Henry David Thoreau was a rare American intellectual who built a small cabin beside Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts, in 1845 and lived there alone for two years and two months. Thoreau detested anything that attempted to oppress and control the individual or deprive him of his autonomy of action and thought.
Living in the woods was his way of escaping civilization and moving away “from public opinion, from government, from religion, from education, from society.” He valued individuality, independence and self-reliance. It is no 
wonder he never married. When a girl asked for his hand, Thoreau declined, saying, “I really had anticipated no such foe as this in my career.”
By the same token, Thoreau distrusted his government and called for civil disobedience based on non-violent resistance. Once, he refused to pay head tax as a symbolic gesture of his protest against the Mexican War, which he thought was waged by the United States to expand its territory. Of course, he had to pay for his defiance; he was arrested and thrown into jail briefly.
In “Civil Disobedience,” Thoreau writes, “I heartily accept the motto ― that government is best which governs least.” Thoreau’s lifestyle and philosophy heavily influenced Tolstoy, Gandhi and, especially, Martin Luther King who named his own protest campaign “Civil Disobedience,” inheriting the legacy of Thoreau’s nonviolent protest.
Even today, Thoreau’s legacy can be found in every nook and cranny of American society. For example, independence, individuality and self-reliance are the perennial values most cherished by the American people. American parents constantly teach their children the value of these virtues, as do teachers at school. In American society, therefore, it is you who are responsible for what happens to you. One such example is this: on most streets in the U.S. you can make a left or U-turn at your own risk as long as the traffic light is green. It is your responsibility if you are injured or killed while driving recklessly or carelessly, not that of the government. I see the vestige of Thoreau’s spirit even in the warning sign “Illegally parked cars will be towed at owner’s expense.”
In America, the government is not responsible for any accident unless it is a natural disaster like Katrina. Besides, Americans do not seem to appreciate the government’s interference and manipulation. Instead, they are often suspicious of their government. In many American television shows, people almost always mutter, “Maybe it’s the government!” whenever they find suspicious, alien stuff underground. Many Americans seem to suspect their government is plotting something, carrying out clandestine activities and generally hiding the truth. Watching “The X-Files,” for example, you can see the slogans, “I want to believe,” and “The truth is out there.”
Unlike Americans, Korean people seem to think their government should assume responsibility for virtually everything, including all major accidents that occur in the country. In the eyes of the Americans, such a notion may seem almost inscrutable because in Korea the government does what private insurance companies do in the States. Is it because Koreans are fond of their government and find it trustworthy? Or, is it because Koreans depend on their government too much?
Whatever the reason, we cannot depend on our government for everything. We should learn to be on our own and take responsibility for whatever happens to us. That is what people do in developed countries.
In Korea, we tend to think that being cautious or abiding by the law is unmanly. That is why there are so many reckless drivers on the streets of Korea; they want to be seen as macho. Indeed, too much caution is often regarded as sissy and even shameful in Korea. Due to this pseudo-macho tough guy stance, we tend to ignore safety measures and thus are frequently caught in major accidents.
In fact, ignoring or neglecting safety rules is not manly but childish. In order to get rid of the dishonorable nickname “The Republic of Accidents” we should learn to honor safety rules and regulations. That is true bravery. Embarrassingly, we Koreans frequently confuse bravery with bravado.
If we demand that our government take responsibility for all accidents occurring in our society, we will end up unwittingly inviting a tyrant who will regulate and manipulate us. The reason is obvious: apart from God, dictatorship is the only system of government that can claim to be omniscient and omnipresent and thus be held responsible for everything that happens in the country. But then, we will be deprived of the autonomy of our actions and thoughts. And that is the last thing we want.
We should no longer rely on our government for everything. Instead, we should become independent, self-reliant, and take responsibility for what we do. That is how mature citizens behave. We should learn from John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address: “Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country.” We should also learn from Thoreau’s wisdom: “That government is the best which governs least.”
By Kim Seong-kon
Kim Seong-kon is a professor emeritus of English at Seoul National University and president of the Literature Translation Institute of Korea. ― Ed.
