I have a English literature friend who I have occasion to banter with (it is the same friend whom I took under my wing to teach her the finer aspects of "The Anti-Secret"). She recently posted this quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson on her facebook page. "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. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs." My witty remark to her was "And what of the tragedy of the commons?" It is, of course, the dichotomy of the human spirit -doing what is better for humanity versus doing what is best for me. Both exist to some degree in every person -the balance of which will determine the degree of success of that member within the whole. We are a social species. You cannot remove a man from society and expect him to be successful anymore than you can remove a bee from the hive and expect it to survive. Self reliance is a fanciful escape from being a member of the hive. Yet we are not bees. We are born within the society but we are beautiful individuals, with individual dreams and fears. We live our own lives. We give to society, we take from it as well, but in the end we determine our own fate. As such our society cannot survive under a purely communist creed. Self reliance, therefore, is not a taboo, but a virtue -when well balanced.
To my wit she replied, "I always think of self-reliance in terms of thought. Finding your own path in terms of thoughts and beliefs is essential to strengthening the commons. Everyone can't be a shepherd, but the world currently has far too many sheep." -Melanie Dawn Watson
Very well said.
