I love when assignments get me thinking...

Ok, so in my World Lit. class we have to read some essay/stories/reading material and then comment on it. I had to read a chapter I guess it was called 'Solitude' from I guess it was the book Walden (sorry, I'd give more info if you were interested and ask). Anyway, I'm a bit proud of my answer/comment, so I thought I'd post it for the 'world' to see:
Q#5 on Solitude (from Walden)
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My favorite quote from this reading was
“Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other. We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are. We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that we need not come to open war. We meet at the post-office, and at the sociable, and about the fireside every night; we live thick and are in each other's way, and stumble over one another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another. Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important and hearty communications. Consider the girls in a factory--never alone, hardly in their dreams. It would be better if there were but one inhabitant to a square mile, as where I live.”

I thought that adequately explained how I feel a lot of the times. I do like people, but generally I’d rather they didn’t get too close. Don’t crowd me. Don’t be false with me, and don’t try to be honest with me because society doesn’t permit it. Unless you’re the best of friends with someone, which it is hard to become in a short period of time that we meet new people (such as at parties), the politeness, the engrained etiquette and the hiding of one’s true feelings and opinions is almost unconsciously done. We avoid saying things so we don’t hurt feelings, so “that we need not come to open war”. Yes, I enjoy being around people sometimes, but I will not usually ask how you are because the general “I’m okay, how are you?” is not honest, and is a waste of breath. You don’t really care how I am, except in a general ‘I want everyone to be happy and no harm to come to them’ type of way that most people feel for each other, as I do for you.

Now back to the essay/story… This really struck a chord in me, and while I wasn’t quite aware that I felt this strongly about the things I said until I started typing them and the words flowed, I’m glad I read it so I could get it off my chest.

I don’t hate or even dislike people. I just hate the falseness that society sometimes demands.