Thursday, April 15, 2010

Blog #29 - Good Night and Good Luck

Here's Ed Murrow's commentary on TV and dissent in the 1950s. 

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

 
1. " 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


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. 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. "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.

3 statements + analysis, 250 words total, due Monday, April 19. 

40 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nicholas Valentine
5TH hour
“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.”
In this day and age we are very quick to judge those who are different then us. Just because someone is Muslim, and wears a turban does not mean that they are a terrorist. People with different beliefs aren’t always bad so we need to let them voice their opinions. If we shut someone out and don’t let them voice their opinions because they are different then we lose our chance to learn from what they say.

“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.”
We, as Americans, have to prove that we are a country worth following. One of the ways we prove this is by showing racial tolerance towards others. We have to address issues like the people illegally emigrating in from Mexico. To show the rest of the world that we have truly achieved this we have to make changes like making it easier for deserving Mexicans to achieve citizenship.
"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.”
Television is a tool that is used to put a barrier between people and the tragic things that happen around them. It is a device used to distract you from reality, by making you comfortable and providing entertainment. It distracts us and postpones our actions on things until it is too late to stop or fix the problems at hand.

Anonymous said...

Corey Docks


Blog #29



I thin number too was the most crucial to what our current every day life is like. When they state that if the essential racial equality is denied then the world allegiance will not be able get our present privileged status. This also relates to things in school and if one group of white teachers dislike the Asian or black students so they gibe them worse grades. Also when some one confuses dissent with disloyalty there can be many things that are falsely accused of something that they really had not done. When you are disloyal you have gone against something that you are not suppose to and when you are dissent you only are neutral with something and you do not agree or disagree. When some one is denied the right to be different takes away that persons identity and makes every one seem like they are just puppets that are under control by one person and can have their look changed when ever the person wants and that is not right.

Anonymous said...

I think humans are allergic to disturbing information because when we get disturbing information we try to block it out with pleasant information.

Acari

Drew S. said...

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

Mr. Murrow’s statement here is a timeless one, and one that still needs to be reminded of from time to time, being that the government keeps pushing these boundaries farther and farther in their attempt to find and locate terrorists.



“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."

Murrow is here stating that if we pass an act or make a law that further limits a person independence and freedom, then we are not standing up for what are founding fathers risked their lives for and died for.



"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."

Murrow has an outstanding point here, and stands true to this day. Murrow was already foreseeing the future of television, as it is today just wires and some lights in a box. He said that it can teach and possibly inspire, but today in the present, it is mostly just realty show garbage. Yeah occasionally there is good series or special with real information, like a Ken Burns Documentary, but little else on the educational front. History Channel sometimes has some good stuff, maybe a major news network (Possibly the McVeigh Tapes which are being aired for the first time at 9 pm Monday on MSNBC during a special Rachel Maddow program.) In the end, Mr. Murrow makes an outstanding point that though it can be educational, it can also put out garbage.

Drew S.

Drew S. said...

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

Mr. Murrow’s statement here is a timeless one, and one that still needs to be reminded of from time to time, being that the government keeps pushing these boundaries farther and farther in their attempt to find and locate terrorists.



“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."

Murrow is here stating that if we pass an act or make a law that further limits a person independence and freedom, then we are not standing up for what are founding fathers risked their lives for and died for.



"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."

Murrow has an outstanding point here, and stands true to this day. Murrow was already foreseeing the future of television, as it is today just wires and some lights in a box. He said that it can teach and possibly inspire, but today in the present, it is mostly just realty show garbage. Yeah occasionally there is good series or special with real information, like a Ken Burns Documentary, but little else on the educational front. History Channel sometimes has some good stuff, maybe a major news network (Possibly the McVeigh Tapes which are being aired for the first time at 9 pm Monday on MSNBC during a special Rachel Maddow program.) In the end, Mr. Murrow makes an outstanding point that though it can be educational, it can also put out garbage.

Drew S.

Anonymous said...

Jim Weitzel
Blog #29
“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,” In today’s world the USA proclaims itself as the defender of democracy which many in our country believe is the defense of freedom. But we cannot abandon our home in search of freedom abroad; we have to protect our rights as in the new Healthcare bill. Is it really right to force people who may be poor already to have to pay for insurance, and fine them if they don’t? We must start at home before trying to convince the world.
“If we confuse dissent with disloyalty…” Currently whenever I argue with someone about an idea that I disagree to the extreme on they tend to treat me as an enemy. This is prevalent throughout today’s world. Why can’t we be friends, even though we differ on a few different ideas? We make the mistake of thinking that because they disagree with our ideas, and that we are so right, they can never be our friend. But we are just confusing ideas with disloyalty, to make something good, you need to have both sides of the argument so that something good can come from it, being a compromise.
“But during the daily peak viewing periods, television in the main insulates us from the realities of the world in which we live,” This quote still applies to today, when I flip on the TV at about 8 after doing all my homework, there are comedies and dramas that deal nothing with the real world. Some can say, I included, that they never watch the news. So in a way we are insulated from the world, we need to learn more about reality.

