Self-Reliance & Resistance to Civil Government

Wow. I thought that class on Thursday was extremely interesting! We began by playing Simon Says. I can't remember the last time I played the game and boy, did I stink at it...Anyway, the idea that the facilitation group was trying to get across was this idea of conformity. If we didn't conform in the game we were "kicked" out. Essentially, everyone must conform because no one wants to be out and everyone want to keep playing. Imitation was also shown by the group in a movie excerpt from Hot Rod. To show the breaking away of conformity or the embracing of true self-discovery, they showed a clip from the film, Dead Poet's Society. The group did a great job with the activity, the movie clips, and the questions that were asked. I felt that class Thursday was especially intellectually stimulating. Everything that was discussed stemmed from the ideas of Ralph Waldo Emerson's essay, Self-Reliance.

One of lines that really caught my attention was at the very beginning of the piece on page 1163: "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart, is true for all men-that is genius." There is something about this sentence that really starts to get the wheels moving in your brain. In class we discussed how one must develop one's own ideas and not change them to go along with other's ideas. One should also stand up for what they believe in but should not be afraid to always question everything. Personally, I feel that I can question a lot of simple things: is this right? why did this happen? how should I respond? However, when it comes to bigger things, like my faith, I cannot. Emerson also says on page 1164: "Trust thyself: every heart vibrates to that iron string. Accept the place the divine Providence has found for you; the society of your contemporaries, the connexion of events." This is so important to Emerson's ideas of self-reliance, self-trust, and non-conformity. TRUST THYSELF. He continues by giving the advice that we should accept where ever we end up and accept the society and the events that surround us. We do not have to conform to them, just accept them for what they are.

Another quote that really made me stop and think was on page 1166. Emerson wrote: "...truth is handsomer than the affectation of love. Your goodness must have some edge to it-else it is none." We had a long discussion about this idea. Should one be completely selfish? Should one NOT feel much obligation towards their peers? I agree with the point made in the class discussion that Emerson was actually referring to oneself. One must be comfortable with oneself before helping others. I believe that this is a good point. If one is burdened inside, how can they help others before helping themselves become stronger as an individual? I have come to this conclusion with this excerpt. You should take care of yourself and then take care of others if you feel the need to do so. I have always been a caring person and more times than I'd like to admit, I put others' needs before my own. I then find myself living my life for others and not living my life for myself. While I will always remain a caring a nurturing person (it is part of my nature) I should try to live a little for myself. Just like Emerson suggests in his essay.

Obviously, Emerson was not afraid of being different. He believed that to conform and deny one's own genius was a crime. He also believed that life should be spontaneous; especially if questioning everything. In the essay he says: "With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do..." We can see here his idea of keeping life interesting and fun. Later, he continues by asking a question: "Is it so bad then to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, and Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood (1168)." By listing all of these amazing individuals Emerson hoped to show that you must be misunderstood to be "pure and wise" and to be a great person.

Society never advances. TALK. TALK. TALK. That is all that ever seems to happen. The action of change remains neglected. We continuously see this throughout the history of our country and still continue to see it to this very day. Emerson says on page 1178: "All men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man improves. Society never advances. It recedes as fast on one side as it gains on the other." This brings me back to past ideas from other blogs. Mainly, the idea that comes to my mind is this unquenchable, insatiable, undying need for more, and more, and more. When is it enough?!! Throughout history itself, the only things that were important were obtaining land, gold, and others that they could dominate over. Today, this still seems to be the case. People still want land. They still want money. They want cars, and boats, and designer handbags and shoes. They want to fly away to Paris or Rome on a whim, in their own private jet. People still want power. It seems that this is "the goal" that everyone has. But the sad truth is that there are a very small percentage of people that have and do all these things. Many people worry about paying bills to keep their electricity on. Others wonder if they will have enough food to feed their families in the next week. Most of these people buy their clothing second hand from thrift stores.For them it would be outrageous to spend $700 on a handbag when there is so much NEED right in front of their very eyes. This reminds me of all the high school girls that wear the same stupid things because "everyone else has a pair...is wearing it..." Apparently, they want to be like everyone else. CONFORMITY!!! I still would like to have faith in humanity to believe that we can break through this conformity of constant talk and no action. However, I also believe humans will always be striving for something better. This is in our blood. We cannot strain it and leave it behind. And because of this I'm afraid that conformity will always be present.

