Henry and I: Two Peas in a Pod

Oh, Hank.  I feel like I can call him that because we met way back; Interim in fact, in my Problem of War class.  He and I met one cloudy afternoon after I had collected him from the printer and had him join me for a cup of coffee. I found him engaging, funny, and pragmatic (all things I admire.)  He did most of the talking, lots of libertarian-esque ideas I agreed with and underlined with my own affirmations (i.e. YES!) and a couple disagreements here and there (Voting important here- I disagree with his view that voting is feeble,) but on the whole, we got along just fine.  A relationship flourished.

So, perhaps my meeting with him was a bit romanticized.  But his work in "Civil Disobedience" struck a chord with me.  Here he was, unhappy with America's role in the Mexican-American war, and he refused to let his taxes go towards such an endeavor, so he did not pay them.  Illegal, yes, but such an inspiration!  To not pay one's taxes in protest is such a perfect tactic: Though just a finite amount of money in the grand scheme of things, as a taxpayer you are holding the government by the money bags.  It's something I would love to use once Congress starts using taxpayer funds to protect the Defense of Marriage Act as Speaker Boehner wants to do, but the legal ramifications are. . .daunting.

I think De Tocqueville would be a little put-off by Hank's ideas.  His obvious distaste for the State would have probably conflicted with De Tocqueville trying to sell such a thing to his French pals.  I have the distinct feeling that since Hank and I get along, and De Tocqueville and I don't, they wouldn't fair well either.  But, De Tocqueville's loss.

Hank and I are two peas in a pod.  And to follow, my favorite plant quote by Hank:

"If a plant cannot live according to nature, it dies; and so a man."

Couldn't have said it better myself.