Change: Vote or Protest?

                         In Henry David Thoreau's paper, Resistance to Civil Government, he discusses his views on the government and how to actually make a difference. One of his main points was, "Even voting for the right is doing nothing. It is only expressing to men feebly your desire that it should prevail. A wise man will not leave the right to the mercy of chance, nor wish it to prevail through the power of the majority. There is but little virtue in the action of the masses of men. When the majority shall at length vote for the abolition of slavery, it will be because they are indifferent to slavery, or because there is but little slavery left to be abolished by their vote. They will then be the only slaves. Only his vote can hasten the abolition of slavery who asserts his own freedom by his vote" (Thoreau 856). Basically, Thoreau is stating that voting in mass is worthless because when change happens it will be due to economics not what is morally right or wrong, and it is the individual who breaks away from the mass to make a difference because he is acting solely on moral means.


                        I'm torn whether to agree or disagree with Thoreau because I believe in the benefit of both the mass and the individual. Also, I believe that some individuals are completely wrong and are protesting the wrong things. For example, current day neo-Nazis should be silenced because their morals are wrong and the mass of America has told them so. However, some big movements began with the works an individual. I believe there has to be a certain balance between the mass and the individual. If a mass of passionate individuals come together as a group, I believe this is the perfect harmony in Thoreau's theory. Unlike Thoreau I believe in the virtue of the masses of men. There is nothing wrong with placing a well informed vote in a ballot box. It doesn't mean you aren't standing up for what you believe in it simply means you are quieter in your means of creating change. 


Question: Do you think there is more benefit in individual protests or the vote/protest of many?