Whitman isn't urging simple rebellion—he's asking us to distinguish between external authority and internal conviction, a far subtler matter than mere defiance. The quote assumes you've already done the hard work of thinking, of forming genuine judgment, so that your obedience becomes a choice rather than habit. When a software engineer respectfully questions a company mandate they believe flawed, then implements their own solution quietly, they're doing exactly this: resisting the pressure to conform blindly while remaining professional enough to work within the system. The wisdom lies not in the resistance itself, but in the discriminating mind behind it.