EMERSON SAID IT

"I am ashamed to think how easily we capitulate to badges and names, to large societies and dead institutions."    

This is a good quote as it talks about how we conform to ideas we upheld to ourselves. Like if we are branded a captain, we might want to be seen as more serious. This one actually didn't come up in the socratic seminar we had but I wish it had. It shows the idea of how people get attached to these titles which shouldn't change who you are.

 "This conformity makes them not false in a few particulars, authors of a few lies, but false in all particulars." 

This quote hit me. Conformity is like a mask.  A mask that covers our true intentions. It doesn't allow others to see if what we say is sincere. This quote came up because I mentioned it since it had to relate to what we were saying. Conformity makes our intentions not as sincere and others get affected because of it.

The other terror that scares us from self-trust is our consistency; a reverence for our past act or word, because the eyes of others have no other data for computing our orbit than our past acts, and we are loath to disappoint them.

I think this quote is great. It tells us to not let the past control what we have to say now. It is okay to contradict yourself. I wanted to bring this quote up in class because it is important. To many times we think everyone actually keeps a record of what we have said but that is not the case. People are to busy caring about themselves to thin of what you have said or not.

I hope in these days we have heard the last of conformity and consistency. 

I brought this quote up because they were talking about how much of an impact Emerson's essay has had. He was hopeful in that these social problems would be gone by today. It is the complete opposite. Leslie said all these efforts from Emerson are futile. No one takes this in. Society is society and we won't be able to change it. I don't agree. Obviously if we all make a conscious effort to change as a whole it can happen. 

These roses under my window make no reference to former roses or to better ones; they are for what they are; they exist with God to-day. There is no time to them. There is simply the rose; it is perfect in every moment of its existence. 

This quote seemed to come up because they were talking about how we need to be unique. There is a a value in not conforming to society.