would help a person escape the illusion of the materialistic world as they created a life built on real truth. Unfortunately, there is effort in learning to perceive the truth as defined by Thoreau. That effort is often avoided by those that do not aspire to be any better than they are as shaped by the group. This is because that effort involves deep self-exploration and at times painful honesty with oneself. This truth-seeking demands that a person learn how to be actively and constantly self-critical, peeling off negative layers of the group-shaped perception of the self to reveal the inner core of a person where the moral conscience resides. This self-critical circumcision awakens the inner self and once awakened the moral conscience can then assist the person in discerning truth and acting upon this newly recognized ability. In his life, Thoreau sets the example for this type of revelation through his extensive self-critical internal trials. Documentation of his personal revelations is seen in Resistance to Civil Government where he states, “Action from principle – the perception and performance of right – changes things and relations; it is essentially revolutionary.” And, from that same work, Thoreau writes, “It is not desirable to cultivate a respect for the law, so much as for the right. The only obligation which I have a right to assume, is to do at any time what I think right.” In making statements such as these, Thoreau, in myopinion, was not suggesting that his inner trails had revealed a desire to live in absolute rebellion to any established government but rather a willingness to support the laws so long as they did not violate any moral principles. He also felt that, in order to be a better person, it might be necessary to experience a little injustice for the sake of justice. It is this way of believing, paired with living that belief, that places people in a class of the...
