Transcendentalism: The Antidote to Brainwashed Youth

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When I was first exposed to the concept of Transcendentalism in my English class, the idea seemed farfetched and rather abstract. Upon further readings and research, I discovered that the concepts, although they originally seemed esoteric, where works of true brilliance. Society has made it hard for individuals to exist when things like popular culture seemingly brainwash youth into doing whatever is considered “cool”. Transcendentalism is a powerful concept which should be acknowledged by my generation, for the points encompassed in Transcendentalism are more vital today than ever. Transcendentalism is the philosophy of striving to live a life of independence, simplicity, and oneness with nature.

Ralph Waldo Emerson was the foremost pioneer of Transcendentalism. As many of the Transcendentalists, he wrote about what it was to be an individual. Transcendentalism is exactly the opposite of the aphorism “go with the flow”, which can be heard regularly in our modern vernacular. This is exactly what the Emerson and other Transcendentalists sought to exterminate: the idea that...

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