Thursday, January 31, 2008

Blog #12B - Good Night and Good Luck

Choose three statements – one from each speech – and discuss how each statement can be applied to our world and political or social situations today.

" No one familiar with the history of this country can deny that congressional committees are useful. It is necessary to investigate before legislating, but the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one and the junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly. His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism. We must not confuse dissent with disloyalty. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine; and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular.

This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent, or for those who approve. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. There is no way for a citizen of a republic to abdicate his responsibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritance at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home. The actions of the junior Senator from Wisconsin have caused alarm and dismay amongst our allies abroad, and given considerable comfort to our enemies. And whose fault is that? Not really his. He didn't create this situation of fear; he merely exploited it — and rather successfully. Cassius was right. "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves." Good night, and good luck."
– See it Now broadcast, March 9 1954

If we confuse dissent with disloyalty — if we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox — if we deny the essence of racial equality then hundreds of millions in Asia and Africa who are shopping about for a new allegiance will conclude that we are concerned to defend a myth and our present privileged status. Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
– Ford Fiftieth Anniversary Show, CBS and NBC, June 1953

“We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.

Our history will be what we make it. And if there are any historians about fifty or a hundred years from now, and there should be preserved the kinescopes for one week of all three networks, they will there find recorded in black and white, or color, evidence of decadence, escapism and insulation from the realities of the world in which we live. I invite your attention to the television schedules of all networks between the hours of 8 and 11 p.m., Eastern Time. Here you will find only fleeting and spasmodic reference to the fact that this nation is in mortal danger. There are, it is true, occasional informative programs presented in that intellectual ghetto on Sunday afternoons. But during the daily peak viewing periods, television in the main insulates us from the realities of the world in which we live. If this state of affairs continues, we may alter an advertising slogan to read: LOOK NOW, PAY LATER.

For surely we shall pay for using this most powerful instrument of communication to insulate the citizenry from the hard and demanding realities which must be faced if we are to survive. I mean the word survive literally. If there were to be a competition in indifference, or perhaps in insulation from reality, then Nero and his fiddle, Chamberlain and his umbrella, could not find a place on an early afternoon sustaining show. If Hollywood were to run out of Indians, the program schedules would be mangled beyond all recognition. Then some courageous soul with a small budget might be able to do a documentary telling what, in fact, we have done--and are still doing--to the Indians in this country. But that would be unpleasant. And we must at all costs shield the sensitive citizens from anything that is unpleasant.

I am entirely persuaded that the American public is more reasonable, restrained and more mature than most of our industry's program planners believe. Their fear of controversy is not warranted by the evidence. I have reason to know, as do many of you, that when the evidence on a controversial subject is fairly and calmly presented, the public recognizes it for what it is--an effort to illuminate rather than to agitate.

I do not advocate that we turn television into a 27-inch wailing wall, where longhairs constantly moan about the state of our culture and our defense. But I would just like to see it reflect occasionally the hard, unyielding realities of the world in which we live. I would like to see it done inside the existing framework, and I would like to see the doing of it redound to the credit of those who finance and program it. Measure the results by Nielsen, Trendex or Silex-it doesn't matter. The main thing is to try. The responsibility can be easily placed, in spite of all the mouthings about giving the public what it wants. It rests on big business, and on big television, and it rests at the top. Responsibility is not something that can be assigned or delegated. And it promises its own reward: good business and good television.

To those who say people wouldn't look; they wouldn't be interested; they're too complacent, indifferent and insulated, I can only reply: There is, in one reporter's opinion, considerable evidence against that contention. But even if they are right, what have they got to lose? Because if they are right, and this instrument is good for nothing but to entertain, amuse and insulate, then the tube is flickering now and we will soon see that the whole struggle is lost.

This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful.

Speech at Radio-Television News Directors Association, Chicago, October 15, 1958.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

These are the quotes I picked out from each speech:
1. “It is necessary to investigate before legislating, but the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one…”
2. “Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought.”
3. “We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.”
All of these quotes are very meaningful and inspiring to me. The first one completely applies to everyone, and especially teenagers. To me, this quote means that everyone is overall judgmental and too quick to blame anyone else besides themselves. It says that we have to know the facts before we just assume things about people. This quote is commonly seen all the time. For example, the other day, me and one of my friends I work with, were talking about a new guy who just started working there. Then all a sudden, we realized that we were judging him before we even got to know him. It turns out that he is a really nice guy and both of us feel bad for being too quick to judge.
The second quote is also really inspiring because it says that if you tear someone down, you are also tearing apart their dreams and everything they aspire to be. I think that this quote is kind of like a slap in the face to anyone who is really degrading to anyone else.
The last quote, I think is true in the aspect of everything. No matter how disturbing or unpleasant the information, we almost always have bad reactions to it. I think that all three of the quotes I chose relate to each other. But in conclusion, I think that all of the negative results stated in these quotes, comes back to us and our decisions we make that affect other people.

