Civil Disobedience Essay
Civil disobedience is an inherent part
of any nation’s history, from the most developed to the most backwards. Without
the act of civil disobedience most developed nations would stagnate then die or
wither away under the repressive rule of tyrants. Civil disobedience has been a
part of human life since the first cities began and the first tyrants took up
rule. Even the great and powerful Roman Empire had multiple examples of this,
some which developed into coups and other into revolution. One act of civil
disobedience in recent history was the Romanian Revolution of 1989(Revoluția Română). It was the last push to eradicate
Communism in Warsaw Pact nations and heralded the impending end of the
abomination that was the USSR. The people of Romania grew tired of the tyranny,
censorship, and poverty imposed on them by the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu, whose rule was cemented by the Soviets until the end, so
they took up arms against him. The accounts of those dark yet enlightening days
vary depending on the person, but all have one thing in common: Ceaușescu was a dictator who had to be deposed to
free the Romanian nation. Even his closest advisors knew at heart that Ceaușescu’s judgment day
was coming, and it would be a new start for the country. The revolting people
were totally in the right, for they had the natural human right to remove
someone who did nothing but oppress, kill “dissidents”, mismanage the economy,
and drive the country into poverty and famine. This act of civil revolt showed
the rest of the world, especially other oppressed peoples, that there is always
a way to achieve the goal of freedom from the regimes that look to suppress and
control them.
The Revolution
began as a protest against the economic and social malaise that pervaded the
daily life for most Romanians, especially after Ceaușescu’s economic and social reforms.
Ceaușescu’s “reforms”
were damaging at minimum. They caused widespread famine, especially in agrarian
communities, which were required to give up most of their crops to the
government, under threat of punishment(death). Nicolae Ceaușescu had ordered the
military to fire on the protestors, which led to the deaths of over 100
Romanian citizens. The president gave a speech soon after, claiming that those
protestors killed were traitors and dissidents, so punishment was a necessity. The people at what was to become
the dictator’s final speech listened to his worthless rhetoric with a lack of
emotion that had never been seen in the nation. Few cheered for him when he
finished portions of his scripted speech; quite the opposite occurred: they
began to jeer and shout anti-government slogans. The Securitate(government secret
police) saw this as a threat while the people saw this as a beginning of a
democratic revolution. The dictator and his wife, the deputy Prime Minister,
white with fear, were escorted to a waiting helicopter by their guards and fled
the scene to the chanting of the crowd,” Ti-mi-șoa-ra!” The whole scene was televised, allowing other
Romanians that were absent from the speech to see what was happening. Many of
the Romanians were privately supporting dissidents and held anti-Ceaușescu ideas. Their allegiance to the idea of
democracy spurred them to action, and soon the whole country was in the throes
of revolution. From the point of view of the Ceaușescus and their cronies an unjust
rebellion and massive “waves” of traitors threatened to sink the government’s “ship”. Though Ceaușescu was a Communist
he was at odds with the Soviet government and believed that they organized a
coup-de-etat. He had long believed this to be the future reason for his
downfall, but in his mind his fear finally had factual support. From the point
of view of the Romanian people, a glorious and long-overdue revolution was
igniting their spirits, pushing them to throw off the yoke of Communism and the
Warsaw Pact, forced on to them after WWII, willing them to take their rightful
place in the world as a modern European nation.
The
Ceaușescus were captured by the military, which, by December 22nd,
was on the side of the revolution and the people. The new minister of defense,
Victor Stånulescu, said about the reason for the military’s defection,” I had
the prospect of two execution squads: Ceaușescu’s and the revolutionary one!”
He chose the people over his ex-leader, and had a trial for the two. The trial
ended in 90 minutes, with a death sentence for both leaders of the Socialist
Republic of Romania. The charges were,” Accounts in Switzerland amounting to $1
Billion, Genocide against the Romanian people, undermining of the national
economy, and subversion of state power against the people.” The new, democratic
government decided to gain more popular support by giving the people a
“Christmas gift”: a televised execution of the Ceaușescus.They were taken outside and shot with a
machine gun. The whole scene, from the trial to the execution, was televised.
This allowed the people to see what was happening and gave them the knowledge
that the oppressor is dead and that the nation will turn over a new leaf. The
Democratic Party prevailed with a landslide election and became an uncorrupt
government never seen before in the country. The economy struggles, however,
and the nation still has the highest poverty rate of all European nations. This
would not be the case in the modern day.
Had
this occurred in 2015, people from around the world would know much quicker,
for social media and new coverage has increased many times over since 1989. The
world would express their support for the revolting people and the dictator
would fall quicker, with international disdain being voiced. Such an act in the
modern day would be much better known and would garner the support of millions.
Many people would donate money in support of the new, changed nation, unlike
when news spread slightly slower. People would see the news on their plethora
of Internet-capable devices and would Kickstart™ some funds or trusts to
support the nation. Others would join FEMA or other foreign support companies
that send food, supplies, and medical help to the nation that underwent a
revolution. Some people would be able to visit Romania and be Internet
journalists whose articles and videos on the new Romanian lifestyle and nation
may draw the attention of even more people. The difference in two and a half
decades would have very different results in how the nation fared. Today’s
Romania is poverty-stricken. If their Revolution of 1989 had been the
Revolution of 2015, the country would be a nation capable of rivaling other
European countries.
