May 19

Blog #19 – Good Night and Good Luck

Quote three short 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.

 Each quote analysis should be a minimum of 150 words (not including the actual quote) for a total of 450 words.  Due Monday, May 23. 

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Posted May 19, 2011 by geoffwickersham in category Blogs

64 thoughts on “Blog #19 – Good Night and Good Luck

  1. Riley Landgraf 5th hour

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

    I think this definitely applies today. A lot of things that have happened in the past few decades have definitely affected where we live today and what we are doing today will affect the future. For example, what Edward R. Murrow is actually talking about TV. We watch a lot of TV today and it will affect the eating and activity habits of our generation and the kids of today’s generation in the future. Another example is our carbon footprint from the past has affected today and our carbon foot print today will affect the future. The invention of cars and mass herding of cows are partly to blame. Of course we can blame all of these things on anything but ourselves but ultimately it is us to blame. Yes, you might need your car to drive to work but have you ever thought of maybe riding your bike to the store?

    If we confuse dissent with disloyalty.

    I think this can definitely apply today. Just a few years ago after nine eleven many people of Arabic decent were discriminated against because they were thought to be terrorists and disloyal. Of course not all people of Arabic decent are terrorists and are respectful of the United States. This also happened years ago when we put the Japanese in internment camps when we were at war. Obliviously they would not have done anything. We did think that they were going to do something but, it was unnecessary to go to those extremes. This quote also makes me think of stereotypes. Not necessarily dissent and disloyalty. More like on a small scale like Asian and being smart or Black and being from the Ghetto. Usually stereotypes have started with decent and an attribute of just a few people, but today I think people definitely make generalizations about one person and their whole culture.

    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 think this applies greatly today. Everyone has watched television is their life and at least only once it has been purely educational. I think definitely television personnel today focus more on making money, getting millions of people to watch and finding new ways to get people to watch more and more. Like new cartoons about adventures to the underworld and more dramas about crazy medical coincidences. Also, advertizing has taken over TV and distracting from the point of the show (if there is a point). However, that seems to be what most Television executives are after today. I think some of the most educational shows are for kids to learn, but should they really need to be watching TV to learn when there are so many other ways to learn around them? Sometime you should just step away from the bright light in a screen and go read a book, do your homework or go outside.

  2. Chase Turner

    See it now broadcast:
    “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 quote and this broadcast makes me think of how afraid everyone is no a days of EVERYTHING. There is security everywhere, and much of it. For example you cant go to a concert or a sporting event without having your bag or you being searched. Worst of all you can fly without hours of security, and it happens that all of the “random” screenings are Arab people. Go figure we are so afraid of everything we have to count on racial profiling to makes us feel better, but actually we just are trying to cover up our fear.
    Broad cast number 2, Ford fiftieth Anniversary Show:
    “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 reminds me of how corrupt our government and law enforcement agencies are. We deny peoples rights every day whether its pulling you over and searching your car(without a warrant) illegally, or it’s a cop beating down a poor old guy and taking his drugs or money to use for himself. Our government wow is that a joke no reason we are in so much dept all the Politian’s just pocket all of our tax money, maybe if we didn’t have such a terrible democracy things would be okay, look at china they aren’t a democracy and they are just rising more and more powerful, unlike us who are becoming less and less powerful(financially).
    Broadcast number 3, Speech at radio-television news directors association:
    “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.” This broadcast reminds how we as Americans don’t take anything seriously, we make fun of all of the real problems in the world in shows such as SNL, and say ohhh who cares this junk doesn’t matter it doesn’t affect me, well yes it does! Your to blind to see! Example when Omar kidaffi (or how ever you spell his name) decided to start going crazy in Libya you know what happened? Gas went from sub 3$ to about 4$ a gallon so that DOES in fact effect you, and yes we us your tax money to fight these wars, and the more we try to butt into other countries business the more money youll have to be paying for taxes. We are just so ignorant about everything and so blinded by the real and true troubles of the world. We would rather lie to ourselves and say everything is okay than face the truth. Its like how you raise a kid to be studious or not to be to be polite or rude. We are like that bratty kid who doesn’t care about anybody but them selve and everything has to be our way. No one likes that kid but no body wants to piss him off because they know they will get screwed. That’s our nation and mostly everyone in it we use television and radio to get away from the trouble that our nation faces.