Anonymous said...

Ellie Toth
2nd hour
1. "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 resposibilities. As a nation we have come into our full inheritence at a tender age. We proclaim ourselves, as indeed we are, the defneders of freedom, wherever it continues to exist in the world, but we cannot defend freedom abroad by deserting it at home."
In the past few years of American History, a lot has happened that Americans today can deny. Such as 911, we have had to move on from that and although there are still thoughts that we could've done something to have prevented it, we have had to claim responsibility for the result of it. We still to this day desire to be the defneders of freedom, but struggle when we are fighting in war like Iraq and trying to keep it in America.

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 whis we speak and for which our ancestors fought."
In America today, we still have racists and we still have sexists people. Everytime a woman is told she can't have this job because she's a girl, and everytime a muslim person gets stopped by security in the airport, they lose the confidence that our country brings the freedom and independence they have always wanted. We can't get rid of all the racists people in our country, there will always be some that refuse to change; however, we have come a long way in reducing the amount of racists people in our country throughout the years.

3. " 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, than television and those who finance it, those who look at it and those who work a tit, may see a totally different picture too late."
Today, we still hear major news through television stations and radios, and we can still sometimes pretend to be allergic to the bad news we hear. For example, currently our economy is very bad but a good amount of people are still spending the amount of money they did before because they will hear on the news that the stock market went up for the day or just for the week. Television can blind us sometimes to the reality of things and it still happens today.

Anonymous said...

Michele Snyder
3rd hour
“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.”
We must remember that our ancestors did not fear to speak their minds, or stand up for what they believed in. And just like them, we should speak our minds and fight for what we believe is right.
“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 time we deny people for the way they look, or for their beliefs then we are missing out on something to learn and/or a new perspective to look at things with. It is unfair to multiple people.
“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.”
We don’t face our issues until we have to, we sit around and act like everything’s great. Television is one of those things that distract us from our problems, from reality, since we don’t want to have to face those challenges. It comforts us with entertainment and fictional situations. When in reality we need to get up and face those situations and learn from them for the future.

Anonymous said...

Allison Levine
3rd Hour

“We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information,” Speech at Radio-Television News Directors Association, Chicago, October 15, 1958. I chose this statement because I find it very untrue in today’s society. If you look at the news nowadays, majority is disturbing/unpleasant news; you hardly ever see anything positive. http://www.wxyz.com/news/national/default.aspx: here is a link to Channel 7 news. Looking at the national news, more than half is negative, i.e. “NY teen charged with threatening school massacre”, “Cops getting caught on camera increases scrutiny” and “Impersonator facing child sex charges”. People today find these things more interesting than something up-beat and positive that’s going on—“NJ woman claims nearly $218M Powerball jackpot”. Negative news brings in viewers for news stations and readers for newspapers.
“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. In the world, people do not always get a fair trial with legitimate proof and evidence. Such as the case of Amanda Knox, who supposedly murdered her roommate while studying abroad in Italy. Many people think that the police didn’t find enough evidence to convict her of murder. It was just assumed that since she was the roommate, that she must be the killer. Also, some people in America tend to accuse people because of their looks, religion, race, etc. Referring back to an article listed in the above paragraph, “Cops getting caught on camera increases scrutiny”. In the article, it states that a police officer was beating an unarmed man. We can only assume why this officer was doing such a thing; he was accusing an unarmed man of being a threat without any legitimate proof.
“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, in America, allow people the right to be who they are. During the time of the Red Scare, people couldn’t be free to show their views, due to fear of being accused of being Communist. Today, people are accusing President Obama of being Socialist. What if some people in America are Socialist? They must hide it in fear of being ridiculed by others.

Anonymous said...

Shqipe Preni
3rd hour
“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.”
We always need to voice our opinions even at a time of crisis like the war at the time this was broadcasted. Even back then in a conservative time there was always people who told you the truth about whats going on in the news and we shouldn’t be afraid to do so because the people need to know. Now there is always someone pushing the buttons for people to know whats going on in this world no matter what.

“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.”
In america we fought for our independence, and freedom, and so on. So when they try and strip a country of theirs I think of it as contradicting and going against a countries rights as humans.

"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.”
Shows that t.v. can teach you something. The shows depending which ones will show you something you can learn.

Anonymous said...

Allie Rubin
3rd hour

1. "This is no time for men who oppose Senator McCarthy's methods to keep silent, or for those who approve." This statement describes a concept that is very apparent in society today. For every issue in the world, there are people who are against it and people who support it. To this day, it is important for people to stand up for what the believe and speak out. That is how change is made in the world and how people can have their say in world issues. For example, campaigns to help the environment have affected the behavior of many, causing an overall change in the world.
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 statement still applies greatly today. Many immigrants come to America with hopes of freedom and independence, as mentioned in the quote. Any limitation on these rights crushes the dreams of people coming to America seeking these things.
3."There is a great and perhaps decisive battle to be fought against ignorance, intolerance and indifference. This weapon of television could be useful." Nowadays, much of the programming on TV is created for entertainment purposes; however, there are also quite a few educational and nonfiction programs. It is important that these shows, such as news shows, are played because they keep people up to date on what is going on in other places. Nonfiction TV keeps watchers in the loop and reduces intolerance and ignorance by providing information.

