~750 Words Arranged in a Cunning Order - Essay Due Today

In 1871, America was in the midst of post-Civil War reconstruction, and a lone Englishman wrote a long essay about the dangers of Democracy. This prompted Whitman to write a long essay about the dangers of writing long essays about the dangers of Democracy, but in a roundabout manner. Dave Brooks admired this essay because it speaks well of America and Democracy and because it shows a person change his mind halfway through. I wouldn't know if I agree or not, seeing as the essay was sideways when I downloaded it. After nearly shattering the screen of my laptop, I managed to read it, though. Whitman's dream of America was that of a rich and prosperous nation always looking at the bright side of life. However, this changed as he began to think about his home country and look around, and write about it. So far, judging by his mood as the essay goes on, his dream is kinda unfulfilled. Well, nothing's perfect in this world, deal with it. I would say his dream still stands in remote corners of this country, mainly in those who haven't paid attention to the news since the end of the 1950's. I'll get the quote out of the way now. The T-Shirt quote for me would be "Literature has become the only general means of morally influencing the world." as it would probably be the best way of inciting a reaction from those who disagree. I know for a fact someone will disagree at some point because there are enough differing positions on the planet that somewhere there is someone who is the precise opposite of me. Makes for a great conversation starter, am I right? Going back to the thread of the original 750+/- word essay, the dangers to Whitman's aspirations were the problem of that little slap-battle that occurred ten years prior to writing of his essay, as well as those who disagreed with him, details after the break. Anyway, major issues occurred later on as he discovered that his cheerful optimism was kinda baseless. All in all, I found the cheerful reading to be very interesting and will certainly look forward to the in-class discussion one hour from now. Ciao!