  3. Ryan Stratton

    “See It Now”
    This entire broadcast reminds me of the current situation with Donald Trump and President Obama. Trump was adamant that Obama release his birth certificate. Before Trump came around (excluding the talk of this same issue during the election), no one really cared about the birth certificate, or at least didn’t voice their concerns. Soon, Trump went on a manhunt (similar to McCarthy’s communist hunt, no?) to prove or disprove Obama’s citizenship. In both cases, however, it did raise good questions. In the case of McCarthy and his pseudo-war on Communism, it forced us to look at our own country and our own citizens to find Communists. In Trump’s case, we asked ourselves “is Obama a legitimate US citizen?”.

    “Ford 50th Anniversary Show”
    America is known for it’s freedoms, free speech being one of these. No matter what you believe, no matter how loudly you scream out your beliefs, it can be done legally. For example, the Westboro Church is an extremely radical group, who has an extreme view (to say that least) on homosexuality. They proclaim their hatred in many ways, from broadcasting borderline hatespeech in their sermons, to protesting a soldier’s funeral because he was gay. The general theme of the speech in this broadcast is that actions such as these limit the freedoms of certain individuals, regardless of their views, ideas, or sexual preference.

    “Radio-News TV Directors Speech”
    Our history will be what we make it. This is not only concise, but it is timeless. We face decisions every day, and, whether our “history” is what future students will be learning in APUSH or if it’s just our own personal story, our history is what we make it. We have the power to control our history, control our story, control what people learn about us.

  4. Michael Nona

    1. “His primary achievement has been in confusing the public mind, as between the internal and the external threats of Communism” This blatant form of racism is not uncommon to what we experience today. People are just as willing to claim that someone is a terrorist if they are Arabic or a communist if they are from China. It has gotten better in the recent years but at its height it was very close to the way people treated people who they thought might be terrorists. The main difference is that now people don’t even think about it like they used to. Some see a turban or hear a Middle Eastern accent and instantly think that this person, who is usually just as much a citizen of this country as the person thinking it, is a dangerous person and they should get away for this man. During the 1950s it might have made people more paranoid because we have obvious visual aids that tell us to be afraid but for them anyone could be a communist.
    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.” A serious problem happens by limiting individual freedom and that is that countless people have lost their lives trying to attain the level of equality and freedom experienced in the late 40s early 50s and we can’t let all that hard work go to waste because of stupid reasons. America wasn’t built in a day but people are willing to tear down all the hard work as if they could rebuild it to its former glory is that mush time. No two people on earth are exactly the same and that individuality is what is so special about the human race. We have the power to be different but limiting freedom takes that power away and without it we are no different from any other animal on Earth.
    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.” In this quote we are forced to think of what times were like back then and how they are now. If they realized that we were becoming “wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent” and that TV and other electronics were being used to “distract, delude, amuse and insulate us” in 1958 then what are we now? This was a time were color television was not used and there was at most one TV per house hold. Now we live in a time were some families have a TV in every room and children as young as 6 or 7 spend more time watching TV or playing video games than they do outside. When I was 6, I spent every free moment outside playing and now I am healthy and still love the outdoors. Many people also use TV to escape the real world and that is a problem. If you spend more time watching stupid shows than something that can increase your spectrum of knowledge then maybe you should rethink the way you are using your mind.
    (didn’t work the first time i tried)

  5. Devan Moosherr

    See it now-

    “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 reminds me off the mindset that our country has on the war in Iraq and in Afghanistan. We see ourselves as the leaders of the world and we put so much into protecting the people of Iraq and Afghanistan that we forgot about the problems that was going on in our country, which ended up putting us into major debt.

    Ford Fifteenth Anniversary-

    “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.” America is a country that is all for democracy and freedom for all people, when the schools in Arkansas or Tennessee make it illegal for a teacher to say the word “gay” that is taking away the rights that peoples ancestors fought for to make this country the way that it is.

    Speech at Radio- “But that would be unpleasant. And we must at all costs shield the sensitive citizens from anything that is unpleasant.” We have just come out of, or debatably are still in, the “Great Recession.” This quote relates to the current situations in our country because the media and a lot of people still strongly believe that we are in a recession. It seems that the government, at times, hid the harsh reality from us that we were actually facing when this recession was at its worst.