Anonymous said...

“His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism.” I think that if the word “His” is changed to “Glenn Beck’s” this sentence would have 110% would have applied to today. Glenn Beck, along with a majority of fox’s “News” team, use the word journalism very flexibly. A more appropriate term would be fear mongering. Glenn Beck is drone of corporate America, scaring old ladies into fearing that President Obama is going to push them into the street while his socialist buddies at acorn steal your money to give to lazy people. Most people, I hope, can tell the difference between helping the lower class and forming a communist régime, but there are still few Americans who think that Glenn Beck is right.
“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." I think this applies to today, when I see teabaggers, people that are part of the teabag movement, on the television; protesting that the Obama administration is changing ‘their’ country. Or when I see that people think the government should be racially profiling for terrorists. The United States is not somebody, or a group of people’s, country; it is every American’s country. And that every American whether they immigrated here, or have been born in America should have the same rights as you or me, because they are American just like you and me. When other countries see ignorant people protesting the rights of everyone, they view every American this way, and it gives us a bad name.
“We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.” This is often seen today when people care more about celebrity gossip, or who hit snokkie this week on Jersey Shore, than the real news. If there was a natural disaster, killing millions of people, and reports of some sports star having an affair; which do your think would get more news coverage? I think you can figure that out on your own by looking at the past few months’ news. And also which do you think deserves more news coverage…
mark gastineau, 2nd

Anonymous said...

alex wong 2nd hour

1. “It is necessary to investigate before legislating, but the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one.” This is a big deal even more so now a day because we are passing bills from the left and right, no pun intended, just like when congress was voting on Obama care and I quote “but we have to pass the bill so that you can umm find out what is in it” Nancy Pelosi march 9th 2010 from the legislative conference of national association of counties. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoE1R-xH5To. The latter is the link to watch her blunder. If we pass a bill before knowing what is in it than we could be passing anything in which only the person or persons who proposed the bill would know what is in it.
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." National health care is one of many things that right now have the possibility of limiting our freedom because it takes away our choice to choose and without a choice to choose a system that only affects you and or your family than there is no freedom at all.
3. “If this state of affairs continues, we may alter an advertising slogan to read: LOOK NOW, PAY LATER.” This statement that is a big part of the world to day and my even have another meaning as there is no free lunch with an addendum by me if there is we will pay for it with our sons and daughters later. Also this statement talks about our national debt having to be paid off by our children and grandchildren. Good Night and Good Luck.

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." - As Americans we stress freedom, but sometimes it's difficult to maintain freedom, even at our home. Yes, we have the right to free speech, and free press, and all of the rights that "make us free," but freedom is not just a list of rights. All kinds of people suffer from stereotypes that limit their freedom. Assumptions that Muslims are terrorists, Italians are part of the Mafia, and Mexicans are all involved in drugs, change how people look at these groups. We might know these stereotypes are not true, but sometimes they arouse suspicion and limit freedom in little ways that just add up. If we don't have control and complete freedom in our own country, who's to say we can go off to find and protect it in other countries?
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." - Mistakes that we have made in the past have brought down some opinions of our country in the present. Everyone makes mistakes, but events like wars, internment camps, and slavery put a damper on how people view the U.S. as a whole.
3. "This instrument can teach, it can illuminate; yes, and it can even inspire.... This weapon of television could be useful." - TV is a great way to feed information to the public. News channels are constantly spitting out new information about what is going on around you, but not all television content is true. Something you might have heard on a late night TV show could easily be taken for a fact or statement, rather than comedy or an opinion. Talk shows effortlessly change opinions of viewers whether it's intentional or not, causing opinions to change, (mis)information to spread, and votes to swing.
Elyse Dumas - 3rd hour

Hannah Grossman said...

1."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 defiantly can relate to now because so many people are so consumed in what television has to offer that it becomes there life. This statement is saying that it could turn into something totally different if its being used to distract people when it could be used to give people valid information.

2."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"
What this is telling us is that you shouldn't judge someone just by looks or religion or anything like that because they actually could be a good person and if you accuse someone that is totally innocent then that's not a good thing. It defiantly relates to now because if someone walks on a airplane that looks somewhat suspicious people automatically think he or she is a terrorist and judge the person right away.

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." This also relates to today because when people are denied what they aspire and really want to do then people give up and lose there “confidence”. People back then fought for people today and people shouldn't be denied doing what they aspire to do.


Hannah Grossman

Anonymous said...

Michael Rondello
2nd Hour

Statement 1: "The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves."

Murrow said this when he was on the episode of See It Now and he was talking about how McCarthy was wrong to do what he was doing. It is a quote from Shakespeare’s play Julius Caesar. I think that we don’t take responsibility for some of the things we do in society today. We try to make excuses for things that are really are fault. When you think someone is dumb because they misunderstood what you said, you’re the dumb one because you didn’t communicate well enough to that person.

