While it is difficult to know truth from recorded history, the study of the lives of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America appears to have been much in line with Emerson's philosophy. Very much the individuals, strong of will and thought, these intelligent and courageous men forged a Constitution for the United States that has been very successful for hundreds of years without demanding what Emerson called "the surrender of the liberty and the culture of the eater."
Under such a Constitution, there has been, indeed, a society that did NOT need or demand conformity (First Amendment) and respected the rights of every individual. It is only modern concepts of Political Correctness, etc. that demand this surrender to "conventional wisdom" and conformity. It has only been reinterpretation by the "powers that be" such as the Executive and Judicial branches of government which have taken away certain liberties and set restrictions upon organizations, companies, and sections of society. It has only been violations of the U.S. Constitution which have demanded of people that they follow a certain path.
America was once a society that did, indeed, embrace Emerson's philosophy; it only became corrupted by greed and self-serving men who violated the rights of others. The blue-print for Emerson's thought is yet under the glass in the Rotunda of the National Archives Building in Washington, D.C.
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