also liked the pun at the start very punny.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Darren ZengSeptember 22, 2019 at 2:42 PM

    This passage addresses a widespread annoyance in society. It is agreed that instead of pretending to do something, it is more effective to call oneself to action instead of pushing the responsibility to someone else.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Arjun KashyapSeptember 22, 2019 at 7:19 PM

    Yes Varun. The act of saying something and not doing it is very common. This is problem with many talented people. They often say they will do great stuff but don’t. It is a sense of superiority and arrogance that I feel causes it.

    ReplyDelete

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