Statement 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.”

This statement refers to the freedoms of the United States of America. In this country, you can believe in anything you want and practically do anything you want. You have many rights that you can use and no one can take your beliefs and rights away from you here.

Statement 3: “This weapon of television could be useful."

This statement was again said by Murrow and it refers to how we can use the invention of television. Instead of just using T.V. for entertainment, we can use it for informational purposes and an easy way to educate the public. The invention of the T.V. is very important to our society depending on how we use it.

Unknown said...

1.“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 statement has a big application in the world. Terrorists are a big problem today and their whole plan is to make us fear them and the world around us. As the statement says we should not fear anyone and instead fight back against
them to stop what they are doing.

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 is important because our society today is very tolerant, but people are still being looked down upon because of racial or religious differences. It is very important to be tolerant of others because we are denying them the same right we have and the right we have worked so hard to get and protect.

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." T.V. is a very useful tool today, but also harms us. It can inform us of things happening around the world or even in our local cities, but it can also keep from being productive by entertaining us and keeping us in the house doing nothing. We determine its purpose but the shows we watch and the decisions we make.

- Ryan Brode
3rd hour

Anonymous said...

Lea Martin
3rd Hour

„We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result. “
This statement relates really well to our world today. A lot of countries try to erase or to forget about their past because they did something that they wish they never did. Or countries deny the history and try to make it someone else’s fault. However no one can escape the reality and the fact that these things happened and they have to handle the responsibility that comes with whatever they did.
“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.”
The wars we had that might not have been necessary made the American people lose confidence in the country and in the political system because they had to pay the price for what went wrong.

“ 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.”
People today don’t take a look at things themselves they watch television and believe what they see and what all the talk shows or other TV stations say. People don’t think they just listen and agree. This could become a problem because it’s not always true and TV can try to make people who watch it think the way they want them to. So viewers don’t make up their own mind and might see the real problem too late because they never thought about it.

Anonymous said...

“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.” Ever since 9/11 everyone has jumped on the accusation that anyone who is Muslim is a terrorist. But that is defiantly not the case, just because someone comes from the same religion has someone who has done horrible things doesn’t mean we can assume that person or persons are just as bad. We must gather evidence show some support behind our accusations and not just assume by religion.

"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.” Us Americans use the television has a distraction from the true reality of today; It’s something that distracts you from the more important things in life. We use it has entertainment instead of going outside and being active, we use it as the resort of being lazy.

"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 statement can relate to the “right to bear arms” because if the government takes away the right to bear arms then the freedom of protection is taken away from the people of America. Our ancestors fought for freedom with guns, they protected this country with guns and now the government wants to take a protection away from the people. I strongly believe everyone has the right to own a firearm for there own safety, it’s what our ancestors used many years ago, and we should be able to have the right to bear arms today.



Heather Robinson
2nd hour.

Anonymous said...

Griffin Harms
3rd Hour
"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 is implying that because we are defenders of freedom, we have a responsibility to defend freedom wherever it is abused. An example of this was seen in the 1940's, when we fought in Germany in WW2 to react to the unjust actions of the nazi's. This is what we must continue to do as defenders of freedom.
"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 quote is implying that we are completely desensitized to what is going on in the world. This is partially because of the way the media portrays actual events (tv, radio, press, films). Even though we are comfortable, we must always take action before it is too late and we are taken advantage of.
"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."
This quote is implying that we can't rely on communication to insulate ourselves from the things happening around us. He also is implying that we are already in trouble for relying on communication so much. What is important and what he is suggesting that we do is that we must face the issues ourselves in order survive.

Anonymous said...

Jim Stevens 3rd hour

"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." In the U.S. we have a problem with stereotyping everyone just because they are different than us. 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. It is a problem because it ruins a lot of peoples lives if every time they got to an airport they have to padded down for "security risks". Everyone deserves tolerance no matter what race or beliefs they have.

"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." Even today people aren't allowed to do a lot of things that are in their rights. Our forefathers fought for our freedom and equality. It is a shame that we still haven't achieved this goal.

"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." Even today we grimace at any unpleasant or disturbing information. TV is used to distract us. It is used so we can forget everything in the world and only pay attention to ourselves and how we feel and not helping the world and it's problems.

Anonymous said...

“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.” This can be applied in our world when people are investigated/persecuted just because of their race or looks. This can also be seen when investigators go way too far with their investigations and they lean more towards the end of persecuting rather than investigating, just like Joseph McCarthy did with his investigations of the communists. It is like when people who are Middle Eastern get “randomly searched” in airports because of their race.
“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.” This can be applied because something that seems like a small difference in two words can make a big problem in today’s world just like it did back then.
“We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.” In this statement, he is telling us about how nobody wants to hear any bad news at all. This can be applied today because a lot of people don’t like to hear or read the bad or scary news. They would rather see just the good news. This is because we hear about so much bad news that people think that nothing is going right, so they want to hear about something good for a change.

