This is where our daily reactions to the readings will be posted. Also, we will be able to reply to each other and continue discussions outside of class.
For this week’s reaction paper, I have decided to discuss the brilliance of ignorance. Several things have been introduced to me in the past two days in which I feel need to be addressed. The first topic is the expansion of America due to pure lack of experience or knowledge. Early 19th century Americans sought to expand American so any property that was unoccupied, they would clear and build a home to live in. When rightful owners found out, it caused obvious conflict and many threats of war and fighting were brought up. Due to intimidation and lack of power the owners would surrender the land to these people and it somehow became American soil. None of these decisions went through government it was simply Americans taking action into their own hands i.e. ignorance. This was a case of simple people on the outer edges of the country looking to expand, and not willing to accept no for an answer.
My second example is that of Mr. Jeffery Smith in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” A simple country boy is ripped from his comfortable life of promoting boy scouts in the area, to sitting in the senate fighting political machines. His ignorance of not knowing how things were run in congress got him recognition in Washington. No one respected him in the beginning, due to his lack of experience and little recognition around the country, but his honesty and driven personality caused him to reshape the United States Senate. Had he known how hard it was to pass a bill from the very beginning, and been aware of the difficulties of going through a political machine the outcome may have been different. Mr. Smith was driven due to his inexperience and un-knowing of what he was up against. His ignorance led him to remodeling the senate of our country.
Just as the citizens on the outskirts of our young country expanded the country on their own, Mr. Smith went in to Washington without a clue of what he was up against and managed to change our government forever. These are my examples of how simple ignorance, if used properly, can be brilliant.
I watched the movie Mr. Smith goes to Washington this week and truly enjoyed the film. It starts off a little cheesy but by the end has your attention. One of the recurring themes in this movie is that all people start off good and are then changed into bad people. The main example of how people are good and innocent in the start is the main character, Frank Capra, who plays Jefferson Smith. Smith who is appointed senator is the leader of the boy rangers and writes a 4 page paper because the political machine, Mr. James Taylor, wants to take advantage of him. When he accepts the position he is truly good and loves this country and knows more about why things are the way they are then any of the other senators. He is also so innocent that he has no idea how much work goes into making a bill. He wants nothing more than to make a boys camp that would for the boy rangers all over the nation to come to instead of having them on the streets for the summer. He did not know though that the place he wants to build the boys camp is the same place that the political machine was going to use in one of its bill to make some illegal money. So when he tries to pass his bill the political machine knocks him down and makes up faulty things about him which makes him an outcast in the senate. They even go to the point of saying that he is trying to get his bill passed for political gain. This almost gets him kicked out of the senate. In the end he goes on a 24 hour filibuster and gets to the other senator from his state which at one time was innocent like he was. This senator comes clean and says that everything Senator Smith said was true. This brings me to the point that all people are innocent and even when they change it does not take much for them to go back and do the right thing in the end such as Senator Joseph Harrison Paine.
2 comments:
Reaction Paper
For this week’s reaction paper, I have decided to discuss the brilliance of ignorance. Several things have been introduced to me in the past two days in which I feel need to be addressed. The first topic is the expansion of America due to pure lack of experience or knowledge. Early 19th century Americans sought to expand American so any property that was unoccupied, they would clear and build a home to live in. When rightful owners found out, it caused obvious conflict and many threats of war and fighting were brought up. Due to intimidation and lack of power the owners would surrender the land to these people and it somehow became American soil. None of these decisions went through government it was simply Americans taking action into their own hands i.e. ignorance. This was a case of simple people on the outer edges of the country looking to expand, and not willing to accept no for an answer.
My second example is that of Mr. Jeffery Smith in “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.” A simple country boy is ripped from his comfortable life of promoting boy scouts in the area, to sitting in the senate fighting political machines. His ignorance of not knowing how things were run in congress got him recognition in Washington. No one respected him in the beginning, due to his lack of experience and little recognition around the country, but his honesty and driven personality caused him to reshape the United States Senate. Had he known how hard it was to pass a bill from the very beginning, and been aware of the difficulties of going through a political machine the outcome may have been different. Mr. Smith was driven due to his inexperience and un-knowing of what he was up against. His ignorance led him to remodeling the senate of our country.
Just as the citizens on the outskirts of our young country expanded the country on their own, Mr. Smith went in to Washington without a clue of what he was up against and managed to change our government forever. These are my examples of how simple ignorance, if used properly, can be brilliant.
Nick Dubuisson
I watched the movie Mr. Smith goes to Washington this week and truly enjoyed the film. It starts off a little cheesy but by the end has your attention. One of the recurring themes in this movie is that all people start off good and are then changed into bad people. The main example of how people are good and innocent in the start is the main character, Frank Capra, who plays Jefferson Smith. Smith who is appointed senator is the leader of the boy rangers and writes a 4 page paper because the political machine, Mr. James Taylor, wants to take advantage of him. When he accepts the position he is truly good and loves this country and knows more about why things are the way they are then any of the other senators. He is also so innocent that he has no idea how much work goes into making a bill. He wants nothing more than to make a boys camp that would for the boy rangers all over the nation to come to instead of having them on the streets for the summer. He did not know though that the place he wants to build the boys camp is the same place that the political machine was going to use in one of its bill to make some illegal money. So when he tries to pass his bill the political machine knocks him down and makes up faulty things about him which makes him an outcast in the senate. They even go to the point of saying that he is trying to get his bill passed for political gain. This almost gets him kicked out of the senate. In the end he goes on a 24 hour filibuster and gets to the other senator from his state which at one time was innocent like he was. This senator comes clean and says that everything Senator Smith said was true. This brings me to the point that all people are innocent and even when they change it does not take much for them to go back and do the right thing in the end such as Senator Joseph Harrison Paine.
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