“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 Heinlein “Moon is a Harsh Mistress”
This idea flows through my entire life, there are many ways to say it but I like the way Heinlein puts it best. It doesn’t limit civil disobedience to laws, but instead brings up any rule that is imposed on us from an outside source that we find “obnoxious”. Most importantly though, it mentions the ever important responsibility aspect as a moral attribute instead of something that is purely consequential.
On my bike ride I know I will break many laws, particularly laws that would deem it “illegal” to sleep on the side of the road. The idea that a person cannot peacefully sleep somewhere in a way that does not harm (or even remotely disturb) another person should be disgusting to most good people. There may also be some other social norms that I will break but I don’t know what adventures the road may put in front of me but I am going at it with some wise advice that my best friend gave me about Burning Man: don’t go in with expectations but instead with an openness to the possibilities with hope and dreams in your heart.
Wandering Oak 