Are you a Transcendentalist?

When it comes to transcendentalism, I believe that it relates to the idea that someone is rebelling against a social norm, creating a sort of situation that doesn't necessarily have to be there; yet, people are speaking about what they truly believe in, so it is a situation that they personally think is worth their time and effort.  The mind of an individual is a complex thing and no one has the right to say what is right and what is wrong considering everyone has a different way of thinking about things.  I think transcendentalism has both it's strengths and weaknesses, but depending on what side you are taking-- for or against the rebellion-- what you see as strengths may be viewed as weaknesses to someone else.  Transcendentalism involves putting yourself out there and getting involved.  You can't expect someone to act upon an issue for you, so I think one of the strengths this brings is it makes people show who they truly are due to them expressing their morals, values, and beliefs while taking a stance on an issue.  Now, with speaking up against something considered normal, there can come conflict that could potentially lead to a bigger problem, which would show that their are weaknesses that come out because of this.

I think that people taking care of themselves and not letting others tell them what to do or what to believe is something I would agree with when it comes to transcendentalism.  I don't like people telling me how to think or what is considered okay and what is not, so it is nice to know that others have those opinions too.  On that note, sometimes there are situations where I would rather follow along with what has always been done.  I feel there are times were it is not worth the effort to "rebel" and find I would rather stick with the norm.  This doesn't mean I would stick with something I feel is morally wrong, it simply means I'd rather take a step back in situations where the outcome wouldn't drastically change depending on which way I went with it.

In the end, I wouldn't consider myself that much of a transcendentalist, which I don't find to be a bad thing.  I am not one to express my opinion in such a way that would create conflict, so I wouldn't put myself out there as much as others might.  I like to take into consideration how other people feel on an idea before I just take off with my own, which I think goes against what transcendentalism is.  Just because I am not as outward with my opinions as others doesn't make me any less of a leader per say, it simply means I take a different type of tone when going about certain things.