Civil Disobedience- Thoreau

Thoreau basically argues that he never signed up to be a part of the society he was born into. He doesn't agree with many of the things 'his' government does, and so practices civil disobedience, for example, by not paying his taxes. He says that he doesn't know where his money will end up, and since he doesn't want to be responsible, no matter how indirectly, for something such as war, he refuses to participate in any form. He lives simply and unattached from the society he is in the midst of. The most striking quote to me was when he said, "I am not the son of the engineer", by which he meant it is not his responsibility to fix society's problems. However, he freely admits that he gets use out of the society (pg. 60). If he is willing to use the society, is he not in some form participating in it? And then should he not take at least some minimal responsibility for it?