Well, I respectfully agree and disagree with you.  I agree that people should not break the law, if the laws are just and fair.  But, in some cases, the laws themselves are not fair. Here is an example:

This weekend I attended an preview screening of a PBS documentary and a follow-up, round table discussion. The documentary profiled the events surrounding the Woolworth Lunch Counter Sit-ins in Greensboro, NC. Four African American NC A&T college freshmen decided they would follow their consciences to break the law. On February 1st, 1960, the four Black males walked into Woolworths and sat down in the reserved "white-only" lunch counter section.

Their singular action sparked a non-violent revolution across the Jim Crow American South. Soon, other non-violent protests began sprouting throughout the racially divided South. Last Sunday, two of the four original protestors spoke. Their common theme was that, it is OK to stand up for something that is right, even if it means breaking the law.

You might say that MacGregor's actions against Rawat cannot be compared to the stands taken against the tobacco industry and the racially divided South. I disagree, Cynthia, because MacGregor's plight is no different. He was brainwashed and indoctrinated into a dangerous organization. He worked obediently for that organization and was not fairly compensated. His civil liberties have been threatened for one reason: his attempts to uncover teh truth about a shady organization. MacGregor's suffering is no less real than the plights of the nicotene addicted or racially segregated.

I cannot judge what MacGregor did as against the law, given the Elan Vital injustices that continue to occur. These injustices include not fully diclosing the nature of their organization to the initiates, not fully disclosing profits as abdicated by US non-profit tax laws (thanks to documents uncovered by MacGregor), and not making full restitution to former members that claim either monetary, labor, or sexual abuse.

As citizens, we need to understand the importance of standing up for something we believe in. If one's morality drives a person to become a whistle blower, then, despite the law, as citizens, we need to encourage civil disobedience as a means to an end.