In Kingsolver's "Somebody's Baby," she discusses how children are perceived in our society. While in America, her daughter is better seen and not heard. But in the Canary Islands her daughter is beheld as a precious jewel, one that needs to be protected and admired by all.  One could easily  define the philosophy toward children in the Canary Islands as "it takes a village to raise a child" and the philosophy in America as "every family for themselves."  Kingsolver has defended both philosophies with personal experiences. I personally agree with the statement of American philosophy, but having lack of experience with the Canary Islands, I cannot defend that philosophy. In America, children are considered tolerable, but few people want to help them and their families survive. Most citizens are to preoccupied with their own lives and problems to understand that children need our help, and their parents do as well. I feel as though this problem has gotten better though since Hide Tide Tuscon was published in 1995. Projects like "Let's Move" led by Michelle Obama, Play 60 led by the NFL, and the National School Lunch Program all are working to better the health and well-being of America's youth. Although the "every family for themselves" mentality still exists, America is working to provide for its children and their health.
 
  This Pinterest Board is a grouping of pins that show things I find beautiful in nature, my own transcendentalism bulletin board.

     http://pinterest.com/gilliwright101/my-transcendentalism-board/ 
 
   Henry David Thoreau was well-known for many things, from being a transcendentalist, the main philosophy of Walden, to a follower of civil disobedience  But I would like to discuss Thoreau as a abolitionist and that idea in Economy. As an abolitionist, Thoreau mainly focused on fighting the Fugitive Slave Law in lectures and pushing "the writings of Wendell Phillips." ("Henry David Thoreau")  Thoreau's passion for abolitionism clearly shows in "Economy." Now, in Walden, Thoreau boldly addresses the issue of slavery. For Thoreau's time , his writings on abolitionism were quite radical. In "Economy," Thoreau discusses abolitionism in a very frank manner, calling "Negro Slavery" "gross" and "frivolous" and a "foreign form of servitude." This means that while Thoreau didn't disclaim all types of slavery, he did disclose those types based on racism. Thus he wanted the immediate emancipation of African American slaves. One quote that really exemplifies the feelings of Thoreau about abolitionism is "What a man thinks of himself, that it is which determines, or rather indicates, his fate." The quote shows that Thoreau believes that a slave's personal opinion of  himself  should be more important than society's stereotypical view of slavery. So, the slave should not be bound by slavery but free to form his opinion of himse

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