The government itself, which is only the mode which the people have chosen to execute their will, is equally liable to be abused and perverted before the people can act through it.

Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience

Consider also:

  1. “the work of comparatively a few individuals using the standing government as their tool; for in the outset, the people would not have consented to this measure”
  2. “But, to speak practically and as a citizen, unlike those who call themselves no-government men, I ask for, not at once no government, but at once a better government.”
  3. “I may dislike this quality in him so much that I am willing to kill him as the only cure; and he is equally right to kill me if he dislikes the color of my necktie. How many people were killed because they wanted to spell ‘Homoousios,’ ‘Homoiousios’ with the iota?”
  4. “THERE are six major drawbacks to Auction Bridge. Here they are: 1. Mismated partners. You get a fiend for a partner and can’t shake him off. 2. Mismated hands, The two good heart hands never seem to come together. The good spade partners are opposed to each other, etc., etc. 3. The frequency with which bids are set. in actual practice only nine out of thirteen are successful at auction. 4. The fact that you are liable all through a rubber, for your partner’s mistakes. 5. The bickering, fault-finding, nagging, and exhibitions of bad temper. 6. It is not good game for the gambling type of player, as only two people can win–or lose–and they must always win or lose like amounts.”
  5. “It was as if one of these people–he always thought of them as ‘these people,’ much as he had grown to like and to admire them–should find himself dealing with a group of very alert and resourceful chimpanzees.”