12ARaymond

Transcendentalism Wiki


 * Twentieth Century Events Influenced by Transcendentalism **

2011 Egyptian Revolution

 Hasni Mubarak became the president of Egypt following the assassination of President Anwar El Sadat. Mubarak and his National Democratic Party (NPR) maintained a one-party rule for 30 years because of a declared, continuous state of emergency. Under the state of emergency demonstrations were prohibited, newspapers were censored, personal communications were monitored, and indefinitely could be detained without a charge. People became tired of the lack of democracy, political suppression, which sometimes involved torture, corruption on all levels, an increase in poverty and unemployment, inflation, and educational deterioration.  Protests started on January 25, 2011. The movement was started by the youth, people of all social classes without a distinct leader, party, or group. It united Muslims and Christians residing in the area. The demands of the people were the immediate resignation of President Mubarak, formation of a temporary people government without the NPR followed by transparent elections, termination of the emergency law and the release of detainees and demonstrators, punishment for people that were held accountable, and freedom of expression and rights. Thousands took to the streets, the first protest since the 1970s. All demonstrations were peaceful. Twitter was used by organizers to coordinate protests, and the government responded by blocking it. This only enraged the citizens and brought increased national attention to the uprising.  Egypt proceeded to block Facebook, and the riot police took to the streets. Hundreds were arrested and injured with batons and tear gas water cannons. The largest protests were planned for Friday. The government responded by blocking all Internet services and text messaging in the country. Protesters and journalists still found alternate ways of getting online and posting information. After a long silence, President Mubarak appeared on state television and announced he would be dismissing the government but not resigning. Around 365 people have been killed and 5,500 wounded due to the violence. The protests saw a fierce clash between demonstrators and security forces. More than 24,000 Egyptian workers walked out of their jobs, defying the Supreme Council of the Armed forces. The protesters demanded the military hand power over to the civil government. Two weeks after the initial protest President Mubarak resigned. There is now a new hope for democracy and freedom.

This is an example of nonviolent resistance. The people saw a problem and knew it needed to be changed. Like Thoreau these people were willing to be imprisoned. They even took it a step further and took beatings. Some were even killed. In Thoreau's Civil Disobedience he stated, "The only obligation which I have a right to assume, is to do at any time what I think right." The Egyptian people were stripped of their rights. They had a right to overthrow the government that was suppressing them. Thoreau says it is the duty of the people to do what they think is morally right. In fact, in places like these the right place for a just man is prison. The people banned together and made a point even if they have to suffer. They eventually got their point across and are working on installing a new and improved government.


 * For More Information: **

[|Egypt: What Now?]

[|Background of the Times]

Muhammad Ali



<span style="color: #f6652b; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Muhammad Ali is a former American boxer and former three-time World Heavyweight Champion. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Olympics in Rome. His original name is Cassius Clay. He changed his name to Muhammad Ali, when he joined the Nation of Islam in 1964. Due to his beliefs he had a strong opposition to the Vietnam War, he refused to be conscripted by the U.S. Army. On August 23,1966, Muhammad Ali applied with the Selective Service for conscientious objector status on religious grounds. He was denied of the status. When he got his draft notice, he took a physical exam and cooperated until it was time to take the Army Oath. He refused, saying, "I ain't got no quarrel with them Vietcong." A month later an all-white jury found him guilty of draft evasion, and Ali was imprisoned. This led to the stripping of his boxing title and the suspension of his boxing license. He was not imprisoned, but did not box for nearly four years. Ali's willingness to speak out against racism and the affect it had on domestic and foreign policy earned him many supporters. His appeal finally made it up the the Supreme Court, where it was successful. He officially converted to Islam in 1975.

<span style="color: #f6652b; font-family: Georgia,serif;">Muhammad Ali faced an injustice and fought it. He believed the Vietcong had done him no wrong, and he had faced more racial prejudice from "white slave masters". Not only was he imprisoned, he was stripped of his boxing license. His entire career and identify was based on his boxing license. Ali continued to fight. He gained support and used his dilemma to speak out against racism. The transcendentalist characteristic that is demonstrated here is standing up for what you believe in. Ali had a moral issue with fighting because of his religious background. He even tried reasoning with his draft selection by applying for conscientious objector, but he was denied. When asked to take the oath, Ali didn't lie or conform to what he didn't believe in. He simply stated I am not going to fight the Vietcong. This is an example of nonviolent resistance. Ralph Waldo Emerson once stated, "Do not follow where the path my lead. Go, instead, where there is no path and leave a trail. When Ali was stripped of all he knew, he didn't back down. He got back up and inspired a others to follow him and stand out against racism. <span style="color: #f6652b; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Thoreau stated, "Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around." Believing in yourself and what you do is the groundwork on how to inspire others and become a leader.