Alex Valente
2nd Hour

Anonymous said...

Alex "1337|V|4|\|" Pisano
3rd hour
Statements
1. “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.”
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.“…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.”
Analysis
1. If one has a problem with the actions the government takes, like so many things that Obama has done, they have and should exercise the right to speak out, by forming a petition, sending a letter to a congressman or assembling many people together in a peaceful march. Not just those that are against it, but also those that support it should speak out about their decisions. It is not just a right that they should exercise, but they should feel obligated to do it as a part of the responsibilities of a citizen. You may be able to deny that the events happened, but you have to feel responsibility for whatever you may have caused or what you even just looked the other way for. If you shut up, kept your head down, and let something bad happen, you might as well have done it yourself.
2. When the government puts limits on the freedom of individuals in the country, like in the patriot act, men and women who want that freedom lose confidence. When the government does that, those countries who aspire to be where our country is now lose faith in their role model of freedom and democracy; also it detracts from the accomplishments of all those who died in the name of that freedom and democracy and those that fought for it.
3. When the government censors what you put on TV, to shield the sensitive citizens from “anything that is unpleasant”, they prevent people from teaching the citizens the truth, which they have a right to know, and prevent them from acting out and preventing something altogether horrible. Not only the government does this, but so many of the networks today, skipping over depressing truths like suicides and fires, spending only a few seconds on them and then moving on to something trivial and uplifting.

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.”
I believe it can be said that we (the United States) are probably one of, if not the most stable countries in the world. For this reason, we are able to take steps to keep other countries that we associate with safe. So I agree with Murrow when he says we are the “defenders of freedom.” In recent years, we have spent a great amount of time doing all we can to keep other countries safe (for example Africa). Although I cannot say this for a fact, it might be possible that had we focused a little more attention on our own issues in America, we could have maybe avoided such a drastic turn in the economy. When we focus too much on other countries around the world, we could end up jeopardizing the well-being of our own citizens.
“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."
If we want to be known as a country in which people are free, then we cannot create so many laws that make people scared to act freely. In America today, people are constantly getting sued for anything and everything. I personally think this is ridiculous. People should not be able to do this, because when this happens, individuals will become afraid to act and speak in many ways because they will fear some sort of punishment.
"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."
Television can in many ways be informative and a good tool for getting information out to the public. However, I do not think we use television in the right way- we do not use it to our advantage. Instead, television is being used to twist stories of politicians and celebrities, simply in order to grab attention and have the best ratings. In this way, television misinforms people, doing the opposite of what it is capable of. I think that this is what Murrow was warning about when he made this statement.
Brad Benghiat 2nd Hour

Anonymous said...

Elizabeth Bondarenko
2nd hour
1. “…the line between investigating and persecuting is a very fine one and the junior Senator from Wisconsin has stepped over it repeatedly.”
There is a big difference between investigation and persecuting, and it’s very important not to mix up them. The example of results after mixing them up is what Joseph McCarthy did. What he had to do is to protect American people from Communism, from Communist’s ideas, from becoming Communists and from Communists by themselves, because all of this was very undesirable. That’s why of course protection was very important, and it was necessary to look for Communists amount Americans. But not the way McCarthy did. Instead of investigating people, checking someone, who caused suspicions, he chose his victim and started to persecute him. It didn’t meter for him, was that man really guilty. For me it looks more like paranoia. And because of if a lot of innocent people were killed or their life was destroyed.
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.”
There is no absolute freedom, no and cannot be. But it is still important what borders our freedom has. Primitive example: Someone give me a chose, I can choose any type of coffee that I want. I’m absolutely free in it. But at the same time someone else can choose if he want tea or coffee and what type. And every time our freedom became smaller and smaller we keep away from absolute freedom. Even if there is no absolute freedom we can aspire to it, to get as much as we can. Freedom is a very powerful thing if we are responsible enough for it. Freedom for everyone, this is what America famous for, isn’t it? Our ancestors fought for freedom, we need to continue it and keep away from everything that pulls us back.
3. “We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.”
I can be wrong, but this is just my opinion. I think that this statement can be apply to most people, but first of all and mostly to Americans. American mass media prefer to keep their people away from news from other countries. Even when they do this, they represent it like something not too important and in last turn. Events in America, even when they are just for entertainment, are shown instead of really important news from country abroad. I don’t know the reason of it. May be just government tries to isolate America from all other world, may be for other reason… And a lot of people support it. For me it looks like a child, who closes his eyes and ears and pretends that nothing is happening. I don’t understand this, don’t suppose it and hope, I’ll never become part of this system.

Jared Monchnik said...

Jared Monchnik
2nd hr
“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.” ~ Ed Murrow. What Mr. Murrow is saying, is McCarthy is picking out and getting rid of all the people who are not communists but people who are opposing his idea that communists are running around like madmen in the United States. And by opposing McCarthy is singling you out as communist, then connecting people with you as communists.
“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.” ~ Ed Murrow. What Murrow is saying though this is, as Americans, we cannot handle the truth, and the media reflects this by spouting lies to the viewer’s faces, and the T.V. station workers know this, yet they will all continue, as long as they are financed handsomely.
"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." ~ Ed Murrow. As said here Murrow is trying to explain how viewers are being fed lies, but he and many others are trying to stop this through their broadcasts and such.

