The Closet Professor

I have always been fascinated by the 19th century transcendentalists. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s (1803 – 1882) philosophy often aligns with my own. He was seen as a champion of individualism and critical thinking, as well as a prescient critic of the countervailing pressures of society and conformity. My favorite piece of his writing is his 1841 essay “Self-Reliance.” It contains the most thorough statement of one of his recurrent themes: the need for each person to avoid conformity and false consistency, and follow his or her own instincts and ideas. It is the source of one of his most famous quotations:

“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”

However, this is not the quote that inspired me to write this post. This one was written in his journal on November 8, 1838:

“Let me never fall into the vulgar mistake of dreaming that I am persecuted whenever I am contradicted.”

Emerson’s words retain relevance today, particularly in the age of the 24-hour news cycle when outrageous sound bites that command the most attention and elicit the highest amount of clicks is heard over and over. It is especially relevant when we have a presidential candidate who loves to portray himself as a persecuted (and prosecuted) martyr. 

In the quote, Emerson condemns those who are so ridiculously devoted to the righteousness of their own ideas that anything which poses a contrary opinion must inherently be dangerous. Republicans, especially Trump, consistently complain that they are being persecuted when anyone disagrees with them, and they have several 24-hour news stations that back these false claims of persecution often with misleading or inaccurate information. They use these tactics because, like the Republicans they prostrate themselves to, want everyone to conform to their way of thinking. They claim they want people to be self-reliant, but they demand everyone conform to their small minded ideas. 

Over many years, I have learned that my happiness doesn’t come from conformity but depends on embracing who I am. The world would be a boring place if we all acted and thought the same way. It would be nothing more than mindless drones. I tend to believe that those people who conform to what others think they should are often the most unhappy and often angry. Our country was founded on the ideals communicated in the Declaration of Independence and the belief that all are created equal and are able to pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

So those are my thoughts of the day. Now, here is your picture of Isabella for the week: