About the Project

Life with Principle introduces people of all ages to Henry David Thoreau, his ideas, and his literary works.  Visual introductions, personal interviews, and a fully developed curriculum combine to demonstrate the relevance of Thoreau’s writings and philosophy in our modern times.

Life with Principle also reveals the way Americans think, behave, and react.  The program provides valuable insights into American culture.  Seen by viewers outside the United States, the film dispels the “ugly American” stereotype and challenges those audiences to reconsider their own beliefs.

Individuals interviewed in the film represent different backgrounds and age groups:  high school students, young professionals, armed services personnel, political activists, ecologists, and artists, to name a few. Their voices provide direct relevance to the issues raised in our world today and provide distinct views on how the teachings of Thoreau relate to their lives and the world around them. The film vividly exemplifies Thoreau’s feisty independence and thoughtful examination of how we choose to lead our lives; that we might further recognize the need for obtaining and preserving a balance between life with society and life with nature.

Three main speakers appear in the six sections of Life with Principle:

Noam Chomsky, professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, is credited with the creation of the theory of generative grammar. He is also known for his political activism and for his criticism of American foreign policy.

Daniel Ellsberg is a former American military analyst who gained reknown when he released the Pentagon Papers, the account of American military activities in Vietnam, to The New York Times in 1971.  As a result, Americans realized how much their own government had deceived them about the war.

Howard Zinn is an American historian, political scientist, and author who is best known for A People’s History of the United States.  Zinn's philosophy incorporates ideas from Marxism, anarchism, socialism, and social democracy.

Together with students, activists, professionals, and civil servants, they speak from their hearts and from their real-life experiences.

The original film is augmented with additional video features and a number of guides that can be printed from a DVD-compatible computer.  The result is an encompassing educational package that is sure to stimulate discussion.