Emerson, 'Self-Reliance' - Society

An individual's place in society must be a place that is true to themselves and defines who they are. Emerson says, "It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude," (23). He is saying that people should always stay true to the core of who they are, even in times that society is overbearing. The society is the majority of the people around the individual which conforms to the values of the mass. People should never let others define their place in society because it is their decision to choose who they want to be and who they want to be known as. When the society tries to define who you are, there is a problem because it is for the individual to determine who they are. The society is that which can be manipulative and controlling; they will mold the individual into what they want. But the individual must fight back with their knowledge of the world and of themselves to be fully independent and great.

9-11 Controversies

The article, Obama implores minister to call off Quran-burning, raises the controversy of exploiting Islam as a religion in the United States. A minister in Florida has decided that on September 11, his church will brun Qurans as a cermonious remembrance of the 9th anniversary. Obama's address of this problem touches on the base of America: "... this country has been built on the notion of freedom and religious tolerance," therefore, what the minister is intending to do would be against what America stands for. The Constitution gives everyone the right to their own religion, and so people who are given the right to be Muslim in America are having their rights violated. This Quran-burning would only be destructive, it would not solve anything - the minster is not making any problem better by completing this task. Glenn Beck said "burning the Quran is like burning the flag or the Bible - something people can do in the United States, but shouldn't," so what the minister is doing is not illegal persay, but it is definitely something that is punishable in every other possible way when done in America. I don't think that this would solve anything; it's a pointless act that will be regretted by many in years to come.

Thomas Paine - The American Crisis

Paine again discusses America in terms of their relationship with Great Britain. We are expected to be independent from them and therefore we must remain independent. He is saying that Americans are the people who try their hardest to fight for change. "I love the man that can smile in trouble, that can gather strength from distress, and grow brave by reflection," (53). So, the American must also be optimistic and keep their chin up whenever negativity pulls them down. "It is the madness of folly, to expect mercy from those who have refused to do justice; and even mercy, where conquest is the object, is only a trick of war; the cunning of the fox is as murderous as the violence of the wolf; and we ought to guard equally against both," (53).  The American is expected to be agile, sly yet brutish enough to kill in war as well as in any terms of defense. Pain argues that we are all the same: "If we reason to the root of things we shall find no difference; neither can any just cause be assigned why we should punish in the one case and pardon the other," (53). I think that here, Paine is referencing to the Declaration of Independence in the sense that he is alluding to "all men are created equal." Above all, I feel that Paine is speaking a lot more than just about Great Britain; I think that in being all of the qualities he listed, Americans are expected to defend their ideas in times of threat, but equally willing to change in those times.