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Ralph Waldo Emerson's Self-Reliance, a la Shmoop.

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Ah, the nineties.

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It was a simpler time, when the History Channel actually aired programming about… history.

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However, those days came to a close when producers discovered that it was possible to film unscripted

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shows on the cheap, and still get good ratings.

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Reality TV was born.

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There is one man who may be responsible for reality TV…

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…one man who might have… in a round-about way… inspired some producer to come up with

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The Real Housewives of Where-the-heck-ever.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson, we're looking at you. Emerson doesn't seem like the kind of guy

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who we would hold accountable for The Bachelorette.

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He was, after all, one of the great writers and lecturers of 19th century America.

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Emerson, however, had... views about individualism. In 1841, Emerson published his essay entitled

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Self-Reliance, where he made a few points, the first of which was… Conformity bites.

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Just be yourself!

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Emerson believed that societies force conformity on people.

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If we would just throw off the chains of social pressure and popular opinion, and be ourselves…

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…then the world would be a better place and we would not have to spend our nights

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crying into a pint of Haagen-Dazs. But what happens when Emerson's individualism

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goes wrong?

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You get reality TV, where people are paid, not to be themselves…

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…but to be the worst possible versions of themselves: stupid, cruel, petty, vulgar,

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and selfish.

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When we don't have to conform to the societal standards that help us blend in with the rest

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of humanity...

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…when we have free reign to be as awful as we want, because that's just who we are...

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…well, then you get season one of The Simple Life.

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Emerson’s second point: Friends. And no, he didn’t know Ross or Rachel personally.

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Emerson didn't believe in having friends...or maybe it's just that no one could bear to

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be friends with his fine individualistic self.

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Reality TV stars don't make friends, either.

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Why would they? Reality TV is about the conflicts between individuals who refuse to be anything

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other than themselves.

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Besties skipping through meadows full of kittens, rainbows, and Keebler elves… have no place

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on reality TV. Point three: Tact? What's that?

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Emerson said in Self-Reliance that people should always tell the truth, no matter what.

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Wow, Emerson, what a great idea...until you hurt someone's feelings so badly that they

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feel compelled to leave a bag of burning dog poo on your doorstep.

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Reality TV stars live in the same always-honest world as Emerson.

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If you're dedicated to your individualism above all else, then you can say whatever

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you want, no matter how it makes others feel. There are good things about individualism.

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We're all different people, with different talents and interests, and those differences

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make the world a more vibrant place.

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But individualism also has a dark side… kinda like the Force.

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It can make people insufferable; it can make them uninterested in friendship…

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…it can make them spew out horrible, hurtful things…

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…it can turn them into Darth Vader.

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If Emerson was a high school student, we'd have him take another look at Self-reliance...

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…after we'd forced him to watch every episode of Here Comes Honey Boo Boo and My Big Redneck

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Vacation.

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What do you think?

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Is self-reliance… really such a bad thing? Doesn’t it at least have some redeeming

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qualities?

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Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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