Ralph Emerson Individualism Today

Individualism Today

After reading Ralph Emerson’s Self-Reliance, I have spent a lot of time thinking about how is individualism is looked at today in America. The conclusion after pondering this question is that individuality it is under attack. People’s color of their skin, personality, clothing, and home life are all under attack.
A substantial part of why people tell others what or how to think of others is based off of how they have been raised. Individuals who have grown up in a household with racist family members and have been told all their life that anyone that wears a turban are going to bomb America are the ones who make people of any other race feel less than others. Today most families try to teach their children how everyone is the same regardless of skin color but there are still those select few who feel like they are supposed to make anyone that isn’t the same race like their ancestors did in the 1960’s. There’s also been an image put into the younger generations heads that if you see someone in dirty, worn clothes that they are poor when in all reality they could be a hard construction worker who spends all their time working. Judging people by their appearance isn’t very accurate.

Most people think that acceptance from others are all that matters and they will do anything that to get that. This includes things such as when African Americans get their hair chemically straightened like white people, whites tanning, and even sometimes change hair color. When people rely on others for their happiness they tend to be more unhappy because they aren’t satisfied with themselves. People also try to gain friendships by dressing a certain way that they are not comfortable with, or even acting a different way when in a crowd of people that they want to impress. People of all races should accept themselves for the way they are, clothes they are, and their true personalities to find true