Walt Whitman and the United States

July 03, 2020

"Do I contradict myself? Very well then, I contradict myself. I am large, I contain multitudes." ~ Walt Whitman, 1855.

Welcome to the United States.

We're a vast nation. Arguably two nations jammed together by necessity and then war, converging gradually but not smoothly. It can be tough. 2020, with its soothing repetition of 2's and 0's, has been anything but. The chaos feels like a lingering headache. But it's not all bad.

Our disparate people bring strength, and those differing viewpoints create opportunities. Throughout the 1970's, hippies traveling across the plains to California had to buy beads from someone (I mean, they had to!), and that someone who saw the need was the founder of Hobby Lobby, a business that grew into anything but hippie.

In the markets, all day long differing opinions swirl. Almost by definition - one person selling is another person buying, and they have opposite outlooks on the future. But hostile it's not - commerce and communication bring pacification. When you trade with someone, you begin to communicate and understand them.

We're too big, too opinionated, and a bit too swashbuckling as a culture not to have our differences. But diversity and peace are powerful forces. Among our contradictions, we can have them both.

Have a relaxing Fourth,

Dan Cunningham