You can't disobey the rules every time you disapprove. However, when you're considering something that constitutes an extreme abridgement of your rights, conscience is the court of last resort.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes the importance of standing up against unjust rules while acknowledging the need to obey laws that may not seem fair.
Mario Savio's quote captures the tension between following societal rules and the moral obligation to resist when those rules infringe upon fundamental rights. It asserts that while one should generally adhere to the established norms, there are critical moments when personal conscience must take precedence, especially regarding significant violations of justice or individual rights.
In practice
In a speech advocating for civil rights, one could reference this quote to inspire action against unjust laws.
The 'futures' and 'careers' for which American students now prepare are for the most part intellectual and moral wastelands. This chrome-plated consumers' paradise would have us grow up to be well-behaved children. But an important minority of men and women coming to the front today have shown they will die rather than be standardized, replaceable, and irrelevant.
The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down.
If we have anything in common as humans it's the instinct to survive. When you go in the ring you are going against that instinct. You're running into conflict instead of away from That's when the complexity really begins.
I was in the Air Force a while and they had what they call "policing the area." That's where you looked around and if there's anything wrong here, there, anywhere, you took care of your own area. And I think that's a pretty good thing to go by. If everyone just takes care of their own area then we won't have any problems. Be here. Be present. Wherever you are, be there. And look around you and see what needs to be changed.
The thing you fear most has no power. Your fear of it is what has the power. Facing the truth really will set you free.
The Young Soldier It is not death Without hereafter To one in dearth Of life and its laughter, Nor the sweet murder Dealt slow and even Unto the martyr Smiling at heaven: It is the smile Faint as a (waning) myth, Faint, and exceeding small On a boy's murdered mouth.
When our burdens are grievous to be borne, when we face a world in which it seems that there is only struggle and no rest, I hope we can remember the immense strength of our sisterhood, the reservoirs that we have within us, and the unfailing wellspring of the Savior’s love for us, even in the midst of adversity.
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