  6. McPhersonnnnn

    See It Now:“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 explained”.
    I actually like this phrase that Edward R. Murrow used. I don’t however agree with it completely, only to a certain extent. I think are country is driven by fear, absolutely. I do feel that it can be very encouraging and empowering today though.
    “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 couldn’t have agreed more with this part here. I feel that our society is mainly branched from television. I feel that in today’s society we have things on television that’s entertaining, and can ditract us fromte truth, something that we should reslly be seeing, but instead we have been blinded by false things that keep us away from the truth. We as Americans are becoming very comfortable and don’t see things as clearly anymore.
    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.”
    I really like this quote I feel that it shows that in todays world we need to be more acceptance of everyone as individuals. I this passage represents many things in todays society. I think Americans like to make a huge front on being the land of the free, where all things are possible. But when we deal with racism, and other things that seperates others its really just turns into uge joke.

  7. Dorian Ballard

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

    I think that this quote is a very deep and awesome quote. It says so much to the individual who wants to express their own ideas and will even deal with public scrutiny to have the ability to express what they believe in. I strongly believe in the beginning of the quote when they talk about the difference between dissent and disloyalty. I can really connect this to the McCarthy trials. I know that this is what this is about but this really drove it home. The people that wanted the government to help people, who needed some type of support, were charged with being communist. I think that just because certain TV personalities thought that it was time for elected officials to show some compassion to their constituency that they should have been branded as communist. They had different ideas that leaned toward the liberal side of America, and I don’t believe that there is any thing wrong with that.
    Speech at Radio-Television News Directors Association, Chicago, October 15, 1958.

    This was a very long speech about many difficult and moving facts. I agree with the fact that many of Americans are surrounded by a false sense of security and they believe all is well in the world while it is not really, but I think that the entire idea about the media being the thing that is causing people to be under informed or misinformed. I think that if people wanted to know what was going on the world they would try to find the truth in all of the lies that the media puts out. I read a quote once saying that “you’ll die of a misprint in a health magazine” and I think that this he perfect quote. I you believe all of the garbage that the media puts out then you deserve to be deceived. I believe that the lord gave you a mind so that you would be able to make your own decisions and if aren’t smart enough to use it shame on you.

    See it Now broadcast, March 9 1954

    This was a very down to earth story. We spoke about the trials and we talked about him exploiting the situation, with his position and his influence. Sometimes people whom are weak-minded couldn’t think of their own ideas and follow people who are simply louder than them. I respect the man who said this because he says that the country has to take responsibility for its actions. He says that we are promoters of democracy and freedom, and we cannot live in a society where we walk in fear of each other. I can relate this to racism. We as a country cannot be a whole, if black people, brown people, white people, or any other color of people cannot work together. I see this in school everyday. I don’t see hard bad racism but little snide comments in the hallways, and the two groups of black and white students that are separated by a hall monitor. I understand what this guy is saying and it makes sense and you can apply it to so many regions. This guy knows his stuff and I respect him for saying this stuff out loud and proud.

  8. Samuel Kepes

    “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.”

    I think this statement, made by Edward Murrow, can be applied to our political situation today in many ways. The most obvious one being our foreign policy, especially regarding the Middle East. Because of one day of terrorism, though it was terrible, our country has become very pregidous against the Middle East. We never had any absolute proof that there was WMD’s in Iraq yet we went into their country, killed and ruined the lives of thousands of citizens, as well as thousands of American lives. Even in our own country, we are afraid of anyone who looks middle-eastern. The amount of racism is sad. We make fun of people with accents, stay away from “suspicious” looking people, and never miss a chance to make a joke about

    “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 statement directly applies to our treatment of gays in the country. The fact that gay marriage is not legal in every state doesn’t make sense. When we discriminate against a certain group it instantly dissolves any trust, or belief they may have had in our government. When Murrow says “costs us” he is saying that it costs, not in a money way, but as far as trust goes, it costs the country many people’s trust. Since they cannot do what they want in our “free country” they may not believe they are truly free anymore. This is not what our soldiers are dying to protect every day. They are protecting our freedom, not the lack of it.

    “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.”

