What is is seen against what could be. It is important to remember that although Thoreau uses his experience to make several points throughout this essay and others, he actually only spent one night in jail. He was released the next morning when a relative paid his tax. Again, Thoreau is reiterating his point regarding freedom. Even while he is in jail, he says that he is free.
Freedom is associated with the mind, the spiritual, rather than the body, the physical.
Thus, truth is not always going to dictate the right path. It is not the main concern of truth to dictate the fairness of wrong doings. Those who recognize the negative effects of the constitution or the bible will search for the source of the problem to correct it. He goes on to say that he imagines a place where the individual and the state will be in mutual service. Thoreau's Politics of the Upright Man.