I have been reading some very interesting primary material with my son who is taking a class on understanding American culture. I have not read this essay in over 35 years, and it is funny how differently it resonates with me now than it did when I was in high school.
My younger self saw Thoreau as a bit of a romantic. He lived in relative isolation on his now famous Walden Pond, keeping meticulous records of all that he did and spent. He seemed very idealistic to me, in that he refused to pay taxes for things that he did not agree with and went to jail for his principles.
My middle aged self sees him as a libertarian, someone who advocated for the elimination of government altogether. He was not contributing to the greater good so much as he was acting like his ideas were the only ones worth having, and he certainly was not about to support someone other than himself in all this. His one point of redemption is his opposition to slavery, but in reading this essay, that is by no means the main point, or even the driving force in his actions. He just doesn't want to be part of a society, and doesn't acknowledge what the society does for him. I have crossed him off my future reading list.
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