Amanda Biondo
3rd Hour

Anonymous said...

1. "We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result."

–See it Now broadcast, March 9 1954

2. "Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the... confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."

–Ford Fiftieth Anniversary Show, CBS and NBC, June 1953

3. "This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful.

-Speech at Radio-Television News Directors Association, Chicago, October 15, 1958.

Every quote I chose, has persuasive words that caught my attention and I felt strongly about when choosing them.

In the first speech, I chose the statement I chose because it merely states that today in America we have to live with the deaths of tons of Americans who have lost their unselfish lives to war. As Americans we try to cover up mistakes we have made, such as not being well prepared for a terror attack or a bomb attack, but when you think about it, we may deny any relation to causing a war or an attack, but we still have to live with the responsibility and damage we caused. George Bush might say that it was a mistake to go to Iraq and fight, but he still has to carry on the responsibility of all the lives he's caused harm to because of his choice to go to Iraq.

In the second speech, I chose the statement I chose because it states that if there is any law or act passed that trys to denies or attempts to limit any Americans freedoms or rights, it eneviatbly costs our country the confidence and strong will of the men and women who in history fought for those rights and won them over.
It's a complete insult to those famous Americans who fought for the freedoms that every American has the right to. If an act denies those rights, it is taking the pride of those Americans and basically just throwing it away.

The third speech, I chose the statement I chose because, it talks about combat, racism, intolerance, and indifference. It portraits indifference because it states that a television is a weapon that could be useful, and that basically is saying that people these days, create television shows to discriminate against race, sex, or to be homophoebic or against gays/lesbians/bisexuals. It's common in societ today to have a show aiming to make fun of and show the worst of those different groups. Society thinks it's common to insult people for their indifferences.

Mary Mc Keon
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

1. “We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.”
2. “Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
3. “Responsibility is not something that can be assigned or delegated.”

The first quote to me means that sometimes we do not give each other respect or freedom of doing things at home but if we go to other places and try to let others have freedom we should first try to have freedom in our own country. In politics sometimes its like they don’t allow groups of people to have their own freedoms and before we go to other countries let our country be the role model for them.
The second quote means a lot because it is saying that when people don’t get freedom it lowers their spirits and makes them not want to fight for it anymore. For example, slaves fought for their freedom all those years and if there was all of the sudden an act that made black people not then that would make me sad and everything and it would make me feel like I would never get it back.
The third quote to me means that you have to take responsibility for your actions and if you do not then you will be punished and bad things will happen. Also this applies to right now because George Bush took us into the war with IRAQ and it caused a lot of bad things. For example he basically let people not believe in him anymore because they could not trust him and he ruined the republican party because now people think that they are just out to get America into more trouble with other places in the world.
Brandon Miller
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

“See it Now” broadcast, March 9 1954
“It is necessary to investigate before legislating, but the line between investigation and persecuting is a very fine one and the junior senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly.”
If you replaced “junior senator from Wisconsin” with “the President” this could be related to our time period. Now, Bush and the government in general is arresting Middle-Easterners with no reason other from the fact that they are Arabic or Muslim. He sends them to jail with no trial or hearing, and releases them when he feels they are considered no longer a threat.
“See it Now” broadcast, March 9 1954
“Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the... confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and the independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought.”
Although I do not know if what we are doing in America is causing less foreigners to move here, I do know that many do not like what we are doing. Again, many people (mostly Arabs and Muslims) are upset with how we are treating the middle east and probably think that they will be treated wrongly if they move here (and knowing our policy they will be in the airports… majorly).
Ford Fiftieth Anniversary Show, CBS and NVC, June 1953
The first paragraph speaks a lot about what has recently occurred. Both for Bush supporters and non-Bush supporters. The news and the government has covered up many things about the war in Iraq, and the “Prisoners of war”. Many of the news channels seem to cover only the bad things in Iraq. Although Iraq is a war that seems to have no true victory, they should try to keep a positive outlook. When even the people in your own country don’t support what you are doing, some soldiers get discouraged and moral can drop dramatically. People could claim that this negative coverage hurts Bush’s image. On the flip side, the government has covered up countless things that people would disapprove of. The government tried to cover up its mistake of going into Iraq because of Weapons of Mass Destruction by saying that the terrorists moved them, and maybe they did, but Bush should to admit to a mistake rather than deny it. Also, the press and government seems to keep all the camps that we have in Guantanamo Bay strictly on the down low, and does not speak of them often.

