Facebook Post 1-27-17: On the Nature of Law and the Duty to Follow It

IDK if I can or should be a lawyer anymore. Well before law school, from a young age, I always held the most sympathy for the Patriots, the Jacobins, and others who flew in the face of the law to effect great political change when it was necessary. I am always, above everything else, a student of history, and the history of revolutions always held particular fascination (second only to ancient Egyptian history). Often, probably most of the time, one can work within the bounds of the law to effect change. But sometimes, you just can't. Full stop. Sometimes the law exists to hinder change, not facilitate it. Sometimes, to make meaningful change, you have to a rule-breaker, to be "ill behaved." History teaches us this, over and over again. And I believe that, in certain situations, it is the good and right thing to break the law, when the law becomes itself immoral, or at least a shield for the immoral. I went into law because I truly believe in the place of the law to protect from and prevent criminal behavior and to allow people to live their lives to their full realization. But what happens when the law itself becomes criminal? And it is becoming harder for me to reconcile, particularly lately, my true belief that sometimes, the "legal" thing and the "right" thing are not the same thing, that sometimes there are things more important than "the law," with my chosen profession, whose stated purpose is to uphold the law... I'm feeling like a priest who has lost belief in god... how do you go on preaching if you don't believe?