Atlanta Unitarian

Any item that is of value in the right proportion becomes a hazard in excess. Food we need to live, but in excess it causes obesity and discomfort. Rest we need to recuperate, but in excess it can make us dull and listless. We are biological creatures, and our health and vitality depends upon balance and moderation. But we are driven by an economic system premised on the concept that more is always better. It is always better to be richer rather than poorer. It is always better to make more money. It is always to consume more things, have bigger homes and vehicles, to go more places, to have more experiences. It is better to read more, to know more, to do more, to conquer more. Not only is our economic system based on the concept that more is better, our culture is based on the concept that more is better. Even among the bohemain counter-culture, where accumulating stuff is looked down upon, people still want to travel more, to hike in more wild places, to try more unusual exp...

It's interesting how this innocuous phrase has turned saccarine because of its abuse by certain right-wing talking heads. "Great American" now sounds like it has something to do with a steadfast patriotism and jingoism that stands against criticism, no matter how soundly grounded. But America has produced a significant amount of greatness, which is easy to overlook considering our current retrograde state. The following is a brief list of some of my favorite great Americans; I'd like to hear about some of yours. Walt Whitman Whitman is one of the great scribes of the American scene in all its diversity and nobility. Whitman celebrated American vitality, creativity, and versatility. He celebrated the common man and woman and the multiple everyday people who comprise the pride of the country. Whitman elevated the glories of democracry to higher than that achieved by any previous aristocracy. Ralph Waldo Emerson Emerson was considered one of the first American intel...