Democracy in America, Take 1

"Look at the baby in his mother's arms; see how the outside world is first reflected in the still hazy mirror of his mind; consider the first examples that strike his attention; listen to the first words which awaken his dormant powers of thought; and finally take notice of the first struggles he had to endure.  Only then will you understand the origin of the prejudices, habits, and passions which are to dominate his life.  The whole man is there, if one may put it so, in the cradle"(30).  

I love children. My friends make fun of me because I squeal in delight any time there are children on campus, and profess that I adore them because they are like "little people."  I actually have a whole speech worked out when people think I am way to obsessed with wanting to be a mom, explaining how I love how children have their own personalities and ideas and mannerisms, and are little pictures of what the adults they will someday be.   Perhaps this is why Alexis De Toqueville's parallel between babies and nations stood out to me so.  I believe that is he is correct in saying that one can trace the traits exhibited by a person to their infancy, as each and every event in a person's life links to the rest, in turn shaping the human being.   So, too, can this be seen within cultures.  As we explored with the Second Great Awakening, the religious beginnings of America have transferred into our very democratic culture, advancing the importance of the "common man"  and individualism.  Even our separation of church and state came from our founding under the idea of "freedom for religion."   This can even be seen today, for while we do not have an official national religion, our democratic system continues to elect officials who, for the vast majority, profess to hold religious, christian morals.   This is only one example from our studies up to this point, but I think it is fair to say that the very nature of AmCon up to this point has been to search for the influences in America's infancy which have shaped it into what it is today, and continuing to trace the ripple effects of these influences into even contemporary society.   I found his point that America is the only modern nation whose infancy we can examine with such accuracy to be inspiring as it is a thought I had never considered.  Indeed, that is a fact about our own culture that I think we often take for granted: our founding is in such recent history in comparison to other nations that we have the luxury of being able to closely examine and analyze the shaping of our culture. I look forward to seeing how Toqueville shapes this idea through the rest of his book.