An idea sprouts within a society much like a rock resonates in a pond: there in an instant, gone in the next, but powerful enough to ripple throughout. These ripples within global society maintain a grasp upon future ideals despite their level of popularity diminishing. For example, Transcendentalism, a philosophical movement of the nineteenth century, erected itself in early American history as a reaction to the state of intellectualism and spirituality as well as a proponent of the belief in inherent human purity. Acting as one such ripple, the movement permeates modern society due to many profound philosophers and their works, such as Ralph Waldo Emerson’s Self-Reliance and Henry David Thoreau’s Walden and Civil Disobedience. Elements of
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According to Civil Disobedience, Thoreau declares, “If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go.” Much like this injustice which Thoreau outlines, Black Americans suffer through insurmountable prejudice and astronomical obstacles(?) to survive, which instills the innate desire to simply rid society of those obstacles(?) rather than to continue surrendering themselves to the hell of oppression. Functioning under a diluted variant of Thoreau’s definition of the complete abolition of government, Black Lives Matter seeks to abandon the subjugating system of police brutality. One founding member of the organization, Alicia Garza, reiterates the toxic conditions present in America when she says, “Right now we have a really harmful set-up where the police police themselves. They act as judge, jury and executioner, usurping democracy.” Viewing the present police system as a hindrance to democracy and equality, Black Lives Matter recounts Thoreau’s distrust in a privatized government and …show more content…
In the years prior to the 1990’s, very few individuals possessed a desire to be unique, or simply never worked up the courage to stand out. This reality, however, frustrated a large collection of young adults and children disgruntled with their voiceless social standing in the 1970’s and 1980’s to the point of establishing a counterculture movement, Punk Rock. With do-it-yourself ethics at its core, the Punk Rock subculture reflects the purest form of Transcendental self-reliance ideals, popularized in Emerson’s Self-Reliance. Specifically, Emerson declares, “It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” A person who refuses to submit to society’s whims and requests while remaining in its dominion reveals the wealth of the individual, and, in the era of the burgeoning Punk Rock scene, the punks achieved exactly that. Punk’s many doctrines all involve a sense of self-reliance, a symbolic, intangible detachment from the pollutants in society. Whether in regards to the amateur, almost poverty-stricken clothing style or the raunchy, abrasive alternative to the cliché Rock and Roll of the time, Punk Rock animates the absolute form of self-reliance which Emerson
According to Civil Disobedience, Thoreau declares, “If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go.” Much like this injustice which Thoreau outlines, Black Americans suffer through insurmountable prejudice and astronomical obstacles(?) to survive, which instills the innate desire to simply rid society of those obstacles(?) rather than to continue surrendering themselves to the hell of oppression. Functioning under a diluted variant of Thoreau’s definition of the complete abolition of government, Black Lives Matter seeks to abandon the subjugating system of police brutality. One founding member of the organization, Alicia Garza, reiterates the toxic conditions present in America when she says, “Right now we have a really harmful set-up where the police police themselves. They act as judge, jury and executioner, usurping democracy.” Viewing the present police system as a hindrance to democracy and equality, Black Lives Matter recounts Thoreau’s distrust in a privatized government and …show more content…
In the years prior to the 1990’s, very few individuals possessed a desire to be unique, or simply never worked up the courage to stand out. This reality, however, frustrated a large collection of young adults and children disgruntled with their voiceless social standing in the 1970’s and 1980’s to the point of establishing a counterculture movement, Punk Rock. With do-it-yourself ethics at its core, the Punk Rock subculture reflects the purest form of Transcendental self-reliance ideals, popularized in Emerson’s Self-Reliance. Specifically, Emerson declares, “It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.” A person who refuses to submit to society’s whims and requests while remaining in its dominion reveals the wealth of the individual, and, in the era of the burgeoning Punk Rock scene, the punks achieved exactly that. Punk’s many doctrines all involve a sense of self-reliance, a symbolic, intangible detachment from the pollutants in society. Whether in regards to the amateur, almost poverty-stricken clothing style or the raunchy, abrasive alternative to the cliché Rock and Roll of the time, Punk Rock animates the absolute form of self-reliance which Emerson