Henry David Thoreau's revolutionary essay, written in protest against slavery and the Mexican-American War, gives us a message that transcends any single era: when government becomes the agent of injustice, what is the duty of the conscientious citizen? Thoreau's answer is uncompromising. To vote for justice is not enough; one must live justly. To pay taxes that fund evil is to become its accomplice. The only proper response to an unjust law is to break it-and accept the consequences with open eyes. His own night in jail for refusing a poll tax became the seed of a philosophy that would inspire Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr., and every movement that has dared to stand against power. In an age of drones, mass surveillance, and wars fought by remote control-when our taxes fund what our consciences condemn-Thoreau's question haunts us still: Will you be a man first, and a subject afterward?