Patrick MacCallum (3rd hour)

Anonymous said...

We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine; and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. this is in my opinion a great statement because we need to feel this way about alot of things, including about terrorists and the government. we need to have some common sence and we need to not just take advise from someone because we think there right and if were scared of someone dont be, because thats what is going to cause the problems later because we arent thinking. And if we want to do things right we need to remember who we are and that the people who brought up our country did not leave it to us to sit down and be scared.
Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
this statment is great because it not only tells you but wakes you up to remember that we are a free nation and if we want to keep it that way so we can keep expanding and growing and learning then we need to wake up and smell the coffee because if we dont keep fighting for them then we will lose our rights we have been fighting for for hundreds of years.

“We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.
this is yet another statement saying yes we are happy wealthgy fat and we have everything that we could possibly need but its true we do let television interupt whats really going on. We use television as a way to not hear or see anything we dont wann see, and that is bad someis good but mostly bad because we need to face up to reality or it will be to late. like he sead built-in allery to unpleasant things and that the people working on television are going to see a totally different picture too late. And we need to get up and realize that this is true

Alex Moceri 3rd hour.

Anonymous said...

1. "We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant and disturbing information." This means that any information we receive, we transmit into some-sort of big issue. For example, the Kwame Kilpatrick. He had this text messaging incident that lead him to hiding in his home for 6 day. The media had to much to do on this topic and just over exaggerated everything past what it was meant to be.

2. "We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent." This quote means that the American people are wealthy and fat and don't care about the world around them. The people are to comfortable with how the US is are now and are acting complacent. Complacent means showing smug, or uncritical satisfaction with oneself or one's achievements.

3. "Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought." Every bill made today that proceeds to take our freedoms away is only hurting the men who fought for them back in the day.

Ryan Feist
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

“We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.”
This quote applies to the world now because it is similar to what is going on now with terrorism. America is trying to keep people free all over the world, like in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we still have to protect ourselves. To protect ourselves, Americans have lost some of their rights.

"Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
This quote also relates to America now. If different people from different ethnicities or backgrounds or than people from the Middle East, than more and more people will lose rights. All1 types of people will become suspects of being involved in terrorism.

“This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends.”
This statement could be applied to our world now because people can’t trust everything they see on T.V. People can learn a lot from television, but they shouldn’t believe every thing they see. Like commercials trying to persuade you to buy certain things.

Jeremy Kaplan
3rd Hour

Anonymous said...

1) “We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.”
2) “Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
3) “We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this. But unless we get up off our fat surpluses and recognize that television in the main is being used to distract, delude, amuse and insulate us, then television and those who finance it, those who look at it and those who work at it, may see a totally different picture too late.”

I picked these quotes because these all affect how we have too much patriotism to our country, government wise. We have let our government steal our constitutional rights and then we all go around not knowing that because we have become more interested in entertainment. The first comment is applied today, simply with terrorism. We don’t even give accused the right to a fair trial anymore, we just put them in one of our bases in another country and convict them there. Basically if you’re convicted of terrorism you are going to jail without any say.

The second quote is important to everyone, everywhere. For thousands of years there have hundreds of wars fought for freedom from a power, and each time the power comes back and takes away that freedom not by force, but by tricks and gimmicks in thinking they’re making your freedoms more safe by taking them away. This cycle will keep going around in the whole world until there is finally someone who does not let one or two party’s or people control an entire nation. Until then this cycle of freedom wars will keep occurring.

The third comment effects us socially because it is so much easier just to watch SpongeBob on TV, then to watch some intellectual person tell us how dirty our government is. TV has become a top source of entertainment even though it has a lot of power to educate. We let that idea pass by and watch entertaining shows on TV, and become more and more like that fantasy world of TV. Making us isolated to our little perfect world. Unaware of everything around us, which leads to McCarthyism going unnoticed to the public eye.

Mostafa Bendali-Amor
3rd
Note: Mr.Wickersham check blog 11B, I was notified that I received a zero on it, if you check the comments mine was up there on the due date.