<span style="color: #f6652b; font-family: Georgia,serif;">**For more information**:

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|CLAY, aka ALI v. UNITED STATES]

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[|Ali's Official Website]


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 150%;">Transcendentalism in Popular Culture **


 * <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">"Stand" by Rascal Flatts **

<span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">You feel like a candle in a hurricane <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Just like a picture with a broken frame <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Alone and helpless <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Like you've lost your fight <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">But you'll be alright, you'll be alright

<span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[Chorus:] <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Cause when push comes to shove <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">You taste what you're made of <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">You might bend, till you break <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Cause its all you can take <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">On your knees you <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">media type="youtube" key="G_Vzpjv_kR4" height="258" width="376" align="right" <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">look up <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Decide you've had enough <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">You get mad you get strong <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Wipe your hands shake it off <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Then you Stand, Then you stand

<span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Life's like a novel <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">With the end ripped out <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">The edge of a canyon <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">With only one way down <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Take what you're given before its gone <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Start holding on, keep holding on

<span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[Chorus]

<span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Every time you get up <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">And get back in the race <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">One more small piece of you <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Starts to fall into place <span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Oh

<span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">[Repeat Chorus]

<span style="color: #60f740; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Rascal Flatts song demonstrates a lot of optimism and standing uo for what you believe in. This song is about facing the difficulties of life and being able to get back up. In Emerson's Self-Reliance he says, "Trust thyself." You have to do what you believe in. This relates to the lines, "Decide you've had enough; you get mad you get strong; wipe your hands shake it off." You rely on what you think is right, and then you make your statements and stand up for yourself." You learn to trust what you think and develop your opinions, which evolves into who you are. In Emerson's Self-Reliance he also states, "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." People may be pushed to their limits and "bent 'til they break", but the courageous get up and fight. A person may feel helpless or at a point where all the only way to go is down. Optimism is show in those who continue to get up and "Stand" even when the ending is bleak.


 * <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">"It's My Life" by Bon Jovi **<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;"> [[image:it-s-my-life-bon-jovi-4284164.jpg width="336" height="377" align="right"]]

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">This ain't a song for the brokenhearted <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">No silent prayer for the faith departed <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">And I ain't gonna be just a face in the crowd <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">You're gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">It's my life <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">It's now or never <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I ain't gonna live forever <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I just wanna live while I'm alive

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">(It's my life) <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">My heart is like an open highway <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Like Frankie said, "I did it my way" <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I just wanna live while I'm alive <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">'Cause it's my life

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">This is for the ones who stood their ground <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">For Tommy and Gina who never backed down <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Tomorrow's getting harder, make no mistake <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Luck ain't even lucky, gotta make your own breaks <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">media type="youtube" key="vx2u5uUu3DE" height="254" width="313" align="right" <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">It's my life <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">And it's now or never <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I ain't gonna live forever <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I just wanna live while I'm alive <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">(It's my life) <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">My heart is like an open highway <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Like Frankie said, "I did it my way" <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I just wanna live while I'm alive <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">'Cause it's my life

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">You better stand tall <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">When they're calling you out <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Don't bend, don't break <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Baby, don't back down

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">It's my life <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">It's now or never <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">'Cause I ain't gonna live forever <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I just wanna live while I'm alive

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">(It's my life) <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">My heart is like an open highway <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Like Frankie said, "I did it my way" <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I just wanna live while I'm alive

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">(It's my life) <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">And it's now or never <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I ain't gonna live forever <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I just wanna live while I'm alive

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">(It's my life) <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">My heart is like an open highway <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Like Frankie said, "I did it my way" <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">I just wanna live while I'm alive <span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">'Cause it's my life!

<span style="color: #2b95f0; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">This song demonstrates several transcendentalist qualities. Bon Jovi wrote about noncomformity, optimism, and self-reliance. "I just want to live my life alive." I think this is similar to Emerson's quote in Self-Reliance, "Imitation is suicide" and "Envy is ignorance". Both mean you have to be your own person and do what you want to do in life. Even if it means breaking away from the norms. It's your life. Live the way you want to live. The noncomformity comes in the line "I did it my way." Self-reliance and noncomforomity are all about standing your ground. This song is not for the weak-minded, the fearful, or the faithless. It's for the people who stand up for themselves even when times get rough. The optimism comes in when it's hard and knowing you're going to get through it. People don't live forever. It's about making the best of a situation while you're alive.


 * <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 130%;">Works Cited **

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Bon Jovi, Jon; Martin, Max; Sambora, Richard S. "IT'S MY LIFE Lyrics - BON JOVI." Song Lyrics. ELyrics.net. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <[]>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">"Conformity Quotes, Sayings about Nonconformity, Thinking for Yourself, Peer Pressure." The Quote Garden - Quotes, Sayings, Quotations, Verses. N.p., 9 Sept. 2010. Web. 18 Mar. 2011. < http://www.quotegarden.com/conformity.html >.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Emerson, Waldo. "Self-Reliance." __Elements of Literature__. Austin: Holt, Reinhart, and Winston, Inc.: 1989. Print.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">"It's My Life - Bon Jovi - Songs That Match My Mood." Hunch. Hunch Inc. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <[]>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Kanalley, Craig. "Egypt Revolution 2011: A Complete Guide To The Unrest." Breaking News and Opinion on The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com Inc., 30 Jan. 2011. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <[]>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">"Muhammad Ali." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, 8 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. <[]>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Rascal Flatts. "RASCAL FLATTS LYRICS - Stand." A-Z Lyrics Universe. AZlyrics.com, 2000-2011. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. < [] >.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Schladweiler, Kief. "Muhammad Ali." African-American Involvement in the Vietnam War. N.p. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. < [] >.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Thoreau, Henry David. "Thoreau's Civil Disobedience - with Annotated Text." The Thoreau Reader. Richard Lenat. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <[]>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">Todd. "Rascal Flatts Lyrics." Music Lyrics, Charts, Games, & More. N.p. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. <[]>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">"Youth Revolution of Egypt, 2011: Background." Scribd. Scribd Inc. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;"><[]>.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 110%;">"YouTube - Music." YouTube - Broadcast Yourself. Youtube Inc. Web. 09 Mar. 2011. <[]>.