Self-Reliance

"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what the people think." (Pg. 533 end of page)

I agree with this statement because today, doing what is popular comes before doing what is right almost all the time. People are way too concerned with what others will think and say about them instead of caring what the right choice is. I think this mostly comes from a lack of self-confidence. Especially among teenagers, your peers decide what is the cool way to act, dress, think and so on. If you don't go along with it you are considered "uncool". Being able to handle this kind of situations with aplomb is a great thing to be able to do. If everyone were to stop caring what everyone else thinks and also stopped being so judgmental towards others, everyone's lives would be assuaged.

"A great man is coming to eat at my house. I do not wish to please him: I wish that he should wish to please me." (Pg. 556- 2nd paragraph)

I think this a really powerful statement that goes against the general beliefs of today's society. Status in society is becoming out of control. It's either famous, or the general population. I think a good example of this is celebrities in society. People would do anything to meet these celebrities. They pay crazy amounts of money to see them from far away, become obsessed with them, and are always reading magazines and watching shows to hear the latest gossip on them. When a "normal" person comes into contact with a celebrity they become insane and out of control. We don't realize they are just ordinary people who make lots of money and are really snotty. They (the celebrities) believe being treated like royalty is their prerogative. They believe they are better than us and can take advantage of us. Most celebrities always expect the best from everyone and everything always has to be perfect for them.