Breakin' the Law

I would say that there are many times where disregarding the law in order to do something that is morally right would be alright. One situation that I specifically am thinking of is of is the soldiers during the draft for the Vietnam War who objected to their obligation to serve due to their religious or moral beliefs - not the conscientious objectors, who legally stated why they objected to their service, but the ones who burned their draft cards or went to Canada or Mexico in order to avoid the draft. This would align with the Romantic philosophy because Romantic philosophy argued that the individual was more important than the big picture. In the big picture, these men might have helped with the war in Vietnam, but individually, they would have been endangering themselves without wanting too, and therefore, they align with Romanticism.

Another example I think of when I think about disregarding the law for moral purposes is, naturally, the tale of Robin Hood. As we all know, Robin Hood stole from the rich to give to the poor, though I am not sure this would match up with the ideas of Romanticism. In Romanticism, the individual is held above the community, and self-made and self-reliant personalities are the chief goal. Natural selection, or the disappearance of those who cannot hold their own, was in common theory. Robin Hood risked his freedom individually by comitting a crime to help others who could not help themselves. While most people might deem this "romantic," in my book, it definitely does not compare with Romanticism's philosophies and creed.

While these examples are all good and fun, I wonder if I would ever be able to break the law in order to do something I knew was morally right. I do not think I could because courage is not my strong suit. I am a rule follower when it comes to official things. Society's rules, however, are a different story.