Ralph Waldo Emerson's Men Are What Mothers Made Them

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Ralph Waldo Emerson once said “Men are what mothers made them.” The quote describes that a man’s essence is the depiction of how his mother raised him. From an early age and even now my mother has been the moral compass in my life. To grasp the story better my mother and father’s marriage arrived to a divorce when I was about nine. The same age when I absorbed most of my mother’s teachings and philosophies. I also learned an abundance of information from my father, but not nearly as much and as deep compared to my mother. My mother, Monica, has influenced me in all the right ways and has kept me aligned in the path of righteousness. Through her life lessons, I digested the concept of the golden rule, the true value of money, and to always …show more content…

The golden rule or the basic principle of altruism states that “One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.” It demonstrates empathy in a human and displays people recognizing their neighbor as themselves. This rule can also be found in almost every world religion to this date. My mother taught me this philosophy around the age of four, when I swatted my younger brother in the face for no apparent reason. Once my mother saw the occurrence she immediately took action, but to my surprise she just lowered her voice, grabbed my hand , and explained the golden rule in the most simplest way so my undevelopment mind could understand. Even to this day I will never forget the golden rule. The ethic of reciprocity is more than a philosophy for me it is the creed which I live by and the essence of my human nature. Clearly, my mom molded me into a moral agent through her life lesson of the golden …show more content…

From my birth until the age of nine, I did not truly know the value of a dollar. Since, my father always provided for everything and in plentifulness, I never truly understood the value of dollar up until my parents reached to a divorce. After the divorce my mother needed a job and she eventually found one but for almost minimum wage. I remember my whole lifestyle changed, from a big house to smaller house, from getting all the toys at a moment's notice to having to wait a month for a new toy, even the food my brother, mother and I ate changed to welfare food. My father basically disappeared for a good 3 months before sending child support, but what shocked me the most was the attitude my mother had, she made it seem like nothing happened. I remember she used to tell me and brother that everything was going to be okay, how money doesn't affect happiness, and to be humble because more than half the world suffered greater than our situation. After my mother became an independent woman, she developed into my role model. Not once my brother and I saw her cry or complain about our situation, she always contained a positive outlook and never spoke bad about my dad. In fact she would state that he was under bad influences and that he will realize his mistake sooner or later. Eventually my father did come to his senses and started to

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