I'm really wrestling with this editorial. As a devout Emersonian – there's some additional reflections on America's edict of 'Self Reliance- – http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/magazine/riff-ralph-waldo-emerson.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss
The Foul Reign of Emerson’s ‘Self-Reliance’
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s famous call to independent thinking gave rise to every faddish movement in America, from birthers to Etsy to “Blink.” But enough is enough.