In response to Erkkila’s article, “Whitman in Politics” I must admit that I questioned my own beliefs regarding the mixing of politics and art.  I came to the conclusion that indeed art has a duty to discuss and question the politics of a nation.  If the educated, thoughtful, and creative artists are not challenging and praising our societies- who will?

From Reynold’s, Walt Whitman’s America, Whitman is portrayed as a political poet whose work is greatly influenced by politics and who in turn wants to influence politics.  It is this Whitman that inspires me.  A man beyond his years in advocating for the rights of women,slaves, and the working class.