Plato, Martin Luther King and Henry David Thoreau each had widely differing ideals relating to the government, its necessity and the responsibility of citizens towards this government. These views were all closely related to each philosopher"s personal ideals regarding how best to live their lives with the greatest of integrity. This also applies to life and politics today. Each individual is free to decide whether to take civil action against their government or not. As Martin Luther King asserts, it is a matter of conscience. Each philosophy mentioned above will then be examined for its applicability to the issue of the war in Iraq and the responsibility of citizens to take action.

             Plato"s work focuses on the philosopher Socrates, who has been condemned to death for "corrupting the youth" of Athens. Crito attempts to encourage his escape, but Aristotle refuses, on the grounds of his own personal set of ethics. For Socrates, ethics and values are closely related to one"s reverence for the government. This stems from a specific paradigm of the time, that citizens are not on equal terms with the government. The government knows best and should not be questioned. Socrates uses the parent-child analogy to explain this view. The government is a parent body to the citizens of Athens. The only protest that can acceptably be made is leaving Athens.

             Socrates could perhaps be admired for his strong adherence to his individual focus on his own set of ethics. He does not look beyond the philosophies that he has preached throughout his life. The shame of publicly denouncing his ethics and beliefs is for Socrates worse than death. Thus, even though he is in personal danger at the hands of a government that might be wrong in its decisions, Socrates does not find that he is in a position to protest. The fundamental reason for this is the inferiority paradigm of citizens in terms of the government.