In class we also discussed Henry David Thoreau's essay, Resistance to Civil Government. He was friends with Emerson who called Thoreau "a youthful giant." Though the two men shared ideas and went against the norm, their relationship was fragile. Thoreau said: "I'm under an awful necessity to be who I am." He couldn't choose his identity...he just was. Thoreau looked up to Emerson and wanted to be like him with his ideas. He even began to imitate Emerson. Isn't this a type of conformity?!! Anyhow, the two men had a very strained relationship. Thoreau wanted so much to be considered an equal to Emerson in Emerson's eyes, and could never measure up...even after his death!!! Isn't this tragic?!!

Despite his personal shortcomings Thoreau continuously demanded that all people should be able to have their freedom and exercise it too. He was against the idea of a government that governs at all! In the beginning of his essay he states: "That government is best which governs not at all (1857)." He continues on urging the audience to think of for themselves and in echoes Emerson's own views and ideas of conformity. "Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine (1863)." Conformity is the machine. Government is the machine. Thoreau believed that everyone should do their part in being different, standing out, and going against the norm, no matter the consequence. In my opinion, one of the best excerpts from his essay would be on page 1867: "I was not born to be forced. I will breathe after my own fashion." This is just a beautiful excerpt to me. I was not born to be forced!!! Thoreau's passion for his beliefs could not be stated in a stronger manner. If only we weren't all "forced" to do things that society demands of us. School. College. Job. Marriage. Now I like school and college. I want to get a job and I want to get married. Maybe I only think I want these things because of society. Or maybe I really do want them...This is all beside the point...The expectations of society and the being weighted down by conformity does, I believe, keep some people from realizing their true potential as an individual.

At the end of Thoreau's essay he asks the question: "Is a democracy, such as we know it, the last improvement possible in government? Is it not possible to take a step further towards recognizing and organizing the rights of men? There will never be a really free and enlightened State, until the State comes to recognize the individual as a higher and independent power, from which all its own power and authority are derived, and treats him accordingly (1872)." This sums it all up. Thoreau didn't care what the government thought. He wasn't going to pay his taxes, even if he had to sit in jail. I think that Thoreau would not have wanted to be seen as someone who wanted others approval. However, he seemed always eager to impress his friend, Emerson. While Thoreau may have had his true "freedom" one cannot imagine that he was happy. What a lonely life he must have led...

Should you be happy with what you have? Or should you demand that you have your freedom no matter what? It all boils down to having complete control. Is it worth it to have this complete control and live a hard life? Or should you live with the mentality that you'll follow but you'll be happy and content despite NOT having this complete control. Is having just a little control over ones' life, enough? I think that it is enough for me. I'm all for standing out and being different. However, I don't think that a life of loneliness and unhappiness is the life for me. I'd rather have a some control over my life, have to follow the "rules" like everyone else, and still be happy, than having complete control, standing out, and being miserable. But that is just me.

I think that this idea of control and the need for complete control or not, just depends on the person. But like I said above, I don't think life would be worth anything without some kind of happiness in it. My mother always tells me that I'm the only one to blame in how I perceive my life; happy or not. Only YOU can make yourself happy and content. Don't expect others to do it for you. This reminds me of a great line that I read in Self-Reliance. I'll end this post with that quote from Emerson: "Nothing can bring you peace but yourself (1180)." So, while I might not have complete control, I have just enough to bring peace to myself. And that is all that really matters to me.