It was sparked by reading Darwin's The Voyage of the Beagle. It was fed by disgust at the smallness of the vision of our elected leaders. It was watered by anger that no one seems willing to say what needs to be said: We are a people for whom every challenge is an opportunity. Even with no guarantees, we have always been a people who moved forward, hoping against hope that the future in ten, or fifty, or a hundred years would prove our faith.
From beginning to end:
Part I: In A Minor Key
Part II: The American Soul
Part III: The Great Divide
Part IV: How Firm A Foundation
Part V: "An Acme Of Things Accomplished"
Part VI: We Don't Need Another Hero
Part VII: Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Part VIII: "There Is No Life Without Satisfaction"
I began all this with little plan or forethought. My wife and I spent a good deal of time talking about some of the thoughts I'd expressed here and suggested I flesh out some of the things about which we'd spoken. Beyond stating what I believed to be the central problem that has yet to be spoken with any clarity, I really had no idea where I wanted to go. In picking up Whitman, I found a guide not only on how to state the problem with clarity; I also saw the seeds of a possible offered solution. Stripping Whitman of his pantheism, it is easy enough to read him in a modern idiom, to hear his deep love for and faith in the country which he had absorbed. Even if you don't like the stuff I wrote here, I would urge any and all to find a copy of Leaves of Grass - since it's in the public domain, you can find it complete on the Internet - and read it.
My hope is, if I've done nothing else, I've made clear not only my deep love for the American people, but my abiding hope that we might yet find our voice and hands and feet once again. We may need an elected official to challenge us; we are never, really, in need of a leader.
From beginning to end:
Part I: In A Minor Key
Part II: The American Soul
Part III: The Great Divide
Part IV: How Firm A Foundation
Part V: "An Acme Of Things Accomplished"
Part VI: We Don't Need Another Hero
Part VII: Everybody Wants To Rule The World
Part VIII: "There Is No Life Without Satisfaction"
I began all this with little plan or forethought. My wife and I spent a good deal of time talking about some of the thoughts I'd expressed here and suggested I flesh out some of the things about which we'd spoken. Beyond stating what I believed to be the central problem that has yet to be spoken with any clarity, I really had no idea where I wanted to go. In picking up Whitman, I found a guide not only on how to state the problem with clarity; I also saw the seeds of a possible offered solution. Stripping Whitman of his pantheism, it is easy enough to read him in a modern idiom, to hear his deep love for and faith in the country which he had absorbed. Even if you don't like the stuff I wrote here, I would urge any and all to find a copy of Leaves of Grass - since it's in the public domain, you can find it complete on the Internet - and read it.
My hope is, if I've done nothing else, I've made clear not only my deep love for the American people, but my abiding hope that we might yet find our voice and hands and feet once again. We may need an elected official to challenge us; we are never, really, in need of a leader.
