Walden Essay

    “Let us spend one day as deliberately as Nature…” (Thoreau 493) were words of transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau was a firm believer in transcendentalism, a practice that’s core belief is that man should be one with natur4e and live life simply. In 1845, Thoreau ventured into the woods for a two year isolation period. He returned to society a wiser man in 1847, but many were very skeptical of his beliefs. He believed that with the progress of man would come the destruction of nature. Thoreau lived during the Age of Reform, a time where industrialism in America was rising, but he could never have foreseen the progress the human race would have in the modern age. Men such as Thoreau may argue that progress is the support of destruction, but without progression man can have no hope of gaining more knowledge and opportunities.
        With every reaction there is a counter-reaction, progress’s is destruction. There is no doubt there cannot be progress without some minute form of destruction. Even Thoreau himself had to destroy a piece of land, no matter how small, in order to progress in his philosophy and literature. Thoreau believed that in the future, industry would take over and the forests would be cut down to expand the growth of American cities. Contrary to this, as industry increased there was destruction, but with every tree cut a new tree would grow in its place. The cycle of life goes as such that with everything that is removed from its place on the planet, another object will take its place. Man must progress, and if the price is as small as minor destruction then the opportunity of progress should be taken. Only with slight destruction can humans expand and grow in their knowledge.
       As manufacturing grows globally, there is an increased demand for better products. There is also an inward competition to produce the best goods the quickest. This causes man to push against his creative and intellectual boundaries. Always doing this allows humans to produce such products as smart phones and I-pods which in modern society are considered a “necessity.”

I-pod

Although a simpler, non-materialistic life would be easier, items that have recently been released increase productivity in the average American. Laptops and smart phones have allowed people around the globe to talk daily, eliminating location barriers, and trade thoughts and ideas. What a teenager in America posts on Twitter can affect what actions a rebellion group in Libya takes. Progress allows people of all countries and backgrounds to expand their thoughts and grow, which also opens more doors for their futures.

         Progress is the key to opportunities otherwise not available to certain groups of people. If America had not progressed, neither women nor African Americans would have acquired the right to vote. Progress such as this is a perfect example of opportunities that can become available. Likewise, with new factories and companies created, more jobs are created. Though forests are cleared, people and their necessities are more important than the few trees, that can be replanted, that are destroyed. Without opportunities, people would never aspire to better themselves. They would have no incentive to better themselves and they should not have one if there is no reward for doing so.

         Finding the morale of progress is very difficult. Thoreau once said “We think that that is which appears to be” (Thoreau 493). This explains progress quite precisely. On the surface, progress seems only positive, but in the center destruction is a major component of progress. The decision of whether progress is good or bad can only be determined by weighing what people will gain compared to what they will lose. Progress has its downside, destruction alone, but when against all of the possibilities progress holds destruction seems very minute. Without progress, man and society would regress. Whether good or bad, for certain progress is more than just progress. Progress is not just destruction or expansion, progress is hope. Hope for a better life, hope for a chance to have a say. Progress is the hope for a better future.

 What is Progress?