Quiet Desperation

Henry David Thoreau wrote: “Most men lead lives of quiet desperation and go to the grave with the song still in them.” After reflecting on these provocative words by one of America’s foremost philosophers, I can relate and attest to the reality they convey and the wisdom they imply. 

The great majority of people in this world live in abject poverty. Their daily lives are focused on those activities most important to their meager sustenance. Thus, they live in “quiet desperation,” surviving stoically from day to day.

The United States certainly offers more opportunities for prosperity than do most countries. That has been our country’s strength and attraction. It is the reason this country has been populated by various diverse ethnic groups. Over the more than two centuries of our existence, many have immigrated willingly and some unwillingly. Most of the current population, though, were born here.

Contrary to popular belief, most citizens never attain the grand American dream of wealth and prosperity and few achieve the lofty goal of self-sufficiency. Even the relatively fortunate few that do, often lead the lives of which Thoreau wrote. Despite their wealth, prosperity and self-sufficiency, many lack a sense of peaceful contentment that cannot be found in material wealth and security. Thoreau’s comment then isn’t concerned necessarily with material affluence. After all, he himself was not affluent. Instead, his words speak to the inner man, the soul of whom cries out in hope for a peace that comes from doing that which the inner person desires and not that which the external forces in one’s life demand.

How many people labor in jobs they despise? How many Americans are trapped in careers because of the time and effort they have invested in a corporation? How many have climbed the ladder of success so much so that their pay and benefits are chains that bind them in voluntary servitude to their employers? They cannot pursue their dreams for fear of losing most, if not all, of their fleeting security.

In all likelihood the numbers of people who are restricted by their current positions are in the majority. They report to work each day. They play the role of a good soldier. They may be content with their pay and benefits but their hearts are elsewhere, in a place perhaps they have dreamed of for ten, twenty, thirty years. They are trapped ambivalently by an abiding desire for security.