Civil+Disobedience

This essay was very difficult for me to read. I am the "slacker" that Henry David Thoreau refers to in the essay. I have read it for the third time and posts to the group project have been limited due to "my limited interest and understanding" I prefer to read more on the lines of Emerson's essay //Nature//. The quote "They hesitate, and they regret, and sometimes they petition; for other to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret. At most, they give up only a cheap vote, and a feeble countenance and Godspeed, to the right, as it goes by them.", probably best describes me. Also, "They hesitate, and they regret and sometimes they petion; but they do nothing in earnest and with effect. The will wait, well disposed for other to remedy the evil, that they may no longer have it to regret. At most, they give up only a cheap vote, and a feeble countenance and Godspeed, to the right, as it goes by them." My brother and I go around and around about this. He says, "Sis, you have to be in-tuned to what is going on in government and make a stand, he is a little more like Thoreau; I am the worst of all evils I only vote presidential elections and most of the time I am voting according to popular media, this is totally wrong. Nevertheless, my ideas are much like Thoreau in his principals but when it comes to making a stand like he has I am more of a conformist. I would prefer to conform and pay a tax then spend a night in jail like Thoreau. I did pick out a few quotes that sparked my interest and emotion and they are as follows:

"The government is best which governs least;" Sometimes government trys to micro manage things they have no background in, like a CEO of a company. I feel that the best government would be from the people, meaning no one person or group should be able to control another without first starting where that group is, for instance, a CEO of McDonalds should have started as a "hamburger flipper" only then can he relate to what those under him needs, wants or is capable of doing. This brings me to the next quote of interest: "I think that we should be men first, and subjects afterward. It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right." This is where I have difficulty during times of political elections. When we go to vote we have to pick the best of what is given us, not necessarily the best. I as a women have had to stand up to people in authority to make things right for my children and my parents. Though I have not fought the law nor government, I have found myself in positions where what was considered protocal was not fair. This especially happened during my fathers fight, which he lost, with cancer six years ago. As compared to a political election this situation leaves one at a loss, who will take the problem and make it better? No one, it is always pushed to another person in the party. So, why vote especially when the outcome will always be the same. I feel we need to support our surroundings first and when that foundation is sound we can then be the subject of someone else. "If I have unjustly wrested a plank from a drowning man, I must restore it to him though I drown myself. This according to Paley, would be inconvenient. But he that would save his life, in such a case shall lose it." This is the case of most of our political leaders, how many have steped on others to get to where they are? This is where moral and religious values are shown by Thoreau, find light in helping others, if you use others to pursue your endeavors, may you meat your maker at which time you have lost. I need to get my thoughts in a more proper form before posting to the project. :)