Leaves of Grass #6

All doctrines, all politics and civilization exuge from you.
All sculpture and monuments and anything inscribed anywhere are tallied in you,
The gist of histories and statistics as far back as the records reach is in you this hour-and myths and tales the same;
If you were not breathing and walking here where would they all be?
The most renowned poems would be ashes... orations and plays would be vacuums.

All architecture is what you do to it when you look at it;
Did you think it was in the white or gray stone? or the lines of the aches and cornices?

All music is what awakens from you are reminded by the instruments,
It is not the violins and the cornets...it is not the oboe nor the beating drums-nor the notes of the baritone singer singing his sweet romanza... nor those of the men's chorus, nor those of the women's chorus,
It is nearer and farther than they.

What Whitman is describing in these passages is the power of opinion. He is saying how everything is determined by what others believe of it. Without people to acknowledge it, nothing in the world would have meaning. He creates a very close relationship with the reader as he addresses them directly with "you". He is telling the reader that without them, this book like all others would have no power; no purpose.
He continues his argument discussing architecture and music. He gives ultimate power to opinions because he says things are titled by what feelings they created, not what they are.The identity of things aren't what they are composed of, but rather what they create.
I absolutely agree with what Whitman is saying, but just reading made me realize how powerful what people believe has on things.
I related this to our class discussions on reader response criticism.
Whitman says, "The most renowned poems would be ashes." Without the opinion of others, a book would mean nothing. I mean is not criticism an opinion itself?