“I hear America singing, the varied carols I hear” begins Walt Whitman’s poem “I Hear America Singing.” Though published in his “Leaves of Grass” poetry collection in 1860 with the Civil War looming, Whitman’s verse celebrates the American work ethic, individuality, and the unity of the country.
Things are different today. We may have occasionally heard America humming in the past few years, but in the aftermath of the COVID pandemic, the Afghan debacle, the out-of-sight spending by our government, and all the other body blows suffered by our republic, a modern-day Whitman would be hard-pressed to imagine America as a songfest. Add in the bite of inflation and a recession, and the “varied carols” he might hear at this point would more likely be dirges or anthems of bitter protest.
