What Would Ralph Waldo Emerson Say?

In American Studies class we read part of Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self Reliance. Emerson, a transcendentalist, believed that all people should voice their thoughts and accept them as fact, regardless of societies approval. On top of this, he believed that accepting ideals that a person does not truly believe in to fit into society is both ignorant and cowardly. What I am wondering, is how far Emerson truly believes in these ideals?
All of the people in my class remember, even if only vaguely, the September 11th terrorist attacks. The only things I remember were the fear, chaos, and mystery that I was seeing. In Barack Obama's speech on the election night, he talked about how he and his administration would defeat all those who have tried to destroy the world. I would like to know what Emerson would say to the beliefs and thoughts of these people.
The idea that Emerson seemed to give off in our reading that everyone, no matter what beliefs they have, should live those beliefs out, but what I would like to know is if Emerson thought that peoples beliefs were wrong. I do agree with some of what Emerson says, that people should not conform to the common beliefs of a society just to fit in, but I do not feel that every belief is good. Would He agree with Barack's belief about defeating those who have tried to destroy the world? This is where Emerson has left a void. Can a transcendentalist say that everyone's beliefs are right, even just for the individual person? Would Emerson say that the killing of people is justified because of what the killers thought was right? Maybe he believed that everyone should accept their own thoughts as truth, but taking action on those thoughts may be another story. I found the reading so interesting because of the absolute nature of the beliefs. Do you think that a belief justifies actions?

We The People

During our studies of the late 1700's, we have learned many aspects of our countries Independence. Some things that were valued in both the declaration and the constitution were the rights to be represented in order to be taxed, the equality of all people, and a system of government where the people, not a king, decide the countries affairs. Although these things were stated in these historic texts, they were not entirely accurate. When written, the term "the people" meant primarily white men. Native Americans, women, freed blacks, and slaves were not considered to be under this qualifying term. Slavery was not abolished until 1865, a full 89 years after the declaration was signed. Black people and white people could not even use the same drinking fountains, or entrances to stores up through the 1960's. Now, 40 some years later, an African American man is the president of our country.
For the first time, we now have an African-American president. As I watched president elect Obama's speech in Grant Park, I knew it would be something I would remember forever. Obama was going to the White House, a house that slaves built. When he started talking about Ann Nixon Cooper, I realized how truly far America has come. Her parents lived in the time of slavery, and being 106 years old, she has witnessed so many of the inequalities that our country has had. For some time she was not allowed to vote because she is a woman and because of her skin color. But more importantly, she lived to see the first African American president. I find it astonishing that one person has seen so much in her lifetime. This made me think and realize the great distances our government has gone. I think that the term "the people" is at least much closer to being a true statement. The Declaration and constitution may have not solved many of our nations problems, but it certainly sent our country in the right direction.

Yo, What Happened to What's His Face?

The 2008 election is getting tense, and both parties are getting very anxious. It's anyones guess on who is going to be the next president. Every day we see commercials supporting and scolding from the Republicans and Democrats. But what many people may not have thought about recently, where is George Bush? It has certainly felt like he has been out of the publics eye for a while. White house officials say that hes busy working to fix the economic crisis, but will anything he does make a difference?
In class we were talking about the "lame duck" period of presidency. This is when the new president has been elected, but has not yet been given their position as president. I think that this lame duck period has started early for George Bush. This week, for example, a few events have been canceled, and he is spending time with his family at Camp David. It actually does make sense for him to keep a low profile during the election season though. It is the opinion of many that George Bush is not a very good president, and the Republicans want to win this election. With a shockingly low approval rating of 28 percent, and a past full of unpopular decisions, he is proving to be a very big threat to the success of the Republican party. Political commercials have been addressing McCain's similar views with Bush. I believe I saw in a commercial that he voted 92 percent of the time with Bush. I believe that the president is enjoying a period of relaxation. Even if he tries to address some of the issues with full effort, he is almost out of office and probably won't be listened to. We'll see if he can stay out of the spotlight for a while longer, and if he costs the republicans the election.

A Helping Hand

I was looking at various current events around the web and I came across a video. There was an auction for foreclosed homes, and something very generous happened. A woman whose house was being put up at the auction was sitting on the sidelines crying. Another woman came up to comfort her. After talking about the situation for a while, the woman decided to take action. She purchased the house without seeing any pictures of the property, merely believing the other womans word. She handed over the house to her. When asked about her act of kindness, and why she did it, she stated, "Because people need to help each other".
Such generosity is not often seen at the person to person level, especially from a stranger. I found it remarkable how caring and generous this woman was. She was not worried about the risk of the home possibly being foreclosed again, she was doing what she thought was right. When we talk about idealism in class, I think of a society where everyone picks up each other when they fall down. This happening in the real world makes me think that idealism can work. The woman was not thinking about the risk, but the benefit of providing someone with a second chance.

McCain Embraces The Underdog Status

Recent polls taken by CNN show Obama with 49 percent of the national vote, and McCain with 43 percent. McCain does not seem to mind being behind as of now, he stated, "I love being the underdog. You know, every time that I've gotten ahead, somehow I mess it up". When asked his opinion on Palin's effects on the election, he said "I could not be more pleased". It seems that he would not be terribly disappointed if he were to lose the election. When he was asked about the possibility of losing he said he doesn't think about it. Later in the interview with McCain regailed some of the details about his life, "I've had a wonderful life...I'm the luckiest guy that you have ever interviewed and will ever interview. I'm the most fortunate man on earth, and I thank God for it every single day".
McCain seems to have a new attitude on the presidential election. He suggests that no matter what happens, he won't mind because he has had a very wonderful life. His wording did seem a little egotistical, perhaps, but the point is that he is both idealistic and optimistic about the election. He is idealistic in the sense that no matter what happens, he has a great life in Arizona to go home to, and that he is so lucky for his great life. As far as I've seen, this is a new side to John McCain. Maybe he's preparing himself for the worst and lessening the blow by appreciating his life.

Bailout Plan Put Into Action

The 750 billion dollar bailout plan is starting to be put to use. The Bush administration plans on investing 250 billion dollars into the failing banks in order to get them on their feet. New policies are also being made to insure non-deposit accounts, or business accounts. Lending between banks may also be administered to chip away at the credit situation. Some people feel that there is not a specific plan, that the government is trying random things to solve the problems. Other feel that they are addressing effects of the financial situation, not the problems. Something I found very interesting, the U.S is offering an unlimited amount of money to the banks of the E.U, Switzerland and England at a fixed interest rate. It seems sort of odd to be lending money in a state of financial crisis.
It seems that the U.S government has attempted to solve the financial problem with many different angels. FDR was a believer in experimentation when he tried to get America out of the Depression, so maybe some good will come out of all this. The stock market did go up roughly 1000 points today, but we are still down nearly 30 percent on the year. We'll see what happens.

European Economy in Crisis Too?

Today I came across an article that seemed strikingly familiar. The U.S is not the only place having economic troubles. Germany is now in a potential state of meltdown, as many banks are on the verge of failure. Iceland also is in trouble due to its credit situation, and Britain may have to step in to pick up some slack. In Germany, many large players in the economy have already collapsed, including the Hypo Real Estate Company worth some 49 billion dollars.

As I read, I stopped and thought. This seams almost too similar to the situation in the U.S, and ironically it is happening and the same time. I re-read the article just to make sure that it was, in fact, about the failing European countries. It goes to show that we can learn from our past mistakes, including economic issues, regardless of where they were made. Currently, many Europeans are at risk of losing their life savings as so many did during the Great Depression. We'll see what happens when the banks re-open on Monday.