Do The Right Thing

In How Bigger Was Born, Richard Wright spoke a lot about how society influenced people's behavior.  When speaking about Bigger No. 5, he mentioned Jim Crow Laws and how streetcars were divided into two sections - one for whites and one for colored people.  This choice sparked controversy amongst the population of Dixie, specifically black and white citizens who rode the streetcars.  For example, Bigger No. 4 would sit in the white section of the streetcar and refuse to move, even after being approached by the conductor.  This led the conductor to refer to Bigger No. 4 and other black people as "the goddamn scum of the earth" (437).  However, this didn't affect Bigger No. 4 or the other black people on the streetcar.  Infact, they felt a sense of pride, instead of shame.  This reminded me of Do The Right Thing because it seemed like the tension in their neighborhood is what created all the problems.  The neighborhood of New York in Do The Right Thing was filled with different minority groups - not just African Americans.  There were Italians, Puerto Ricans, Koreans, too.  Each of these ethnicities are very different, so living in the same neighborhood was bound to be uncomfortable.  One moment that stood out to me was that after the black people destroyed Sal's pizzeria, they went after the Korean supermarket next.  However, the owner stopped them, saying "we are the same".  To me, this statement seemed insincere - an excuse to save their business.  This moment in the movie was similar to the time in Native Son when Jan was trying to make he and Bigger seem equal, even though they clearly weren't.  In both situations, Bigger and the black people in the movie recognized their counterpart's false intentions and decided that a fight wasn't worth their time.  These tensions between ethnicities in Do The Right Thing and the tensions between blacks and whites in Native Son are proof that society affects the way people behave.

The end of Do The Right Thing left me with a sense of hope for the relationship between Mookie and Sal.  The morning after the incident, Mookie went back to Sal's pizzeria to collect his pay. Even though Sal was upset, he knew that Mookie had worked hard to deserve his salary.  Infact, just 24 hours before, Sal had told Mookie that he was like a son to him.  Sal and Mookie had been working together for a while, and had, therefore, developed a pretty solid relationship.  Sal was kind to the black people in the neighborhood, because he knew they made his business a success.  During this ending scene, Sal paid Mookie double his regular salary, which was surprising to both me as a viewer, and Mookie as a character in the film.  I think Sal knew that Mookie had a family to provide for back home, and being that they would no longer be working together, Sal gave Mookie a little extra to sustain him for awhile.  Mookie ended up giving the extra $250 back, which I think just added to Sal's feeling of respect towards him.  Sal knew that what happened the night before wasn't Mookie's fault, and I think he was sympathetic to the death of Radio Raheem.  Also, Mookie felt bad about throwing the garbage can and that Sal's business had been destroyed.  After all, the pizzeria was his source of income!  The best case scenario leaving the movie would be for Mookie and Sal to rebuild the pizzeria, and work harder to make sure that everyone gets along.  The incident from the night before should serve as an example for the neighborhood, so that nothing similar will ever happen again.

Document 1: A Time to Break the Silence

Document 1 is the speech that Martin Luther King. delivered at the Clergy and Laymen Concerned About Vietnam event on April 4, 1967.  In the speech, King presents three reasons for speaking out against the war in Vietnam: 1) America was spending its money on the war in Vietnam instead of helping its own citizens escape poverty, 2) black and white men were dying together despite their differences at home, and 3) the government's use of violence to solve its problems was beginning to influence the American public.  Question 4 asks what King was suggesting about our nation's priorities and whether poverty and economic injustice were religious issues or civil rights issues.  Based on his speech, I think Martin Luther King was suggesting that our nations should have set its priorities straight.  In his opinion, domestic poverty was more important than foreign affairs.  He felt that Americans efforts in Vietnam were more destructive than progressive.  In the 1960's, many African Americans were living in poverty, so this issue was close to home for King.  Also, because he promoted non-violence, it only seemed natural that he would speak out against the war.  Even though Dr. King was a spokesperson for both religion and Civil Rights, I think poverty and Vietnam fall more under the Civil Rights category.  Both issues affected people of all colors and had a large impact on society.  The only way religion might have played in would have been soldiers praying for safety in war, or the poor asking God to help them survive everyday life.  Martin Luther King had every right to voice his opinions regarding these issues, especially since they both directly affected the causes he fought for.

Memory, Rememory, and the Power of the Past

In Chapter 9, Sethe goes to the Clearing to make a decision about whether or not to let Paul D stay.  Sethe wanted guidance from Baby Suggs; the Clearing is where Baby Suggs used to preach.  At the Clearing, Baby Suggs reaches down from heaven to massage Sethe's shoulders, and then Beloved continues in real life.  This reminds Sethe of Baby Suggs taking care of her after Denver was born.  After crossing the Ohio River and reaching the house on Bluestone Road, Sethe was excited to see her three other children again.  Recalling these memories triggers a thought for Sethe - a connection between Beloved and her dead baby.  This is a challenge for Sethe because she is mixing events from the past with the present, which is confusing to her.