Anonymous said...

Blake Jackson
3rd Hour
“We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.”
Many times in today’s era people become outcast just after being accused of a crime. Kids are kicked out of schools and colleges because they are charged with a crime before a trial is even held. Many times people assume the worse simply because of an accusation. The assumption that an accusation is right is causing a loss of trust among everyone.
“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 is one of the truest statements of all time. Mainly because it does and will probably always apply to society. Whenever an unjust is done in our country and broadcast so that all can see people begin to lose faith in their country and their justice system. Many begin to think well if it happened to them it could happen to me. When you build a country, a group or anything based around a founding principle it is always best to make sure that you keep to that principle.

"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.”
While we won’t pay in the sense of karma many people are becoming more oblivious to the world around them because they are so out of touch with the world. Many people don’t even watch the news or read papers because they would prefer not to know about what is happening in the world around them. The denial by the American people even today is unbelievable. We will never be able to move forward out of hard times when many people refuse to believe that those hard times are happening. We need to be a part of our country if we want a country to be proud of.

Anonymous said...

Dustin Oakwood
3rd Hour
1) “We will not walk in fear, one of another.” We are not the America we say we are. We may say that all men are created equal, lawfully yes they are in America to my knowledge, but socially they are not. This segregation comes from a fear of being different. If you are not the stereotypical white male then you are different and that itself is a reason for us to not treat you equally (my lame attempt at sarcasm.) This quote brings forth a vital topic: we must change our ways. Currently in today’s society I believe we are finally coming to terms with what social justice really means. Acceptance is something everyone should want; blind hate never got anyone anywhere.
2) “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.” I believe that America has a lot to do to live up to our own standards. I’m a strong believer in social justice and what we do does matter. By being ignorant and intolerant we are only showing other countries that a. we’re immature, and b. we’re more concerned about our image than our people. This is real, and this is today. I’m glad we’re fixing it though, it’s about time too.
3) “We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.” I believe that this quote says that we don’t hear what we don’t want to hear. Nobody wants to be told they’re wrong, that’s just human nature.

Anonymous said...

1. "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.”
a. Currently, Americans are comfortable because through the news they are being shielded from bad things. An example is like we said in class, the front page of the New York Times in the new iPad even though there is much more important things going on in the world. Disturbing or unpleasant information, although is happens constantly, we rarely see it in the news. This is why TV is considered to dilute us. But like the quote says, it is dangerous because it will be bad when people find out the truth of the world.

2. "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.”
a. Even though we have the most powerful instruments of communication, we use them as displaying the already filtered. This concept is compared to the Indians because there has always been tension with Indy. If any one person try’s to go and investigate real news and bring it to the TV then the reaction towards it. This is sometimes blocked though by people with “shields” that keep them away from unpleasant sights.

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."
a. In a way television can be considered as a weapon. It can make people determined to do things also though. This weapon can control people, and scar people. It works many ways and is used for many things including weapon weather between two people or whole groups. Like the quote says though, “…merely wires and lights in a box…” This “weapon” can be used to make people take sides on an issue, hate the enemy and millions of other possibilities. Not only is it a weapon, it can also inspire kids everywhere.

Anonymous said...

Austin Rovinski
2nd hour
4/19/10

“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.”

This point, that legislation should investigate first, is a much overlooked process even though it shouldn’t be. Legislation legislates now without investigating by having multiple proposals and modifying the best one to suit everyone else’s needs in the legislature in order to get it to pass. The legislation does not investigate, because investigation takes time and money, neither of which the legislation wants to use in order to make the “miracle” bills they are looking for to fix everything. Last time I checked, most people in the Senate and House were politicians, and not qualified economists. If that is so, how would they know what the best solution to fixing a depression is? Politicians are also not doctors, medical professionals, nor statistical analysts, so why should they be able to decide what is best for those either? Legislatures should investigate issues and how to solve them from qualified people who have spent time studying these issues.

“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 be applied to our freedoms today; everyone wants more freedom until they’re in charge of everyone else’s freedom. The government and the people need to find a balance of freedom and security, and when this balance is upset, one side (usually the government) will use this disturbance to unbalance this equilibrium, usually to protect the people. However, when this balance is prematurely or unnaturally upset by the government or otherwise, confidence in the government will suffer. This is why citizens have stood up against yesterday’s unjust acts and need to stand up against today’s unjust acts; an unjust act is loosely defined as it varies from person to person, but the most important thing is for that person to express him/herself.

“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."

This quote, although referring to television rather than to politics, is important and holds true even to today; television is used to inform and entertain, but it can also be used to deceive. Today, people need to be aware of the television that they are watching and the underlying themes that it is drumming into its viewers. To me, it seems that most channels have underlying agendas that they are trying to push forward. If you study shows closely, you can usually find them. Fortunately, there are still some shows that are able to inform and entertain without all of the underlying biased political agendas, although these channels are far and few between. Television has come far in the early days, and we, as the viewers, have to make sure we aren’t just taken along for the ride.

