Ralph Waldo Emerson’s “Self-Reliance” takes an interesting look at self awareness and how to distinguish between right and wrong. He does not believe in the Tabula Rasa as John Locke did (490), or in man’s sinful nature as is taught in the Bible, but that all men are inherently good and innately aware of what is right and wrong. Though Emerson wrote Self-Reliance over 160 years ago, his words are still applicable today.
Emerson begins by saying of poems that “The sentiment they instill is of more value than any thought they may contain. 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” (533). This concept brings to mind the idea that the medium is the message, but of course that sentiment did not come until later, and is not exactly the same. The statement brings to mind what he said in “Nature,” that: “I am not solitary whilst I read and write, though nobody is with me” (493). I believe that this is true with all art, that while we are perceiving or creating it we feel as if we are part of something more. Emerson here attributes this to all mankind, as if we have a collective consciousness; for my part I have always thought that it is God (or, to be more precise, the Holy Spirit). I have often felt that He is my muse, the glass through which I see the universe, and would never be so bold as to state that all my artistic concepts are shared by the entirety of humankind. I do, however, also realize that we are connected in more ways than is readily apparent, but not everyone shares the same wavelength. “To speak truly, few adult persons can see nature” (494), so those of us who are not mundane cannot have the same consciousness as those who are, and those of us who are Christians will perceive things differently than a Muslim, Jew, Wiccan, or Atheist.
Emerson goes on to write: “There is a time in every man’s education when he arrives at the conviction that envy is ignorance; that imitation is suicide” (533). I have not yet reached this point, though it is, I confess, what I strain to achieve. Most of my writing right now is in response to what others have said or written, such as my fanfiction that is inspired by television shows and books that have struck a chord within me. My own education doesn’t seem to be helping in this regard, because my professors rarely ask me to write anything original, they also wish for me to respond. I sometimes wonder if there is even an original thought in my head for me to call my own. Will I ever find my own stories to tell? I suppose that Emerson would tell me that I am too full of fear, for “God will not have his work made manifest by cowards” 533.
Still, I feel well suited to the era in which I live, as Emerson seems to have, as well (534). I agree with the concept that: “Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist. He who would gather immortal palms must not be hindered by the name of goodness, but must explore if it be goodness” (535). Many Christians avoid doing anything that has the appearance of evil, which is a Biblical concept, yet at the same time their definition of what is evil does not always match God’s. I was raised to believe that I should not dance or drink, yet David danced to worship God for giving him victory, and Jesus Himself turned water into wine, drank wine, and commanded His disciples to follow His example every time they met. Over time I have decided that I must discover for myself what is actually good versus what is bad, not everyone seems to have the same opinions about this, and some are greatly offended by my choices as a result, but I in turn am offended by their insistence in placing limitations on mankind that God did not intend.
The danger in this is assuming, as Emerson did, that “No law can be sacred…but that of my nature” (535). If it is up to each man to decide what the law should be, no one can wholly agree. I was raised to believe that laws should be based upon the Bible: but even someone who is Jewish might not completely agree with me on what that means. Some people are Jews only in heritage, others follow the Law as set down in the Pentateuch, and I believe that Jesus perfected the Law and freed us from the requirement to follow it exactly in order to obtain salvation. An Atheist will scoff at the concepts entirely and tell me to check my morals at the door. Though I have faith that my beliefs are valid, I cannot force them on anyone, which is why I have come to the conclusion that the Libertarians have the right idea: no law should be passed that limits a person’s freedom as long as that person isn’t hurting anyone else. Emerson was “ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions” (535), but these badges are how we are able to define ourselves and what makes each person unique and yet one with those who believe in the same way.
“You will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you” but I strive to be the one “who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude. The objection to conform in to usages that have become dead to you, is that it scatters your force” (536). What is ironic about the fact that I agree with this statement is that Emerson goes on to say that the church is dead (536). I would certainly say that the church is struggling, but I will never submit that the Bible has wholly lost its effectiveness. The difficulties that I have experienced in my life has not turned me away from God, on the contrary they have been the catalyst that made me pursue Him with even more fervor.
For someone who puts forth that all men are good, Emerson seems to have a lack of faith in who he terms as “the ignorant and poor” (537). He’s such an elitist; God’s gifts are meant for everyone, not just those who are born into wealth. His suppositions do not always match up with one another. I have always believed: “is it so bad then to be misunderstood?...To be great is to be misunderstood” (538); maybe my surrender to the concept that I am not normal, not mundane, makes me elitist in my own way. I know that my life is still a work in progress, but I agree with Emerson when he writes: “Your conformity explains nothing. Act singly, and what you have already done singly, will justify you now. Greatness always appeals to the future” (538).
Emerson hopes that “we have heard the last of conformity and consistency” (539), but I feel that it has only gotten worse over time. Children are sent to public schools where they learn the same things, take the tests to make sure they measure up to their peers, and are not expected to excel, to stand apart, to march to their own drum. I’ve never been comfortable with being forced into any mold. “Every true man is a cause, a country, and an age; requires infinite spaces and numbers and time fully to accomplish his thought” (539).
Despite Emerson’s doubts, he does always come back to acknowledging God—“We lie in the lap of immense intelligence, which makes us organs of its activity and receivers of its truth” (540)—yet he sadly does not seem to have a personal relationship with Christ. He stands in awe of God, acknowledges that we “exist with God to-day” (541), and acknowledges Him so many times, yet I somehow I feel as if he is missing something. Maybe it is Emerson’s emphasis on self reliance—“Nothing can bring you peace but yourself” (550)—when I have always felt that nothing is worthwhile without reliance in Christ, the Prince of Peace.
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