Conquer natural inclination?

So the question for this first entry is, what do you think of Benjamin Franklin's project for moral perfection? Henry David Thoreau a writer in our near future, once said, "I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate himself through conscious endeavor." What do you think of this sentiment? Should we always be pushing to improve ourselves, to make ourselves the persons that we hope to be? Or should we relax, accept ourselves for who we are, and go about the business of living our lives? Walt Whitman, perhaps the polar opposite of Franklin, once said, "I exist as I am, that is enough." What do you think?

Test post

Here is the test post, period 2. What what?