How Donald Trump Would Interpret the Ideas of Henry David Thoreau

The past year or so has undoubtedly been one of the most turbulent election seasons of this century.  Although the majority of voters are now finding themselves trying to decide who is the lesser of two evils, it is undeniable that this election has sparked a political revolution that will most continue to evolve and grow. The primaries this year were unique in that they presented two anti-establishment candidates in Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. Many were captivated by Bernie’s non-traditional views on social and economic issues, proving to be the most successful socialist in the elections of recent years. Trump gained an even larger following by somehow reaching all of the angry, ignorant, and bigoted people in the US and getting them to support his pursuit to “Make America Great Again.” He somehow managed to win the Republican nomination without any real political knowledge and without ever laying out a clear plan, other than his outrageous ideas about building a wall on the Mexican Border.

So as I read Henry David Thoreau’s, “On the Duty of Civil Disobedience,” I noticed themes similar to the anti-establishment ideals that struck a chord with so many during this election season.  This made realize that Trump’s views seemed to be a sort of misinterpretation of Thoreau’s ideas (although given his level of intelligence, I’m quite sure that Donald Trump has never read anything by Thoreau).

As stated by the title, Thoreau believes that it is our “duty” to question and be disobedient to our government.  Similarly, Donald Trump is doubting the government quite a bit, preaching against dirty politicians like “Crooked Hillary,” and promising to make big changes in things like trade agreements that he feels are ruining this country. Both seem to have the idea that doubting the government is necessary and good. However, Thoreau makes statements like, that in regards to government reforms, “the remedy is worse than the evil,” and poses questions like, “Why does [the government] not encourage its citizens to be on alert to point out its faults, and do better than it would have them?” Meanwhile, Trump interprets this idea of questioning the government as going to the ends of the Earth to prove that Barack Obama is not actually a natural-born US citizen, even after Obama has given sufficient proof that he is. So while Trump clearly has the wrong interpretation of “Civil Disobedience,” the ironic fact still remains that Thoreau was the one thrown in jail for his beliefs.