Marching, Protests and Civil Disobedience, oh my!

Living in today's conditions, one may want to consider Thoreau's quote from "Civil Disobedience": "Let your life be a counterfriction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn". I believe this quote is applicable and useful within contemporary America. Acts of civil disobedience are still a viable mechanism of protest. The only thing to consider is that these acts of civil disobedience must be modernized in order to affect any real change. I note, however, the acts of civil disobedience used in today's world often times resort back to outdated tactics which include riots. In this accord, the consequences become too great. Effectively, as a leader, in order to be a counterfriction you have to live a change that is exemplary to those that follow. Specifically, on a small scale but a global platform, parents have to set the example they want their children to live by. Parents must be the change they want to instill in their children. For example, I don't have any children, but I have a 4-year-old nephew/godson who sticks to me like glue. I come from a military family so that structured upbringing is instilled in me. As a result, we are all helping to bring little Roman up in that same light. Talk through miscommunications. Problem solve when there are issues. Always be productive, and always have good manners with the mindset that you were not raised by wolves. These same values could be instilled within American politics if our chosen leaders actually applied those principles in their decision-making processes. On the contrary, American politics is so full of greed and back door dealings in the name of self-preservation that this cannot be accomplished. When considering the family unit, there is no greed to consider because the familial unit will suffer in the long run which is why extended family members have so much dissention between themselves. The immediate family understands the need to be unified even in the face of conflict because it understands to survive they must stick together. Civil disobedience can be a useful tactic, hands down, because when the people are not being represented AT ALL they have a duty to themselves to stand up for what's right. However, it does not go without saying and this saying has stood and will stand to the test of time: It's not what you do, but how you go about doing it.