Andrews 1

Avery Andrews
Molly Fenn
HP English 4
19 October 2015
Emerson for President?
Right now, one big thing on many Americans mind is the upcoming Presidential
Election. This means that there is a constant feed of different candidates ideas on policies and
social issues. One of the biggest topics is the environment. Whether or not we as humans should
be protecting the environment is a debate that has gone on for centuries. Over 150 years ago, the
transcendentalist movement put a large focus on nature and gave new perspectives on the issue,
that continue to thrive today. Mankind does have a responsibility to protect nature because we
are part of nature. It brings many people spiritual connection and emotional healing, so by
protecting it, we are simultaneously helping ourselves.
Many consider humans to be unnatural, as if we arent part of Earths evolution. But in
reality, mankind went through all of the same processes of evolution that every other living
creature on Earth did. So we are a part of nature, and some go further to argue that we are even
one with nature. Ralph Waldo Emerson was one of the most influential writers of the
transcendentalist movement. In his most prominent work, Nature, Emerson illustrates a
connection he feels: Standing on the bare ground--my head bathed by the blithe air, and uplifted
into infinite space--all mean egotism vanishes. I become a transparent eyeball. I am nothing. I
see all. The currents of the Universal Being circulate through me (Nature, p.4). When he
emerses himself in nature, he is able to feel things that are beyond that of a humans five senses.
By connection with Nature, he becomes one with Nature, and experience life through its

Andrews 2
perspective. Emerson also argued that the greatest delight of nature is the suggestion of an
occult relation between man and the vegetable, (Nature, p.5). He goes on to say that the power
to produce this delight, does not reside in nature, but in man, or in a harmony of both. (Nature,
p.6) He believes that the greatest thing nature has to offer is the connection between it and man,
and that its not natures responsibility to create this connection, but the responsibility of man.
Faith is something completely natural for any human, its in our nature (pun intended).
Because there are innumerable breathtaking views, horizons and landscapes, echoing and distant
sounds, and vast diversity nature holds, many believe that it could not be the work of science, but
of God. Many also believe that in some cases, nature is their temple, a place where one can
communicate or connect with their God(s). In transcendentalist writings, some take up the topic
of religion strongly, while others seem to ignore the topic all together. Ralph Waldo Emersons
Nature creates clear concepts of religion and nature. He describes stars as heavenly worlds
(Nature, p.1), and calls the woods plantations of God (Nature, p.4). This suggests that God
created these treasures, so by experiencing them, you are experiencing Gods creations. If thats
not literal enough, he later goes on to say that the happiest man is he who learns from nature the
lesson of worship, in Chapter 7 of the essay. Emerson also describes the ways that nature makes
him feel part or particle of God, when he is standing on the bare ground.head bathed by
blithe air (Nature, p.5).
Religion is a topic also taken on by Christopher McCandless, the focal point of Jon
Krakauers Into the Wild. The book (and film) tell the true story of the college-grad who
ventured from Georgia across the US, living a simple life, going by the fake name of
Alexander Supertramp. He was largely influenced by the writings of Henry David Thoreau and
John Muir. He ultimately made it to rural Alaska, where he found a Magic Bus and was able to

Andrews 3
live off the land for nine weeks, before passing due to starvation. While on his journey, Chris met
an old man named Ron. He stayed with Ron for a while, and they became very close. Ron was
struggling with the loneliness that often comes along with old age, and Chris told him that [he
was] wrong if [he thought] joy emanates only or principally from human relationships. God has
placed it all around us. Chris is suggesting that God put joy in nature, purposefully. Again, this
forges the notion that experiencing nature will immerse you in Gods creations. Worship is an
extremely important part of many peoples lives and well beings, and many find God in the
temple that is nature, so to destroy it would be equal to destroying a church or a synagogue.
Natures simplicities and complexities give many people emotional happiness and
healing. Its diversity appeals to the diverse backgrounds of mankind making it enjoyable for
everyone in one way or another. The poem Lines: Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey
by William Wordsworth speaks of Wordsworths return to Tintern after five years [had] past,
five summers, with the length of five long winters! (Tintern Abbey, p.235 l.1) Throughout the
poem he speaks of nature using blissful vocabulary such as tranquil (p.235 l.30), and longing
tone, that create the impression that he missed nature, and that it brought him great joy.
One of the most well known transcendentalists was Henry David Thoreau, author of
Walden and Civil Disobedience. His great feat was to live in a Cabin next to Walden Pond,
Massachusetts for two years, living off the land. He believed that stripping his life down to the
bare essentials would help him to live deliberately on his quest to live a full life. Without all of
the unnecessary facts of life, it would open up his life and mind to whatever nature had to teach
him. He also admired nature for its simplicity, which is why he was so drawn to immersing
himself in it. In the second chapter of Walden,--the story of his years at Walden Pond-Thoreau says, Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature, and not be thrown off the track by

Andrews 4
every nutshell and mosquitos wing that falls onto the rails (Walden, ch.2 p.22). By this he
means that nature doesn't let insignificant things like nutshells and mosquito wings put him off
track form is path in life, and if people were able to do this, our lives would be far more stable
and structured, allowing us to achieve our goals more easily. Thoreau believes that we should see
nature as a role model, and try to model our lives off of how nature functions. If the destruction
of nature continues, it will take away billions of peoples safe havens, and crush the happiness it
brings these people.
A popular perspective on this debate is the conservationist perspective, which views
nature as a resource for all of mankinds institutions. A conservationist believes that unlimited
use of the resource is justified, as long as it does not impede future generations use. This
concept is modeled around the myth that nature was created solely for mankind. It does not take
into consideration the fact that there many other benefits we can retain from nature, or the idea
that not everything must please or give to mankind. Nature and humans harmony and
relationship does not in fact reside in the hands of nature, but in the hands of humans. This
conflict has spanned for centuries, including large scale environmental debates such as the Hetch
Hetchy Dam Debate, which John Muir protested profusely, as well as modern day discussions
about the rapidly changing climate, and the pollution that infests our oceans and skies.
Historic transcendentalist authors such as Emerson and Thoreau, and new age
transcendentalists like Christopher McCandless would agree that nature and humans are one, and
that it should be one of our utmost priorities to protect the environment. The great John Muir
once said, God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a
thousand straining, leveling tempests and floods; but he cannot save them from fools. If only
thing God cant save the trees from are fools, let us not be the fools he speaks of, and take action

Andrews 5
to protect the nature that has helped us so selflessly, so that it may continue to do so for
generations ahead. Candidates like Clinton, Sanders, and Bush have been going to scientists for
explanations tailored to support each of their opinions, when they should have been pursuing
their personal libraries to gain knowledge from the words of Thoreau and Emerson all along.

Works Cited
Emerson, Ralph Waldo. Nature. Holt Literature & Language Arts. Ed. Kylene Beers and Lee
Odell. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003. 182-184 Print.
Thoreau, Henry David. Walden. Holt Literature & Language Arts. Ed. Kylene Beers and Lee
Odell. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003. 193-204. Print.
Wordsworth, William. Lines Written a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey. Romanticism: An
Anthology. Ed. Duncan Wu. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998. 78. Print.

Andrews 6
Into the Wild. Dir. Sean Penn. Perf. Emile Hirsch, Vince Vaughn, and Catherine Keener.
Paramount Vantage, 2007. DVD.
Muir, John. Our National Parks Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1901. Chapter 10. Print.