How do we as American's help contribute to the success of our democracy?  A democratic nation is not an easy task. It is human nature for us to want to seek more power yet still the American democracy has lasted for years. This success I believe goes beyond the Constitution and separation of powers. The success of our nation I think can be attributed to America's freedom. Without freedom there would not be individuals who think outside of the box and help progress society. A strong democracy needs change and change can only come when there are people who will question the norms. By looking at "Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson and "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" by Cornel West we see both authors preach non-conformity, which is important because together they show that a successful democracy is only achievable through individualism.

" Self Reliance" by Ralph Waldo Emerson calls for people to be their true self and not let society's expectations influence who you are or what you do. He points out that by society creating norms we are creating limits for ourselves. He says, "Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members."  Although we may think society is for the benefit everyone among it, it actually generally hurts people. For example, in society today there are so many expectations set. For example, young people are expected to go to college after high school. Society then expects us to get a job, marry ad have kids. Although it is not written down or is it a rule it is a norm. Once people start following norms they begin to lose their individualism. One may go to college not because they have a desire to get a higher education but because that is just what society suggests they should do. Emerson fears this conformity because he believes in the importance of man being who he truly is without the influence of society. "Every new mind is a new classification. If it prove a mind of uncommon activity and power, a Locke, a Lavoisier, a Hutton, a Bentham, a Fourier, it imposes its classification on other men, and lo! A new system." (451) Emerson mentions the names of five men all that developed new ideas and concepts. I believe he uses these men to show that these great ideas would have never had spawned if it weren't for their non-conformity to society. These men are examples of people who found their true self and were hence able to think outside the box. Society needs these new ideas in order to progress. If it weren't for Locke who knows what our nation would be today? Furthermore, Watson speaks to the idea of equality. He says, "In history, our imagination plays us false. Kingdom and lordship, power and estate, are a gaudier vocabulary than private John and Edward in a small house and common day's work; but the things of life are the same to both; the sum total of both is the same." (445) Emerson points out and questions why we prefer to hear about the acts of people that are famous rather than ordinary people. Even if the act of a common man is more significant we would rather read about the more well known individual. I think this preference towards the famous further hurts individualism by creating more standards. For example, in today's society celebrities heavily influence many of us. If one celebrity starts wearing a certain style then many people will then copy that. By doing so people are conforming and losing their own style and even losing some of their individualism.

In "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society", Cornel West also stresses the importance of not conforming as well with the responsibility of us as citizens.  Additionally, he discusses the problems with race in America. I think it is important when he says, "Perhaps no one understood the existential dimension of being human and African American than W.E.B. Du Bois. He recognized the absurd in American society and realized that being Black in American is to be a problem." (457) I think this quotation points out very well society's tendency to make norms. Despite how wrong there was once a time in American Society when many people viewed all Black people as the same. This is not just a problem because it is racist but because it also takes away peoples individualism. Cornel West brings up the stereotype of the welfare queen. He points out how ridiculous it is of society to associate black women with being lazy. I think West speaks about this to demonstrate that every person is different. Despite the fact that society often tries to group people together people all are their own individuals. Another big argument of Cornel West is what he believes to be the "market culture". He demonstrates how the corporations and rich are starting to hurt democracy. "One percent of the population owns 48 percent if the total net financial wealth. The top 10 percent owns 86 percent of the wealth, while the top 20 percent owns 94 percent of the wealth. Meanwhile, 80 percent of the population is experiencing stagnating and declining wages." (457) The information West gives I think shows how the democracy in America is beginning to fail. Democracy is supposed to be for the people by the people but it seems this concept is slipping away. I believe if the democracy were working then so few people would not hold so much power. West believes it is our job as citizens with the democracy to help combat the "market culture". He thinks we need to focus more on non-market values. "Care, service; non market. Solidarity, fidelity; non-market. Sweetness and kindness and gentleness. All non market." (459) It seems that these values are no longer prevalent in our society. However, if more people began to practice them and believe in them we would see improvements in our society. The "market culture" is riddled with the opposite values such as greed and deceiving, which I believe contributed to the economic downfall. 

Both "Self Reliance" and "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" point out the issues with our society. Ralph Waldo Emerson discusses the need for individuals to step out of the norms of society.  Cornel West argues that individuals also need to question the values of society. Despite being written hundreds of years apart they connect well together because of their similarity in beliefs for civilization. They both agree society needs people to question the current conditions. I think it is also important to point out that they both use a boat as a symbol. Ralph Waldo Emerson says, "The voyage of the best ship is a zigzag line of a hundred tacks. See the line from a sufficient distance, and it straightens itself to the average tendency." (443) While Cornel West says, "We are all on the same boat, on the same turbulent sea. The boat has a huge leak in it and in the end, we all go up and down together." (458) Although each author has slightly different arguments I think these quotations show how these pieces compliment each other. I think Emerson's quote shows his belief in the importance of peoples honesty.  Throughout his essay he continues to say people should be themselves and not imitate others. His quote to me means that it is better for someone to take their time and be genuine than for them copy someone else. Cornel West's analogy comes from a different perspective but I think it speaks to how anyone can impact everyone. Cornel West I believe wants us to see that everyone will need to work together in order to fix the problems in our democracy. This fits with Ralph Waldo Emerson because he is telling us how one would go about fixing such problems. Hence, people would need to take the "zigzag path" of individuality in order to avoid  "huge leak" of society's problems.

In conclusion, I think placing Ralph Waldo Emerson with Cornel West we learn the importance of individuality. Emerson teaches us that we must be our own individual and not imitate others. Only once we have "self reliance" can we truly begin to think of new ideas and question the way things are. This is important because Cornel West teaches us that it is our duty as citizens of a democracy to question our society and promote new ideas. He thinks that if people in society do not begin to question the problems in our society then we will suffer socially and economically. These two authors ideas together show how important it is for us as humans to not just live by the norm because if so we will hurt the success of our democracy.

