Emerson: Self Reliance

In Emerson's essay, "Self Reliance," he talks about how people should decide for and rely on themselves. He believed that people should form their lives, beliefs, and values on what they think. what they know, and what they want. A person should be responsible for their place in the world, because they have to put themselves in the spot that they want to be in. Emerson's opinion of society is that it is "in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members" and it is a "joint-stock company." Emerson viewed society as something to harm the people within it. Society can be used against the people that belonged to it, so Emerson believed that in order for people to be where they want to be, they have to put themselves there on their own terms. The entire concept of "self reliance" is based on people looking to themselves rather than looking to those around them. So, the entire point of Emerson's essay can be used to answer this question. People need to view themselves as what they want to be, and what they believe that they are in society.

Quran-Burning on again, off again

This article really surprises me for many reasons. First of all, it is shocking to me that a church would want to burn copies of the Quran as their way of remembering the events of September 11. . It is disrespectful, and it also seems like they are stereotyping the entire religion of Islam. To me, it seems like they are saying all Muslims can be blamed for what happened at 9-11. It is also horrible to read about the effects this is having on people. There are protests going on in Afghanistan are causing people to be hurt or killed. But, these protests are NOT pointless, because what Terry Jones is trying to do is absolutely awful. As stated in the article, "Muslims consider the book the sacred word of God and insist it be treated with the utmost respect." How would the people who planned to attend this burning feel if the Muslim people planned to spend a day burning Bibles? It is the same situation, if not worse. The fact that this could be happening tomorrow sends the message that all those involved believe that the entire religion of Islam should be blamed for things that extremists did.

The American Crisis- Thomas Paine

"Better have too much force than too little, when so great an object is at stake" (Paine).
Thomas Paine was very passionate about the fight for freedom and independence not because he believed that war was the right thing to do, but because he believed that an entire country allowing the people in it to suffer is a crime. He was right. He related the suffering brought upon America by Great Britain, to his home being burglarized:
"Not all the treasure of the world so far as I believe, could have induced me to support an offensive war, for I think it murder; but if a thief breaks into my house, burns and destroys my property, and kills or threatens to kill me, or those that are in it... am I to suffer it?" He did not believe that violence was the general solution. He believed in self-defense. Again, he was right. Who was he, or any other American, to allow his country to be abused by Great Britain? Paine did not want to cause violence. The violence had already began with the problems caused by Great Britain. These concepts still exist today, and are very controversial. The question of whether a country is beginning violence and war or simply defending itself causes many problems, regardless of the time period. Thomas Paine understood the idea of not fighting fire with fire, but of not allowing himself or his country to get burned.