Self Reliance - Ralph Waldo Emerson

A person should define his/her place in society based on their own beliefs.  This means that if people have beliefs that differ from anyone else, they will stand out, and if people have beliefs that are similar to everyone, they will fit in.  In society, there are people who tend to be leaders, and others who tend to be followers. Either way, it's okay, because both kinds of people have a role.  Without followers, leaders wouldn't have anyone to lead, and without leaders, followers wouldn't have anyone to follow.  "We but half express ourselves, and are ashamed of that divine idea which each of us represents...Accept the place the divine providence has found for you, the society of your contemporaries, the connection of events" (20).  Here, Emerson is saying that everyone represents an idea, and those people and those ideas each have their own place in society.  Sometimes, people are hesitent to share their ideas, but Emerson contends that people should accept who they are, and use their individuality to make society a better place.

Qu'ran Burning On Again, Off Again

This conflict between Reverend Terry Jones and Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf raises two constitutional issues, both involving the first amendment. In the first amendment of the US Constitution, we, as citizens, are guaranteed freedom of religion and freedom of speech. "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech..."  Therefore, Imam Rauf can technically build a mosque near Ground Zero, and Reverend Jones may technically burn Qu'rans in protest.  A quote by Iraq's top Shiite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani describes my viewpoint of this situation perfectly. "This disgraceful act contradicts the very duties of religious and spiritual leadership to enhance the value of peaceful coexistence and safeguard the rights and mutual respect among citizens." When I first heard about Reverend Jones' plan on the news this morning, my initial thought was that Christianity and Islam have similar roots. According to Imam Rauf, the anniversary of 9/11 should be a time of prayer and reflection for people of all religions. Even this article acknowledges that the Qu'ran is still the word of God, just in a different form. My second thought after hearing about this incident on the news was that burning the Qu'ran isn't a very Christian thing to do, and I wondered how Reverend Jones' parishoners felt. In the article, it said Reverend Jones' parishoners were happy with his decision to cancel the burning of the Qu'ran and that religious centers in the surrounding area were planning on reading passages from it to counteract his protest.

Bold Men In Ruffled Shirst and A Kind of Revolution

Bold Men In Ruffled Shirst and A Kind of Revolution present two different sides of the American Revolution. Bold Men In Ruffled Shirts focuses more on the leaders of the revolution, while A Kind of Revolution focuses more in its participants. Everyone knows George Washington, John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, John Hancock, and Benjamin Franklin. These men are considered the heroes of the Revolutionary war - "the longest war in our history and the most important". Why, then, did Zinn make them seem like the enemy in A Kind of Revolution? Washington, Adams, Jefferson, Hancock, and Franklin were all wealthy and educated men. If they were able to criticize the way they were treated by the British, why couldn't they have second thoughts about their relationship with their fellow countrymen? Thomas Jefferson specifically compared his experience under British rule to slavery, yet he owned slaves, and couldn't seem to find a problem with that. One fact I was surprised to learn in A Kind of Revolution was that it wasn't just minority groups that weren't allowed to participate in the war. White men were excluded as well! When men of this kind were finally recruited for purposes of desperation, not all of them were comfortable fighting. Our so called heroes were "offering the adventure and rewards of military service to get poor people to fight for a cause they may not see clearly as their own". A Kind of Revolution was very similar to Zinn's American Ideology in that rich people seemed to be in control of society.

The American Crisis - Thomas Paine

In The American Crisis, Thomas Paine gave the colonists a good reason to join forces with him and fight. "Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph".  People are easily bribed by reward, and according to Thomas Paine, because freedom is such a difficult task to fight for, the outcome will be greater. "Heaven knows how to put a proper price upons its goods; and it would be strange indeed, if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."  Here, Paine is arguing that God regards freedom as highly important, and therefore will reward his people for having the courage to fight for it. Later, Paine adds, "I thank God that I fear not".  Thomas Paine is counting on God to keep him safe in war.  "I have as little superstition in me as any man living, but my secret opinion has ever been, and still is, that God Almighty will not give up a people to military destruction, or to leave them unsupportedly to perish, who have so earnestly and so repeatedly sought to avoid the calamities of war, by every decent method which wisdom could invent".  Paine has faith that God will reward the colonists with victory, considering their devotion and the sacrifices they have made for this cause.  I believe the main point of Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis" can be summed up in one central quote.  "Say not that thousands are gone, turn out your tens of thousands; throw not the burden of the day upon Providence, but 'show your faith by your works,' that God may bless you."  This implies that God wants Paine and his fellow colonists to prove their faith in him by engaging in a fight for freedom.  If Paine and his fellow colonists show their faith in God, he will reward them.