Anonymous said...

Brandon Verona
3rd Hour

1) "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."
He is saying that we have to take responsibility for our actions and that we cannot just pretend that whatever happened doesn’t matter and it applies to today’s life because we have to take responsibility for what we have done/what we are doing in the middle east.

2) “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”.
Edward Murrow is saying that if we don’t think of others from other countries or other races the same as us no one would want to have an allegiance with us. If we act like we are better than others, who would want to be with us? If we continue to act like we are more privileged than others no one would want to help us out or be in an allegiance with the United States.

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”.
It seems like we are blind to bad things and when we see bad things, we look the other way. It still holds true to when we watch the news. Everyone hates watching the news and I believe the reason why is because more than half the coverage is usually about local deaths and other unpleasant things.

Anonymous said...

History homework: Statement 4/16/2010 Jan Niklas Thon


“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”.
That’s an important issue of today’s political questions. President Obama wants to have world peace, like a lot of other nations, but it is hard to accomplish. Since there are so much US troops all over the world in regions, where nobody thinks about peace, we have a certain kind of responsibility to those countries where we started a war or we tried to help. On the other side Obama wants his troops to leave those countries soon, since we are there for so long and it is really expensive, but he can’t do it because the circumstances in the countries don’t allow.

“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”.
That’s an issue which a lot of politicians discuss today. Since we create new laws, which can limit some people in their all day life, there are great arguments against a lot of them. For example, the health care bill, a lot of people say it is unconstitutional and so it is against the ideas our ancestors fought for.

“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 statement talks about to main issues of our society, our bad lifestyle with bad food and no sports and that we believe everything the television people tell us. The information which we get from the tv is often not detailed enough or from one point of view, if you compare the report about the health care bill of Fox News and MSNBC it is totally different.

Anonymous said...

Sandra T. “We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape the responsibility for the result.”

We can apply this to our situations in the nation or as a world because it seems that many people just want to run away from the problems. When things go wrong people need to make a result; authority needs to make a solution and take responsibility for what has happened. They make all the decisions and when things go wrong they need to fix what went wrong and make it better.


“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."

There are many acts and laws that limit what a lot of people can do or what they want to do. I mean the ones that keep the country safe should be kept. But, the ones that make people not have the freedom to do what they want should be revised. People want to be more independent and do things the way they want when they want.


“Responsibility is not something that can be assigned or delegated.”

The person who has authority should know it is there responsibility when there is conflict or problems. They should have an answer to everything that goes wrong and be able to fix it. They should know it’s there responsibility taking the position of high authority.

Anonymous said...

Stefanie Kueck
3rd hour

“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.”
The American society has a problem with living in fear because we fear terrorist. We fear that if someone is the same religion or race that they are going to have some part in the actions.
“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 still applies today in American because we have the American dream that immigrants may want. We have freedom that other countries may not. I think that this statement is talking about the fact that we have to fight to keep that freedom if we want it.
"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”
That our government listens to our voice since we have a democratic government, that what we say has some say in the final answer in a solution for a problem.

Anonymous said...

1. “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 can be applied to our world today because it doesn’t do any good to act irrationally. It is important to think and to reason with others, and walk in their shoes. To have their respect is better than having nothing. Being able to compromise would be more helpful than being fearful of them because we are never going to get exactly what we want no matter what. There is not we can say or do to change their minds.
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."
People are a loud to think what believe, and do what say what they would like, but they have to take responsibility for the consequences. It is not okay to punish people for what they believe. If you don’t respect the opinion of people, you will lost their respect. If they would just simply agree to disagree, as long as no one is getting hurt, it would be more effective.
3. 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 is saying that if we didn’t take such harsh measures, we will be okay. Because the person who is wrong will have to suffer.

Randi G.

Anonymous said...

1. "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.”
a. Currently, Americans are comfortable because through the news they are being shielded from bad things. An example is like we said in class, the front page of the New York Times in the new iPad even though there is much more important things going on in the world. Disturbing or unpleasant information, although is happens constantly, we rarely see it in the news. This is why TV is considered to dilute us. But like the quote says, it is dangerous because it will be bad when people find out the truth of the world.

2. "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.”
a. Even though we have the most powerful instruments of communication, we use them as displaying the already filtered. This concept is compared to the Indians because there has always been tension with Indy. If any one person try’s to go and investigate real news and bring it to the TV then the reaction towards it. This is sometimes blocked though by people with “shields” that keep them away from unpleasant sights.

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."
a. In a way television can be considered as a weapon. It can make people determined to do things also though. This weapon can control people, and scar people. It works many ways and is used for many things including weapon weather between two people or whole groups. Like the quote says though, “…merely wires and lights in a box…” This “weapon” can be used to make people take sides on an issue, hate the enemy and millions of other possibilities. Not only is it a weapon, it can also inspire kids everywhere.

