Henry Thoreau was thrown in jail for a night for refusing to pay a tax that went directly towards funding the Mexican War (if my memory is correct), which he opposed. He only spent one night because someone paid the fine for him. This was how his pamphlet Civil Disobedience came about. One passage from it goes, "...'government is best which governs not at all', and when men are prepared for it, that will be the kind of government which they will have". Civil Disobedience inspired both Gandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr to put his words to the test, and lead their people to freedom peacefully. Resistance can hurt. They can fine us, jail us, ban us from society, as they have done in the past. They can stop us from living our lives. But our refusal to comply and obey, especially en mass, speaks volumes above their petty rules. It isn't easy. None of it is. I will stand steadfast, alone if necessary. It makes me more than a little nervous, but I must be true to myself, always.