The lawyer’s truth is not Truth, but consistency or a consistent expediency…. Lawyers and the courts are part of the state’s defensive machinery. Moreover, the proscribed penalties for denying government’s authority are often so vague and sweeping as to invite arbitrary sentences from the court. Such laws often have more severe penalties than those that protect individuals against violence. Some laws exist for no other reason than to protect the government - for example, laws against tax evasion or contempt of court. Thoreau dissects the notion that “the law is the law and should be respected.” For one thing, not all laws are equal. This obedience says, “The law is the law and should be respected regardless of content.” Through such attitudes, otherwise good men become agents of injustice.
Look for more titles in the HarperTorch collection to build your digital library.Thoreau’s criticism is aimed at the form of obedience that springs from a genuine respect for the authority of the state. HarperTorch brings great works of non-fiction and the dramatic arts to life in digital format, upholding the highest standards in ebook production and celebrating reading in all its forms. Thoreau was a staunch abolitionist, and his writing was informed by the injustices he observed in the American political and social systems of mid-nineteenth century. On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, or simply Civil Disobedience, was an important reflection of transcendentalist philosophy which has since come to shape American theories on the role of citizens. Thoreau argues that individual citizens must not simply be subject to the decisions of government, but should question every political act to ensure that the system remains a tool for justice and morality-a message that continues to resonate powerfully in modern times. Penned by American philosopher and transcendentalist Henry David Thoreau, On the Duty of Civil Disobedience examines the role of the individual’s conscience in governmental rule.
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