Whitman and the political landscape of America in 2017

"I resist any thing better than my own diversity," - Walt Whitman, Song of Myself

For me, it was impossible to read this quote from Section 17 of Song of Myself without immediately abstracting it into its capacity to be applied to the contemporary society of the United States, particularly in regards to the divided political spectrum that has recently manifested itself.

While Whitman embodies his "knit of identity" and celebrates his "multitudes", the political landscape of the United States has seen an even divide along the lines of conservatism and liberalism, white despite their traditional ideological opposition concerning such matters as taxation, the economy and legislation for varying degrees of social security, their differences are often reduced currently to a one-dimensional explanation wherein the left is considered pro-diversity and the right is considered as anti-diversity.

To some extent, this is reflected in the critical psychological literature wherein it can be empirically measured that those of a conservative political disposition are high in trait orderliness, meaning that they like things, both literally and figuratively, to remain static and to have well-defined borders. In contrast, those on the left side of the political spectrum are high in traits openness and low in conscientiousness, meaning that generally, they enjoy the fusion and deconstruction of these borders to coalesce various ideas and create new possibilities that transcend rigid categorization. Recently, this has manifested itself in President trump's campaign pledge to build a protective wall along the Southern border of the United States with the goal of greatly reducing the numbers of illegal immigrants crossing this border into the United States from Mexico below.

Returning to Whitman as our stimulus for discussion, the question then becomes: Does America resist any thing better than its own diversity?

While the existence of this diversity is not subject to debate, given the myriad of distinct ethnic groups and cultural movements that exist within the United States (hence the popularization of the term 'Melting Pot'), it is clear that some strains of American culture are in open rebellion against the celebration of this diversity. On a personal note, I would find it incredibly interesting to teleport Whitman's ghost to 2017 and gather his thoughts on the current state of American diversity and its subsequent response across the vast swathe of distinct religious, cultural and political communities in this country. Would he celebrate America's diversity as an extension of his own?