Emerson's Self-Reliance

How does (and should) a person define his/her place in society? (what does Emerson mean by "society" anyhow?)

According to Ralph Waldo Emerson, a person should define them selves as nonconformists in society. "It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion' it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." (pg. 23) This quote is saying that it is so easy to be a follower, so most of the world becomes followers out of convenience. In order to become a leader, a person has to want to change and go against the crowd so that he or she will stand out as a leader. A person should define themselves as nonconformists because conforming to society is just taking the easy way out and usually not listening to his or her true opinions. Everyone is able to fit in and go along with the group standard, and that is why standing out is unique and challenging. If a person stands out, he or she will show society that going against the social norm is acceptable. A person should not define themselves based on how others define themselves, a person should define themselves based on their own unique thoughts and opinions.

9/11 Quran Burnings and the 1st Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
— The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

According to the article, "Quran-burning on again, off again", a small church in Florida is planning on burning copies of the Islam holy book, the Quran, in order to protest plans of building a mosque near ground zero in New York.
I think that this planned protest is wrong. Even though a Muslim was to blame for the Sept. 11th attacks, the Muslims who want to build the mosque are completely different people who happen to practice the same religion as the terrorists. They are being scapegoated for something that they had no part in, so they should be granted the freedom to do what they need in order to practice their religion freely in the United States, just as Jews and Christians have the right to do.
Burning the Quran is not a way for the Florida church to protest because it is showing a complete disrespect for the Islam religion, which will make the Muslim people even more outraged and unwilling to make a comprimise with the church. The church should put themselves in the Muslim people's shoes and think about what it would be like if a group went against them and burned the Bible.
The two groups need to make a comprimise or work out their issues, and the way to do that is not to disrespect eachother and show hatred towards one another.

The American Crisis - Thomas Paine

The main idea of this passage was that Paine believed that Americans were being to forgiving of the British and did not understand that the conditions in America would only worsen. Paine was prepared to take on the challenges that they would need to face in order to fight the British, but he needed to get the rest of the colonies to agree with his plan. He talked about how the British treat the American people like slaves, binding them to taxes and other laws that were only created to inconvenience the colonies. Paine wants the entire country to realize that in order to stop the British from binding them furthur, they would all need to work together to fight them off and stand up for their colonies and potential independence. Paine also made many references to God in this passage. He believed that God will give the reward or punishment that people deserve, and if they fight the British and stand up for their rights, God will reward them. He wants the people to start taking action instead of just talking about taking action. "The far and the near, the home counties and the back, the rich and poor, will suffer or rejoice alike." In this quote, Paine is saying that America is one group together and no matter where you stand in society, you are still American and should have equal rights and equally contribute to freeing the colonies. When Paine said, "...but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves his conduct, will pursue his principles unto death," his words reminded me of when Patrick Henry said, "Give me liberty or give me death." Both leaders were willing to sacrifice their lives for the good of their country.