Civil Disobedience vs. Rebellion

       Throughout Thoreau's speech, "Civil Disobedience," he suggests that sometimes the only solution to a problem is to not follow the rules. This is essentially the meaning of "civil disobedience." After looking up the definition in a dictionary I realized that it is eerily similar to the definition of rebellion. So I urge you to think about when civil disobedience becomes rebellion? Most people would say that civil disobedience is acceptable and rebellion is not. Why is that? Perhaps it is the word civil. Or maybe it's the fact that civil disobedience is associated with many famous protesters such as Martin Luther King Jr. Whatever the reason may be it's important to remember that there is a fine line between the two. When people remember the Freedom March and the French Revolution, they have very different opinions of the two. Both of these movements included an act against the government ruling them. But the Freedom March is regarded as a brave and noble protest against segregation. Whereas the French Revolution was a bloody and horrific time where many lives were lost. It was a tragic battle fought for a good cause. Now these examples are extremes, but they serve their purpose. Many people would argue that civil disobedience is a better approach to solving problems than rebellion is. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, "I became convinced that noncooperation with evil is as much a moral obligation as is cooperation with good.” In this quote he is suggesting that it is a moral obligation to object to unfair treatment. But it is important to remember that while it is right to protest unfairness and violation of rights; when doing so you must not infringe upon the rights of others. So once again I ask you: When does civil disobedience become rebellion?