Thoreau?

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer." -Henry David Thoreau

Why is it that you look around school and the streets and any building to see everyone dressed and acting the same (with a few exceptions)? There is a steady beat of the drum that most people follow and that is conformity to the natural laws of society. However, there is a separate drum, with an entrancing twitch that lures you into nonconformity if you aren't careful. Because in this society, nonconformity is seen as dangerous. In my mind, it is seen as partial freedom. I have a difficult time grasping the concept of freedom and free; freedom is an illusion (Skinner). This represents the individual who has broken free from the ropes which has bound his hands and feet and left behind scars on his neck and chest. This is the individual who has stepped off the chalky white line he or she follows to their "ultimate destiny."

I have heard the enchanting drum before and I am waiting until it beats again close to my ear so I can make the move for good off of my line.


Who is Thoreau? Of course I know who he was. But who is he? We study him, learn of Walden and the transcendental concepts. Everything he wrote and studied has been refined to fit the needs of the modern world, but what if his raw thought were to be exposed? There is more to these divine lovers of nature than we could have any possible idea.

Thoreau is cliche. He is overread and overanalyzed by the english teachers. He wanted simplicity, "keep your accounts on your thumbnail." He never would have wanted his views of life and experience to cause such a stress in any one's life. Not that studying philosophy is stressful in the least bit, but (again it comes back to the english teachers...) picking apart every word for a hidden meaning that, with Thoreau at least, could very possibly not be there, is almost a waste of time and insightful literature.

It is already happening now. What will become of our fellow transcendentalists when nature is no more? When the industrialized world consumes every last inch of the earth, where will our connection to the natural world be? It is already tainted and will become more and more poisoned until all natural beauty is sucked away from the planet. That day will surely be a shame for each who was living in it. The sad part is, I do not doubt that it will happen.