"The American Scholar"

Ralph Waldo Emerson's argument from "The American Scholar" about American society is still valid today.

People in American society allow others to think for them, which has caused it to continually degrade. "In the degenerate state, when the victim of society, he tends to become a mere thinker, or still worse, the parrot of other men's thinking." (Emerson). They have failed to let their voice be heard, because one man believes that their single opinion will not have an over-all impact on the outcome of society. This is one of the main problem's with society in America today. Americans no longer speak out against things that they believe are unethical in fear of getting publicly ridiculed.

The civilians in America, men in particular, who are skilled in many fields often get favored and, in turn, achieve a higher position on society's social ladder. Not to say that they don't work for it, but they tend to be perceived as being more intellectually advanced, as opposed to a man who is highly specialized in a single skill. "Him Nature solicits with all her placid, all her monitory picture; him the past instructs; him the future invites." (Emerson). These people, in particular, are favored throughout their whole lives, ever since they were little kids playing on the playground.