It is not a man's duty; as a matter of course; to devote himself to the eradication of any; even the most enormous wrong; he may still properly have other concerns to engage him; but it is his duty; at least; to wash his hands of it; and; if he gives it no thought longer; not to give it practically his support. If I devote myself to other pursuits and contemplations; I must first see; at least; that I do not pursue them sitting upon another man's shoulders. ~Henry David Thoreau; On the Duty of Civil Disobedience


It is dangerous to be right in matters on which the established authorities are wrong. ~Voltaire


If... the machine of government... is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another; then; I say; break the law. ~Henry David Thoreau; On the Duty of Civil Disobediance; 1849


If we desire respect for the law; we must first make the law respectable. ~Louis D. Brandeis


I am free; no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable; I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious; I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. ~Robert A. Heinlein; The Moon is a Harsh Mistress


When leaders act contrary to conscience; we must act contrary to leaders. ~Veterans Fast for Life


Every actual state is corrupt. Good men must not obey laws too well. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson


We cannot; by total reliance on law; escape the duty to judge right and wrong.... There are good laws and there are occasionally bad laws; and it conforms to the highest traditions of a free society to offer resistance to bad laws; and to disobey them. ~Alexander Bickel


Disobedience; the rarest and most courageous of the virtues; is seldom distinguished from neglect; the laziest and commonest of the vices. ~George Bernard Shaw; Maxims for Revolutionists


No radical change on the plane of history is possible without crime. ~Hermann Keyserling


As long as the world shall last there will be wrongs; and if no man objected and no man rebelled; those wrongs would last forever. ~Clarence Darrow


Laws control the lesser man. Right conduct controls the greater one. ~Chinese Proverb


It is not what a lawyer tells me I may do; but what humanity; reason; and justice tell me I ought to do. ~Edmund Burke; Second Speech on Conciliation; 1775


It is necessary to distinguish between the virtue and the vice of obedience. ~Lemuel K. Washburn; Is The Bible Worth Reading And Other Essays; 1911


Integrity has no need of rules. ~Albert Camus


If you are neutral in situations of injustice; you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral; the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. ~Bishop Desmond Tutu


I think that we should be men first; and subjects afterward. It is not so desirable to cultivate a respect for the law; so much as for the right. ~Henry David Thoreau; Civil Disobedience; 1849


You're not supposed to be so blind with patriotism that you can't face reality. Wrong is wrong; no matter who says it. ~Malcolm?X


Human history begins with man's act of disobedience which is at the very same time the beginning of his freedom and development of his reason. ~Erich Fromm; Psychoanalysis and Religion


"We should never forget that everything Adolf Hitler did in Germany was ""legal"" and everything the Hungarian freedom fighters did in Hungary was ""illegal.""? ~Martin Luther King; Jr.; ""Letter from Birmingham Jail;"" Why We Can't Wait; 1963"


Each man must for himself alone decide what is right and what is wrong; which course is patriotic and which isn't. You cannot shirk this and be a man. To decide against your conviction is to be an unqualified and excusable traitor; both to yourself and to your country; let men label you as they may. ~Mark Twain


Ordinarily; a person leaving a courtroom with a conviction behind him would wear a somber face. But I left with a smile. I knew that I was a convicted criminal; but I was proud of my crime. ~Martin Luther King; Jr.; March 22; 1956


Dare to do things worthy of imprisonment if you mean to be of consequence. ~Juvenal


Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it. ~Albert Einstein


Laws are only words written on paper; words that change on society's whim and are interpreted differently daily by politicians; lawyers; judges; and policemen. Anyone who believes that all laws should always be obeyed would have made a fine slave catcher. Anyone who believes that all laws are applied equally; despite race; religion; or economic status; is a fool. ~John J. Miller; And Hope to Die