According to "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society," written by Cornel West, the world has reached a much scarier and questionable phase than what it was during the time of different wars and movements. The past can always be related to the present and the future. Our country was able to get through a period of time where it was against the law and viewed as a disgrace for whites and blacks to communicate with one another. Using the same bathrooms and eating at the same restaurants were strictly not allowed. The United States and our government overcame this and have come a long way through trust, but are the fundamentals of our country able to handle and retain that of the people through any controversy or conflict that comes its direction? Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance" is a written piece that focuses on individuals' trusts towards themselves.  Just like anything, it can be ruined with negative thoughts and actions, or it can be flourishing with a positive attitude. Man was created with the nature of doing good, which is what Emerson bases his story off of. Virtues, goodness, hatred, conformity, consistency, and most especially, trust, are all aspects that make up man and are embellished on in "Self-Reliance." After reading both stories, individuals' trust towards our government and country was questioned at one time and is starting to get to that point once again. The natural values of man are slowly disappearing and are becoming more unpredictable. As a result, both "Self-Reliance" and "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" share multiple aspects on the world. While both stories can be used to help interpret one another, the theme of trust is shared between West's and Emerson's writings through the expression of fundamentals that are direct to man and our country. 

Ralph Waldo Emerson begins his writing with a different approach compared to other typical stories. With three different verses, one stands out to me the most. The first two lines read, "Man is his own star; and the soul that can render an honest and a perfect man ... " (Emerson 438). Emerson uses this specific verse to begin "Self-Reliance" with to attract the reader and give them an overall idea of what his story is going to be about. A more serious tone is used in all three verses and continues to stay this way throughout the whole writing. Emerson also writes, "To believe your own thought, to believe that what is true for you in your private heart is true for all men, -that is genius" (Emerson 438). Not only can this sentence be referred to as "genius" but the simple most definition of self-reliance as well. Trusting yourself is a very significant aspect when it comes to self confidence and relying on yourself and/or other people. It can easily be compared to the construction of a house. First, the process starts with the foundation. If the foundation of a house is not correct or there simply is not one to begin with, the residence cannot stand on its own. The same goes to an individual and the way they carry themselves with their thoughts and actions. If someone does not have a solid foundation for themselves, such as their virtues and values, there is a very high chance that their actions will show that. In contrast, if there is someone with a stable foundation for himself/herself, their actions will reflect that easily. Another example in "Self-Reliance" is, "Society is a joint-stock company, in which the members agree, for the better securing of his bread to each shareholder, to surrender the liberty and culture of the eater" (Emerson 440). This sentence is pointing out the affect that society has on individuals now-a-days. People tend to give in to the ideas and beliefs of the crowd around them, also known as peer pressure. It is common to see someone's values change because of what another individual is thinking/wanting to do. This makes self-reliance even more important. Trusting yourself involves sticking to the same values and beliefs that you hold for your human being. Unfortunately, society has taken over immensely in today's world. Man's natural characteristics are fading away and becoming more "fuzzy" rather than clear. Building a foundation for yourself will help retain the self-reliance and trust that you have built.

On a different note, Cornel West's piece of writing, "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society," starts off like a traditional story. The color of an individual's skin is a major aspect that is frequently brought up by West in this text. West writes, "He [W.E.B. Du Bois] recognized the absurd in American society and realized that being Black in America is to be a problem" (West 457). Throughout years of the past, there have been many upbringings in our country that relate to segregation. Whites and blacks were not allowed to communicate with one another, attend the same schools, eat at the same restaurants, or even use the same restrooms. This is a great example that shows the lack of trust that individuals had towards one another and our country. Thank goodness for the Civil Rights Movement, for this is what brought our country back together as one. Violence ended and the world started to become a better place. Another example written by West includes, "Any civilization that is unstable to sustain its networks of caring and nurturing will generate enough anger and aggression to make communication near impossible" (West 458). This sentence also shows the lack of trust that our country obtained, leading to the unstableness of our society. No democracy is perfect, even ours. West explains that the connection between the past and the present plays a major role in this issue. The arguments and violence that happened years ago, due to skin color, now carry on to today's time. Yes, our country overcame the segregation era but there are still occurrences where a dispute (sometimes fatal) will break out because of an individual's race. This issue will never fully go away, explaining why it now has an affect on our democracy and society. West backs up this point with the sentence, "When I examine the present state of American democracy, I believe we are living in one of the most terrifying moments in the history of this nation" (West 458). Not a very settling thought to have but it is a true one. If another major breakout were to occur where different parts of our own country start fighting against one another again, would our democracy be able to handle it? Then, West finishes up "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" with the contrasting sentence, "We are not going to save each other, ourselves, America, or the world" (West 460). This sentence now shows that individuals of our country have restored at least a small amount of trust; however, the status of our democracy still is up to question.

Both "Self-Reliance" and "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" have their differences, but mostly their similarities. After reading both pieces of writing, I found it very common of me to refer back to aspects of "Self-Reliance" and apply them to West's story. This made my understanding and interpretation of "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" much more clear. For example, West writes, "One of the fundamental questions of our day is whether the tradition of struggle can be preserved and expanded. I refer to the struggle for decency and dignity, the struggle for freedom and democracy" (West 456). After reading these two sentences, I automatically thought back to "Self-Reliance." Emerson talked about the nature of man and the characteristics that individuals can have. When interpreting Emerson's text, I used an example of the foundation of a house. These two specific sentences can relate back to that example of "Self-Reliance" because if one were to have an unstable foundation, they would have "the struggle for decency and dignity, the struggle for freedom and democracy" (West 456). What ties the two aspects of these stories together is trust. When one struggles for their own decency and dignity, it is obvious that there is a lack of trust present. Also, a struggle for freedom and democracy can be present in West's part of the story, explaining the trust that is lacking in our world's society. Another example written in West's text reads, "The roots of democracy are fundamentally grounded in mutual respect, personal responsibility, and social accountability" (West 459). These aspects that are listed refer back to the characteristics that are also mentioned by Emerson in "Self-Reliance." The qualities of respect, responsibility, and accountability are all that were expected when man was created. When West connects these aspects to democracy, this is also when the theme of trust becomes present again. Without trusting yourself, those characteristics would most likely not be used to describe an individual. This also means that a country that lacks trust in itself and its people would not have these characteristics listed for them either. After reading both stories, it is easy to apply the example of a house foundation each one. Individually and as a country as a whole, a weak foundation is going to result in the aspects and characteristics that are not listed throughout each story. 

Our country and its people have gone through a lot within its time. Cornel West's "The Moral Obligations of Living in a Democratic Society" focuses on our society and democracy in today's world and how unstable they are. It is getting to the point where it is scary how questionable things are becoming. Ralph Waldo Emerson's "Self-Reliance" is written towards the individual person and how they view themselves. Throughout both of these stories, the theme of trust is very present. For one to have the aspects of positive virtues, values, and faith, they must trust himself/herself. Same goes for our country. Our democracy is not in its best shape, meaning that the people are showing a lack of trust in it. Just like anything, things can be ruined with negative thoughts, or they can be flourished with positive thoughts and attitudes. Man was created to do natural good for the world, not destroy it. In the past, this is what our country and people have done to one another. Even though we have overcome the worst obstacles, there is obviously still some aspects that affect our country and the people in it. While using each story to interpret one another, Emerson's and West's text share a theme of trust through the fundamentals that are exact to man and our country.