Anonymous said...

1. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.
2. Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
3. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends.

In the first statement I think this can be applied to both the 50s and today. America is known as “defenders of freedom” today because we tend to stick our noses into places that need “rescuing.” Some places we have invaded include Iraq and Afghanistan. Also similarly to the 50s; today our freedom is being taken away from us. Back in the 50s Senator McCarthy charged innocent people as communists, and intensified our fear of them. Today President Bush is taking away our freedom and rights in his search for terrorists.
I choose the second quote from the second speech because it really personifies how I feel towards Bush’s acts to make it easier for him to spy on us. By limiting our freedoms that our founding fathers strived to win I trust him less and less. It is important to try to prevent another terrorist attack but not to the extent in which he is taking it. He is taking away our privacy, making us more fearful and also singling out a racial group much more than is necessary.
The third quote I thought was really important about television. I agree that TV can be helpful, for example the Crosby Show, because it shows a different side of life that people wouldn’t normally see or expect. However TV is very corrupted from all the pointless shows that are very entertaining to the news stations that do not always play up the right topics, or they play down topics. For example the media played up that there wasn’t enough flu shots to go around however there turned out to be more than enough!
I think it’s very interesting that these speeches from the 50s can apply to our modern day life and troubles. I choose all three quotes because they remind me of things we need to fix here in America. It reminds us that we have to fix ourselves before we can fix others, that freedom is the most important American dream and when we let someone or something take that away from us then we aren’t really Americans, and that TV is a powerful object that can help influence people and right now its not being used to it’s full potential.

Barbara Moore
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

1. I do not advocate that we turn television into a 27-inch wailing wall, where longhairs constantly moan about the state of our culture and our defense. But I would just like to see it reflect occasionally the hard, unyielding realities of the world in which we live.

2. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.
3. We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result.

For the first question I believe that it means that sometime the news covers up what the audience sometime might not want to hear. Also, I believe that they are saying that even if its what the people don’t want to hear, it’s the truth and it what the people need to be told. I believe that the second question is stating that do not accuse anyone of anything until there is proof that they have done something. For example after 9/11 a lot of people thought every Arab person was a terrorist. Making them accused of something that they didn’t even do. I believe the third question is stating that you can deny where you came from or what your ancestors might have did, but you are still responsible for what you do. Also, still are responsible for what you do no matter what your background is or where you came from.

Pat Rooney

Anonymous said...

“We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.”
– See it Now broadcast, March 9 1954
I believe this statement can also apply to what our government is doing today. President Bush has imprisoned U.S. citizens on account of being “enemy combatants.” Labeling suspects as enemy combatants allows the president to arrest anyone he chooses without a trial. According to the quote, no one should ever have the power to do this. To send someone to jail should always take solid proof and a fair trial. If we are trying to set up democracies in the Middle East, we should probably take steps to assure that our government isn’t doing anything shady either.

“If we confuse dissent with disloyalty — if we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox”
– Ford Fiftieth Anniversary Show, CBS and NBC, June 1953
Months after the September 11th attacks, President Bush states “You're either with us or against us in the fight against terror." I highly doubt that every country that is not involved in the war on terror has a plan to overtake the United States. I don’t think our president really understood the meaning of his own words. Many countries would rather not get into fights with countries controlling the world’s oil supply. Bush is trying to make countries pick going to war, or keeping an alliance with the U.S.

“Our history will be what we make it. And if there are any historians about fifty or a hundred years from now, and there should be preserved the kinescopes for one week of all three networks, they will there find recorded in black and white, or color, evidence of decadence, escapism and insulation from the realities of the world in which we live.”
Speech at Radio-Television News Directors Association, Chicago, October 15, 1958.
Just as we are looking back on the Cold War now, people will be looking back on the War on Terror in, depending when it ends, about 50 years. The other day we were asked to discuss why the government concealed information during the Cold War. I’d rather not have some U.S. History class from the future be asked the same question about the War on Terror. The media has the power to expose, so it should be used. What was the real reason we went to war in the first place? I know I was young when we did go to war, but I remember hearing all the time on the news “terror this”, and “terror that.” I didn’t see much difference between Afghanistan and Iraq; they were both in the Middle East. Was it a coincidence that the term “terror” was brought up whenever mentioning the Middle East? I think the media should use its resources to uncover these questions and expose the roots of our War on Terror.
Leslie Preston

Anonymous said...

“Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought.”