    I think this situation described by Edward Murrow is more of a social issue then political problem. But it still is a problem. I think that the T.V. could be a great teaching devise, and now a day it is certainly used a one. With channels like Discovery or National Geographic’s, there are many ways for kids or adults to learn things from the tube. But there also many more channels of useless programs that are only to entertain and make money. Almost all of the shows on M.T.V., many cartoon shows, and most nighttime shows are full of mind numbing dumbness. I think it’s very sad that our society is so obsessed with these shows. We waste so much time with watching T.V. when we should be doing other things, like studying for our history class.

  9. Chris Robbe

    From the ‘see it now’ broadcast
    In this broadcast the quote that stuck most with me was the one the final part of a quote that “We must remember always that accusation is not proof and that conviction depends upon evidence and due process of law.” I see this and I’m thinking of the assassination of Osama Bin Laden. We shot an unarmed man who wasn’t tried guilty or anything. I’m sure that theres some reason that this is legal like we were at war or it was in a different country, or even that it would be too dangerous to carry him back. I’m okay with this happening because theres no reason to risk our seal’s lives to bring that guy back only to kill him later. The problem I’m having is that this kind of thing is happening back in America, vigilante justice. You have to be sure without a doubt that the guy is guilty, otherwise innocent people will die because some guy or the government thinks that a person is guilty.

    In Ford’s fiftieth Anniversary show
    “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 reminds me of the racism that is scattered throughout the country and especially of the incidents that are happening at Seaholm. I don’t know how somebody could find it funny to do these things but they happen all the time. These types of things deny people their right to live happily in a country that they have lived and fought for their whole lives.

    RTNDA speech
    “We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information” I think that this pretty much is to the point that he would like. Although the primo television spots are still being given to Sitcoms and reality tv shows and such, the news that everyone watches is a good mixture of disturbing and good news. We are getting educated on the world around us and that was what he really wanted in that speech.

  10. Connor Mason

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

    I think this quote applies most to life today because the U.S. has a very strong policy of this even though we ourselves broke this rule in assassinating Osama Bin Laden just recently. He was ambushed and killed on the spot. He was not given a fair trial or anything of the sort. We killed him just because we didnt like him or hated him and wanted him dead because of the attrocities he committed. I guess he did admit to doing the 9/11 attacks, so we already knew he was guilty but if we practiced what we preached then he would still have been given a fair trial.

    “If we deny the right of the individual to be wrong, unpopular, eccentric or unorthodox.”- FFAS speech.

    This quote from the second speech also applies greatly to real life in the 2000’s because todays world is built a lot around equality and people being themselves and different. This quote is also talking a lot about communism, in communism, everyone is the same basically. No one can be unorthodox or different and the quote is saying that it is bad to be that way. The quote also emphasizes the importance of being different to the american public because it is telling them that if they try to be like other people then they will be no better than their communist enemies, and in a time where the public was very afraid of the soviet union, this quote was very effective most likely.

    “We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent.”- RTNDA speech.

    This quote is very powerful, I think, because it still holds true today. Most of America is still fat, comfortable, and complacent, maybe not all people are wealthy but there are many people who are complacent where they are now. In

  11. Claire Fisher

    See it Now

    “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”

    I think this quote applies to today because it is similar to the way that Americans accused and convicted people of being “terrorists” after 9/11. We unjustly accuse with our treatment of Arabs, by randomly screening them, I mean our fear has gone so far that we succumb to stereo types. Still, more so towards today than a few years ago, I think our level of security has reached an age of “unreason.” Because we are so afraid of being taken over by terrorists we “walk in fear, one of another.”

    Ford Fiftieth Anniversary Show

    “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.”

    Again this quote applies to today in our security. A stereo type of Arabs as terrorists “limits the freedom of the individual”; stereo types limit freedom. How can people look for that freedom in this country when simply being an Arab or looking kind of shady in an airport makes you a security risk? Along with these stereo types of Arabs, there are stereo types of people who look shady. For instance if you try to get a job wearing old clothes, as opposed to a suit, you can’t because society has deemed you “bad” or “unreliable.”

