Rihner, Be A Man and Disobey

Emerson writes on the self-reliance of man, on what we need to do for ourselves. Meanwhile, Thoreau sat in a prison cell for his disbelief in society. Although I would rather stand behind Thoreau (the man who takes action), I would agree that he (Thoreau) follows Emerson's mindset in "Self-Reliance."
The act of conformity is very much looked down upon by Emerson. Conformity is essentially the element which allows leaders and political figures to do as they please, in complete disregard of others. "Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist," states Emerson. Thoreau acknowledges this independent idealism, but in a proper way. Thoreau suggests that we should only follow the laws which we believe to be necessary and right. We should not just disobey all government regulations entirely, but only those laws which bring harm to others or otherwise act unjust. Following his beliefs, Thoreau writes in "Civil Disobedience" about his time spent in prison for refusing to pay the poll tax. The money given to the poll tax would fund the Mexican war, which Thoreau was openly against. The ultimate point of all this being that going to prison is just the necessary step in order to fight against the governments injustice, to fight against the machine. However, Thoreau only spent one night in lockup (thanks to Emerson), and prisons today are much more unbearable than the one that Thoreau visited (with a nice window and cellmate).
I believe that Thoreau also acts with Emerson's mentality towards property and materialism. Emerson writes that the sum of man is nowadays judged by what a man has rather than by who he is or what he has done. Man has become dependent on leaders, political and religious figures, to ensure the safety of his property. Therefore, we do not want to upset those figures that care for our property, our reputations in society. Thoreau does not care for materialist ideals. He chooses to go to prison, away from his home and reputation. Admiring his nice cell, Thoreau even thinks of the jail as a sign of his reputation, his civil disobedience.