Love Emerson Transcendentalist

Published Date: 23 Mar 2015

The broken-hearted can only be mended by love just as only love can change a man's heart; enemies can become friends only through love just as only love can soften the hardest of hearts. In this way, Emerson, as a transcendentalist, portrays love as being a necessity in life; every man wishes, desires, to be loved. For this reason, the world would benefit from showing love to everyone as it causes mankind to care for others, to encourage joy in others. It is something that comes from deep within the soul and if the world experienced more love, humanity would be willing to expand their mind to accept the differences in others.

No matter how humans differ from each other, whether by color of skin, religion, or social status, they all deserve love. In “The Transcendentalist,” Emerson writes that human beings have a “great wish to be loved” (3). Every person wishes to be loved; they want to be desired and cared for. Erich Fromm describes love as the “only sane and satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.” If everyone felt loved and also gave that love to everyone else, the world would be crime-free. Hate crimes, thefts, murders, and even suicides would not occur; it would be ridiculous to hurt the ones we love. People would see each other as equals—black, white, brown, red and yellow would be seen all the same as they are loved. There would be no need to prosecute those with different belief systems—the world would be willing to understand them because of the love they share; burglaries would not occur because the affluent would care enough to give those less fortunate the money they needed; there would be no killing because no one wants to kill the ones they love; and there would be no suicides because they would be loved—and to be loved is a feeling that suppresses all depressed and melancholy feelings. Without love, the existence of humanity would be pointless, as “a life without love” (Emerson 4) is “an activity without an aim” (Emerson 4). Old or young, poor or rich, all mankind deserves to be loved.

Love pours out from our spirits causing others to feel the happiness we bestow upon them. However this love only works if we love everyone and accept their differences. “When it [the soul] flows through his affection, it is love” (Over-soul 2). If the world allowed their souls to show, love would flow and affections would be shown. However, we cannot allow ourselves to get caught up with the differences of others but accept them for who they are. Emerson writes, “if you can love me for what I am, we shall be the happier” (Self-Reliance 6). If the world loved everyone for whom they are, color and religion pushed aside, happiness would come forth, bringing about even more feelings of affection. The world needs this love because everyone should have the opportunity to feel loved and to feel joy. If we let this love flow from within us, we have allowed others to be shown the love we feel for them. This causes them to feel pleasure at being loved, and makes them forget about their race and their religion.

Without love humanity is nothing; we feel nothing and care about nothing. Even though in the world, there is love, it is important to show our love to others; we need to increase the amount of love in the world so that others feel accepted and welcomed. Transcendentalists believe in individuality and originality—instead of treating others differently because everyone else does, the world needs to rise above and love them just as they love themselves. This way we can treat everyone with the same respect and give them the love they deserve; the love that every man desires. Through love, we can change the world.