"This is the common air that bathes the globe"

(it is 'section', correct?)

On a first read-through of Whitman, he seemed pretty full of himself. After nosing through him a little more and some class discussion, I changed my mind a little. I think, to a point, he's just being open and writing how he sees things. I also think Whitman is trying to write in a way that is representative of human experience, especially after taking a closer look at 17 (page 1023). To me, it seems as if Whitman assumes his poetry speaks for all people, but counts it as worthless if it does not accomplish this.

If they are not yours as much as they are mine they are nothing, or next to nothing.
-line 356

Furthermore, he sees the human experience he's writing about as being organic, arising naturally and:

This is the grass that grows wherever the land is and the water is,
This is the common air that bathes the globe.
-line 359-360

Whitman is a bit ambitious in this, but I don't think he's an arrogant jerk necessarily. The more I read of his poetry, as provocative as some of it is, the more I enjoy him and his flowing, beautiful writing style.