He is basically asking if their generation was loyal to what the fonding fathers of America stood for and if what was fair to accuse others of being Communist. Know we are experiencing similar problems with terrorism. Now rights are limited to what they used to be and more people are being accused of working with the enemy.

Collin Parson
3rd hour
wikersham

Anonymous said...

Ben Goddard
3rd Hour

3 Quotes:

1.We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.

This can relate to today's social situations because it is like what is going on right now with the whole terrorist situation. We at first after 9/11 where just going after people who were Muslim or Middle Eastern, and just accusing them, and convicting some, even though we didn't have any proof. We were also just saying, that because they are from the same country or religion as the terrorists, then they might be terrorists too.

2.Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought.

This can relate to current day situations because acts like ones that allow the government to spy on our phone calls and e-mails limit our freedoms. By limiting our freedom, people have begun to lose confidence and question how successful at finding these terrorist our government have been, and if taking away natural rights is actually making any progress, or just invading the privacy of citizens.

3.And we must at all costs shield the sensitive citizens from anything that is unpleasant.

This can relate to today's situations because it is the opposite of today. Today, citizens aren't as sensitive to things as the media back then may have thought we were. Nowadays people like knowing everything that is going on in the country because otherwise they feel like they are being left in the dark and lose trust and faith in the government. The government needs that trust to know that the people think it's making all the right decisions and so they don't have to think twice before every action they make.

Anonymous said...

Michael Weiner
2/2/08
3rd hour

1
“His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism.”
– See it Now broadcast, March 9 1954
Switch out His with The governments. I think Bush used terrorist threats to cover up low approval ratings for him. If he publicized threats just to make his low approval rating hidden who’s to say that he wouldn’t do it for something more serious. Or do the opposite and try and cover up a terrorist attack.

2
“we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox”
– Ford Fiftieth Anniversary Show, CBS and NBC, June 1953
We are currently denying the rights of people by lifting Habeas corpus. Then with some of them we deny even more rights by take them out of the country and “torturer” them.
3
“LOOK NOW, PAY LATER.”
Speech at Radio-Television News Directors Association, Chicago, October 15, 1958.
This is what we are doing right now, if you change Look to fight. We are fighting in Iraq and were in trillions of dollars of debt. We will probably be paying off our huge loans with Tax money.

Anonymous said...

1. “It is necessary to investigate before legislating, but the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one and the junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly.” (See it now broadcast, March 9 1954)

2. “If we confuse dissent with disloyalty — if we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox — if we deny the essence of racial equality then hundreds of millions in Asia and Africa who are shopping about for a new allegiance will conclude that we are concerned to defend a myth and our present privileged status.” (Ford Fiftieth Anniversary Show, CBS and NBC, June 1953)

3. “This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box. There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful.” (Speech at Radio-Television News Directors Association, Chicago, October 15, 1958.)

I thought that the first quote was important because, it states that there is a very fine line between investigation and persecuting. There are certain limits that you can go to, but you have to be cautious not to cross the line into another territory. It then states that the junior senator from Wisconsin has ignored it. The senator must be abusing his power.
The second quote was significant because it explained how others on the outside looking in our country might view us by the actions we take. They’re looking for a new allegiance, and think they we only care about our status, and preventing a myth.
The third and final quote I thought was vital, because it went into the average television, and hot it can be a helpful or a harmful tool. To the network it can be a way to abolish the ignorance, intolerance, and indifference in this country, thus making it a very powerful tool if it is used the right way, by the right hands

Anonymous said...

The quotes I choose were:
1. "We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law. We will mot walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason...we are not descended from fearful men."

2. "If we confuse dissent with disloyalty-- if we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox-- if we deny the essence of racial equality then hundreds of millions in Asia and Africa who are shopping for a new allegiance will conclude that we are to defend a myth and our present privileged status."

3. "This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box."

To me, the first quote represents social and emotional trust. You have to trust yourself in order for other people to trust you, if you can’t trust yourself, then how are others going to be able to trust you? If other people don’t trust you and understand you, then they will be too quick to judge and they will accuse you under false information. If you live in fear, you can’t grow to your full potential, which is what humans were made to do, do everything to the best of their abilities.

Today, many people young and old do things just to “fit in,” whether it is at school, work, or in society, people do things not for their own enjoyment, but to please the world around them. This shows that we care about societal status, even though many people deny it. This quote also shows that people are scared to be wrong; they are scared of facing whatever consequences come with being wrong, whether we do something wrong that is major or minor, we as Americans have a fear of being wrong!

