Once again it is election time in America—another chance for the average American to
voice his or her opinion on what direction the country should take in the next four years. Casting
a vote, John Q. Taxpayer gets a voice in determining how some of his money will be spent,
which issues will take priority and which will get pushed aside until the next election year. But
what if choosing another president is not enough? What if John Q. Taxpayer believes his
government is corrupt and defies his moral principles, for example, because it condones abortion
or capital punishment? What actions can he take? He could write a letter to his senator or even
to the president himself. Or he could organize a protest outside of the White House with
speeches condemning the government, marches disrupting traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue, and a
mock ceremony shredding the American flag. Would this street protest constitute civil
disobedience? And if so, is it justifiable? When, if ever, is it morally defensible to break a law?
To answer these questions about civil disobedience, one must first answer another
question: What role should government play in limiting or controlling personal choice? How far
any particular individual is willing to push the limits of the law depends largely upon his or her
feelings of loyalty and patriotism to the nation. One who holds the ideas of loyalty and patriotism in the highest regard is less willing to upset the order of his government. In an excerpt
from Plato’s Crito, written over two thousand years ago, Socrates, a citizen of Athens, explains
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his view that citizens are forever indebted to their nation. Speaking on behalf of the Athenian
government, Socrates asks Crito, “Well then, since you were brought into the world and nurtured
and educated by us, can you deny in the first place that you are our child and slave, as your
fathers were before you?” (Plato 664). This question clearly indicates...