Will I B.

Anonymous said...

1)"We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that convictions depends upon
evidence an 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, to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular."This statement, said by
Ed Murrow is very true and still exist in today's society. For example, when people are
convicted of criminal acts, they go through a court and legal process until proven guilty
by evidence, witness, jury, and protected/determined by constitutional laws. Are founding
fathers created the constitution & Bill of rights so that each citizen of the U.S.A could
have equal rights and defend themselves against unlawful acts. They even created conspiracies
and other social gatherings to help the people of America when they were being mistreated
by Great Britain and unrightfully taxed. Thomas JEfferson and James Madison always spoke their
minds in letters and public newspapers, during American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), and the
war of 1812.Accusing someone without the proper or evidence or on going a series of court cases
is against the law and is violating the constitution.



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 of March 9th 1954 strongly expresses that
americans as a whole should fight against the unmoral, and speak their mind to any new
law that violates their right to freedom or being a american. Our ancestor have fought to get
us here today and provided us with rights to stop a republic and give some responsibility
to the people. Currently an Immigration law/bill has passed in Phoneix, Arizona and violates
the constitution because it attacks the hispanic population and civil rights. The law makes
illegal immigration a state crime. It gives police the authority to question people about their
immigration status and arrest those who cannot show documentation to establish their legal
residency.It means anyone who doesn't carry an Arizona license, children under 16, seniors
who don't drive and people from out of state, could be "at risk of being arrested and turned
over to (Immigration and Customs Enforcement).Now everyone has to show and prove that they're
a legal resident or citizen.Government offices tap into phone lines and run investigations
while violating rights.


3) "We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacement. We have currently a built
in allergy to unpleasent or disturbing information....those who look at it and those who work
at it, may see a totally different picture too late." This quote informs american individuals
to get off their lazy behinds and become alert of certain situations, before it is too late.
It reminds me of the time when the world trade center had been attacked on September 11, 2001.
No one was aware what had just happened or the root of the attack.Only individuals who were
reading between the lines of newspapers articles, observing news on television closely instead
of other citizens imagining a utopic world.

Kierra W.

Anonymous said...

Hour 3


“We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.” Americans, like Senator McCarthy, constantly assume people of crime and dishonesty right away, if they appear to be victims. This is not right, in that conviction depends on evidence. We must have a legitimate reason and proof that someone did something unlawful or is something that does not follow what the U.S. wants us to be, like communism vs. capitalism.

“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.” Abraham Lincoln said, “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves”. People must be able to say, write, think or feel however we want. We have to have free-will, and the power of self-determination to take responsibility for ourselves, and not have the government or others tell us what we should say, write, think or feel. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for black people to be free, and they deserve that today. America is an independent country. When our freedom gets taken away, our confidence goes down.

“We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information. Our mass media reflect this.” There is rarely ever a time where we turn on the TV to hear good information. The news only portrays negative information going on in the world and only puts us in fear of the real world. The world does not consist only of robberies and murders.

Norell

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”.

That’s an important issue of today’s political questions. President Obama wants to have world peace, like a lot of other nations, but it is hard to accomplish. Since there are so much US troops all over the world in regions, where nobody thinks about peace, we have a certain kind of responsibility to those countries where we started a war or we tried to help. On the other side Obama wants his troops to leave those countries soon, since we are there for so long and it is really expensive, but he can’t do it because the circumstances in the countries don’t allow.


“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”.

That’s an issue which a lot of politicians discuss today. Since we create new laws, which can limit some people in their all day life, there are great arguments against a lot of them. For example, the health care bill, a lot of people say it is unconstitutional and so it is against the ideas our ancestors fought for.


“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 statement talks about to main issues of our society, our bad lifestyle with bad food and no sports and that we believe everything the television people tell us. The information which we get from the tv is often not detailed enough or from one point of view, if you compare the report about the health care bill of Fox News and MSNBC it is totally different.

Jan Thon

Anonymous said...

Lauren Sikorski
Speech one:
“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.”
The war in Iraq going on today with a lot of our soldiers being deployed out there is not a time to be fearful. We fought many wars throughout the years such as WW1 and WW11, The Vietnam War, and even the Civil war between the north and south in our country. The people in their time fought and did there time. Now it’s our turn, to be afraid, but not let it show. We have a lot of history where fear has not shown, and that’s how it has to be today with good decisions.

Speech two:
“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."
Racial profiling going on today contradicts what this quote says. For other countries to think that were all about freedom, we have to show them we mean what we say. By secluding ourselves from people based on color or race is not what America portrays itself of being! Our ancestors fought for the freedom, now we must take advantage of it because that’s what America is. The land of the free!

Speech three:
“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.”
History is in the making with President Obama being the first black president. When president Bush was in office the people will see in color on their televisions the bombings of 9/11. Our world then could not be covered up to make it any better. America thinks their so strong that it’s hard to picture us at our weakest point. At the moment the economy is going downhill for America. The news and television tries to get in our head that it will be better sometime in the near future, when its going to take years to get back to the top again.