The main argument in the article “Paradoxes of American Individualism” is that Americans are very contradictory in their stances on individualism. Americans are more likely than citizens of other nations to discredit beliefs of fate pertaining to individual success and to conclude that poverty is a result of laziness rather than economic inequality. At the same time, however, Americans are least likely to distance themselves from religion and highly against the idea of not standing by the nation even when it has done wrong.

I think that Whitman’s poem speaks only for the people who benefit most from America’s facade of diversity–white people (men especially)–and excludes everyone else. Maybe I’m misinterpreting the meaning behind it, but going from reading Hughes’ poem to this one was a bit jarring, in my opinion. Hughes’ poem speaks for the hidden undertones of the supposed “melting pot” we call America. America is able to hide behind this mask of diversity that proclaims it promises freedom, equality, and opportunity for all, but in actuality, systemic racism, bigotry, and prejudice are rampant among our society.  For many, America was never great, so how could we possibly make it great again? What great society would we be going back to? One where Native Americans are forced off of their own lands and relentlessly slaughtered to near extinction? One where black people are seen as three fifths of a human, as property to be enslaved? One where Asians are brutally assaulted for a virus they didn’t even bring here?

The problem with the model of individualism explained in the article is that the view displayed by Americans in it is not a representation of American people of color. Who are the ones thrust into poor living conditions that suffer from evolutionary health issues due to a long history of systemic abuse? People of color. Who are typically called lazy for being poor but ridiculed for “stealing jobs” from Americans when they actually find employment? POC immigrants. It’s as if people of color are damned if they do and damned if they don’t in the eyes of the majority, and that nothing they ever do will please white people. Therefore, this model of individualism doesn’t showcase the feelings of the typical American, but rather the privileged American.