    Speech at Radio-Television News Directors Association

    “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 applies to today in our being uninformed. People, especially kids, are unaware of what is going on in the world. The reason for this, I think, is simply because we aren’t motivated enough or don’t care enough to pay attention. This lack of being informed was evident to me, while handing out a Scriptor survey about current events to students. Most people were unaware that the things on the paper were going on and were forced to guess. We need to get out of our shell and pay attention to the world around us, otherwise, I think we will become in some ways isolationist and most importantly a generation who didn’t know what was going on around them.

  12. Maddie perfitt

    “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.” Schools like to show off about how they’re a “hate free zone” and very “diverse”. But Diversity means nothing when it isn’t accepted. The homosexual community is one that shouldn’t be ridiciuled as a Jewish or Christian follower wouldn’t be ridiculed. We can’t be telling other countries about Democracy and how to have equality amoung all beings when we ourselves have internal problems.
    “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.” The average American isn’t aware of the effects on global warming that each and every one of us has. We decide, rather, to sit “wealthy, fat, comfortable” and think that everyone else can do the job. WE let materialistic things and television wisk us away into a dreamland where global warming isn’t true. By the time we just let things happen, itll be too late to save anyone. Ignorance is not bliss.
    “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.” I believe that the top businesses- in the goods industry like McDonalds and MTV- could bring more awareness to international issues. They could help donate or just boost awareness about the worlds problems because most people just don’t know. They have a responsibility as the leader in holding American’s attention.

  13. geoffwickersham (Post author)

    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.

    I think this quote is more applicable than any other. Most tv shows that are on today are mindless entertainment without a point. Shws like south park and family guy try to have an edgy political view but it comes off more like preachy than actually informational. The lights in the box is exactly what it is. The entire section of Disney and nickelodeon is a dismal scene of fake laughing “sitcoms” that may once in a while teach you that hola means hello. We don’t use this as a tool for change, we use the T.V. as a source of income and mindless shlop. I don’t really have a problem with lots of the mindless shlop, but whenever a show decides to force its political views, it comes off rotten and undignified.

    I am entirely persuaded that the American public is more reasonable, restrained and more mature than most of our industry’s program planners believe.

    This is my most strong belief about our society. There are few movies and shows that actually give a plot and then make you think. The new formula is state something that might take thought, and then immediately explain it because there is too much complexity. There can be things that are straight forward, but shows like The Cleveland Show are beyond stupid because they are targeted for a supposedly dumb American audience. This quote is directed at all the shows who are telling you what you know or saying jokes that have already been told. It’s like the difference between appearances and street smarts or book smart. This reminds me of the most recent family guy where the characters nodded at eachother for around 45 seconds. This sounds short but well its not. The joke was directed at a 3-year-old kid and it is a teenagers show.

    We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent. We have currently a built-in allergy to unpleasant or disturbing information.

    This is sort of comparable to the economic meltdown we had. We were enjoying our wealth and we would not listen to the warnings of all the reports that were made about the gross misconduct going on in the large corporations. The allergy part in this perfectly describes how we ignored the facts until they came back and bit us in the bee hive. It’s a lot like how we ignore things we do bad and focus on the good. This quote is more saying fix the bad before keeping the good. I don’t know that everyone was wealthy and fat though, but we were more comfortable without the disturbing information that was presented after the explosion of debt. But this quote also states that we are currently in this status, but its more the statues of 2003 and beyond. The housing market was the first disturbing information and then went the banks. Also was the mort-gage betting, I think the most disturbing and ignored thing.

  14. Benjamin Sadler

    “We can deny our heritage and our history, but we cannot escape responsibility for the result”. I believe that this is a very good quote and it has such good meaning. There are so many different conspiracies out there about how things have never happened. Some people try to tell you that we never landed on the moon or that the holocaust never happened. These people can say what they please but that still doesn’t mean that history is still history.

    “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 could makes so much sense in the way of how America was brought up to be by our founding fathers. We aren’t a country of the unjust. Land of the free and home of the brave, this relates so much to this quote in showing that everyone is equal and has freedom and independence and you cant take that away from anyone.

    “We are currently wealthy, fat, comfortable and complacent.” This relates to exactly how America is right now. We are such an obese country and we don’t care, we will still eat all the fatty foods to our hearts content. This also can relate to how business people will be so self centered that they don’t care about how their actions can affect other people but just for themselves with whether they will profit or not.

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