Cosmopolitan Greetings Response

In "Cosmopolitan Greetings," Ginsberg draws from many prominent figures from the past and the current. Ginsberg directly references Einstein and Whitman, but also indirectly references Emerson and Thoreau. He does this in the first line when he writes; "Stand up against governments, against God." Emerson expressed these same thoughts when he wrote over a hundred years earlier. Both Ginsberg and Emerson believes that as long as one does not let oneself be confined by outer influences, one will make the right choices. While Emerson defines this fixed human nature as the oversoul, Ginsberg is more vague in that he argues that in order to let this fixed human nature come through, one has to be "irresponsible." The ultimate goal for humans in Emerson's and Ginsberg's eyes would be freedom. This freedom can be achieved by humanity, as it is humanity that defines the universe. According to Einstein humans define the universe, because humans are the ones observing it. Therefore, humans can achieve freedom by being and observing.