Hi everyone. There is an Indian movie called Chennai Express. In the movie, the male lead always says “Don’t underestimate the power of a common man”. I did not realize  how true it was until I read a story this morning in the newspaper. I live in the Philadelphia area. I did not know this, but the city of Philadelphia has a ban on private citizens raising chickens in their backyard. Malaika Hart, a lady who lives in West Philadelphia, was raising chickens, growing vegetables and she also had a beehive. She used to give the eggs away for free and her neighbors said that they were delicious. But because of the ban, the city of Philadelphia fined her. Ms. Hart refused to pay the fine. The fines started mounting and finally she went to small claims court. The judge looked at the pictures of her chicken coop and farm and dropped all the charges. So Ms. Hart does not have to pay a single penny. Score one for the people! Examples of civil disobedience are everywhere. It was the cornerstone of Mahatma Gandhi’s fight against the British in India and Nelson Mandela’s fight against apartheid in South Africa. But very seldom does civil disobedience by an individual gets noticed. I think we should all be proud of what Ms. Hart has done. Now I don’t mean go around and start breaking laws left and right, but if you believe in something, be ready to fight for it and don’t underestimate the power of the common person.