What, in your opinion, is the message of Emerson's essay "Self-Reliance"?

In his essay, “Self-Reliance,” Ralph Waldo Emerson focuses
on the benefits of the individual that relies on him- or herself, rather than
exclusively upon the opinions of others.  Emerson regards modern, city-dwelling society
as a culture of followers who seldom think for themselves.  Instead, humanity today is
easily convinced by the opinions of religious and political
leaders.

The central message here is that this
type of reliance on others rather than the self and one’s own judgment is fundamentally
dangerous to the individual and ultimately to the whole of society as well.  A lack of
self-reliance means a lack of critical thinking.  This means that, whoever has the
strongest and most eloquently stated opinion, regardless of its content, is the most
respected leader of the time.

Society, its
development, and its very future then depend on these strongly stated opinions,
regardless of their validity or lack thereof.  This lack of critical thinking becomes
evident in social ills such as prejudice, which is based on fear rather than
knowledge.

Emerson’s message is that the
individual should retrieve a sense of critical thinking.  This would create better
judgment and ultimately a healthier future for all human beings, rather than the few
with opinions that are strongly stated, but not necessarily
valid.