For my own part, I should not like to think that I ever rely on the protection of the State. But, if I deny the authority of the State when it presents its tax-bill, it will soon take and waste all my property, and so harass me and my children without end. This is hard. This makes it impossible for a man to live honestly, and at the same time comfortably, in outward respects.
—Civil Disobedience, Henry David Thoreau, 1849


Which statement best reflects Henry David Thoreau's perspective on taxation efforts during the Mexican-American War?