Many people view things with a closed mind, or they view things how other people told them to see things. Many people think there things only have one purpose, when in fact, things can have many purposes, it just depends on how you want to think of it. The example used in the quote is about TV’s. TV’s can be used for many purposes, learning information, decoration in the home, and entertainment. When this quote is used, I don’t think the speaker is just saying people think of TV’s as “wires and lights in a box,” I think he is referring to life. Meaning there are many ways to interpret life, it just depends on how you want to interpret your life.

Anonymous said...

1. “We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defenders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home.”
2. “Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
3. “Responsibility is not something that can be assigned or delegated.”


The first quote to me means that sometimes we do not give each other respect or freedom of doing things at home but if we go to other places and try to let others have freedom we should first try to have freedom in our own country.

The second quote means a lot because it is saying that when people don’t get freedom it lowers their spirits and makes them not want to fight for it anymore.

The third quote to me means that you have to take responsibility for your actions and if you do not then you will be punished and bad things will happen. Also this applies to right now because George Bush took us into the war with IRAQ and it caused a lot of bad things.

Anonymous said...

“We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result.”
I chose this statement in the first speech because this can remind us that you cant change the past but you can change the future. You cant change your heritage or history, but it is your responsibility to show how the future is going to be. It is up to you to see how the new results will be.

“Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
To me this quote means that the spirit of the people can be broken if they don’t get their freedom. For example, African American fought for years and even though it was tough, they got their freedom.

3. We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent."
To me this quote means that the American people are wealthy and comfortable and don’t know what is means to be struggling. There are other countries that are struggling to stay alive and most people in the county are to poor for a good and home. I think that the American people don’t care enough to help others and are keeping their wealth to themselves.

Ron Wexler

3rd hour

Anonymous said...

Alex Lindsay
3rd Hour

1. We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.
-See it Now Broadcast, March 9, 1954

2. Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought.
-Ford 50th Anniversary Show, June 1953

3. This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire. But it can do so only to the extent that humans are determined to use it towards those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.
-Speech at Radio-Television News Directors Association, October 15, 1958

Every single one of the statements I have selected, if not the entire monologues tie in perfectly with our time period. In many ways, the crises are exactly the same. Everybody is afraid that they will bump into a communist/terrorist every time they turn around. The government is persecuting and accusing left and right to try and justify their fear, trying to appear strong, when they are the absolute weakest. The first statement I’ve selected ties into this sentiment exactly, stating how that our fear should not cloud our judgment, how we should look to the ideals of law and order to seek resolve, not just to reach for our clubs and spears at the first sign of a predator.

Every single time we let our fear, suspicion, paranoia get the better of us, that’s another innocent person on the chopping block, another martyr to their cause, the ripple that begins a tsunami of protests, counter-propaganda, rage-riots, and ultimately; war. The second statement I’ve selected comes into play now. When America points fingers, people get hurt. We are so afraid to be wrong, so afraid to lose all we have worked for that we don’t take the time to consider… maybe, just maybe… we were wrong all along.

The TV has been called ‘the idiot box’ in times recent, for some believe it has done exactly what such appellation suggests. Many believe the TV, once used to deliver the truth to us, has taken on a counter-purpose as it is used to spread fear to the masses, paranoia to the carefree, anger, sadness, and despair. What was once a modern revolution has now become a one-way ticket to bedlam? I wonder some days… what the heck happened to us?

Anonymous said...

Here are the three quotes I chose that apply today:

1. "We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law."
-This quote applies today and always will. To me this quote means that you have to prove if someone has done wrong, you can't just accuse them of a crime. For example, if you could accuse a person of a crime and they are not guilty then that is wrong to do and you would be committing a crime. It is just completly unjust and wrong. I just could not imagine America like that.

2. "Every act that denies or limits the freedom of the individual in this country costs us the . . . confidence of men and women who aspire to that freedom and independence of which we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
-This quote is completely true. Some people in other countries look up to the American people. If we do not live up to their expectations of the freedom in this country, then we are not only letting them down, but we are letting down the American people that are too scared to speak up for themselves and our ancestors. We need follow this quote. If everyone followed this rule then everyone would be equal.

3. “We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information."
-This quote is also very true. To me it means that Americans are lazy, rich and have other people do our work for us. Now to me that is not a very positive thing to say, but it is true. This quote applies to people of all ages. To me it also means that Americans are materialistic and only concerned with money.

-Lauren Peterson
3rd hour