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Patriotism during the american civil war
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Bill Moyer’s PBS series, Buying The War, focuses on journalist’s impact and failure to go up against the Bush administration regarding the sought war in Iraq post 9/11. This documentary portrays how powerful the media was towards the nation, and how useless it was when challenging Bush and his team about whether America should go to war or not with Iraq. We can see how Bush and his administration persuaded the media enough, and to some extent controlled them, in order for them to communicate the message that going to war was the best choice. Patriotism played a vast role because reporters could not go against Bush and reject what he was saying or it would be considered “unpatriotic”. In addition to this, the bias in the media was also a major player that can be connected to patriotism. The media post 9/11 was …show more content…
In his speech, he goes on to say, “This is scripted” (Bush). The film addresses this comment perfectly by responding, “Scripted… Sure enough the president staff has given him a list of reporters to call upon”. President George Bush clearly had power over the media when 9/11 happened, and this is shown in this part of the documentary. Moyer’s says at the beginning of the film, “They couldn’t have done it on their own, they needed a compliant press to pass on their propaganda as news and to cheer them on” (Moyers). In other words, the government knew exactly how they wanted to react to 9/11, despite having a lack of evidence, but they needed the media to help portray that this was the right thing to do, which is exactly what they did. The media reported what the Bush administration wanted, and that is to show American’s that going to war with Iraq was the best option. Most people were traumatized by 9/11 and what it had done to their free nation, so of course they were going to listen to what the media was
September 11, 2001 marked a tragic day in the history of the United States; a terrorist attack had left the country shaken. It did not take long to determine those who were behind the attack and a call for retribution swept through the nation. Citizens in a wave of patriotism signed up for military service and the United States found resounding international support for their efforts in the war on terror. Little opposition was raised at the removal of the Taliban regime and there was much support for bringing Osama Bin Laden and the leaders of al-Qaeda to justice. Approval abroad diminished approximately a year and a half later when Afghanistan became a stepping stone to the administration’s larger ambition, the invasion of Iraq. The administration would invent several stories and in some cases remain silent of the truth where would prove positive for the Iraqi invasion. It seems they were willing to say anything to promote the largely unpopular and unnecessary war they were resolved on engaging in.
Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers to the United States, was not a patriot but a mere loyalist to England before the dissolution between England and the colonies occurred. Sheila L. Skemp's The Making of a Patriot explores how Benjamin Franklin tried to stay loyal to the crown while taking interest in the colonies perception and their own representation in Parliament. While Ms. Skemp alludes to Franklin's loyalty, her main illustration is how the attack by Alexander Wedderburn during the Privy Council led to Franklin's disillusionment with the British crown and the greater interest in making the Thirteen Colonies their own nation. Her analysis of Franklin's history in Parliament and what occurred on the night that the council convened proves the change behind Franklin's beliefs and what lead to his involvement in the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution.
Moore insists that all his facts are correct and even hired an old fact checker for the New Yorker to make sure. But this, of course, doesn't come to grips with the fact that much of the Bush statements he objects to are also, strictly speaking, factually correct. The truth about facts is not self evident, as he knows; the significance of facts can be manipulated by those with just a camera just as easily as by those in power. In an era of mass-media politics-a far cry from the original political debates in Athens-"Fahrenheit 9/11" is an uneasy compromise between populism and propaganda. The things it has to say are relevant and important and should be heard - but hopefully, they are just part of a larger, more even-handed discussion. Perhaps, the success of this movie is a recognition of the fact that the way this discussion gets carried out in the modern age is by turning it into a form of entertainment.
In the Red Badge of Courage, the protagonist Henry, is a young boy who yearns to be a Great War hero, even though he has never experienced war himself. Anxious for battle, Henry wonders if he truly is courageous, and stories of soldiers running make him uncomfortable. He struggles with his fantasies of courage and glory, and the truth that he is about to experience. He ends up running away in his second battle.
With America still in doubt about the twin towers, George W. Bush presented his information in a well-organized style of manner that was followed with a lot of questions and answers. This gave Bush more of a personable tone, which made the audience feel very relaxed and at ease. Many of the American people, as well as Congressman, had the same questions that Bush had addressed, and they were clinging to Bush’s every word in hopes of shedding light upon what occurred during this tragic event. The questions were very well sought out, as it allowed President Bush to control the speech in a way that would imply immediate action be taken, as opposed to a more cautious approach.
In “What They Fought For”. James McPherson engages the reader with the general themes of what motivated the individual soldier to enter to fight in the Civil War. The book is divided into three chapters, giving the insight of many soldiers being divided by the border between the north and south. The lack of censorship at the time allows the reader to clearly see the insight of what these soldiers were trying to display. Although the soldiers are not equally represented by these few letters. There are still a lot of factors that could ultimately affected the overall believes of the soldiers. For example the opinion of the illiterate soldiers were not disclosed because they lacked the ability to write, the unskilled and farmers were also under
Simon Keller argues in his essay "Patriotism as Bad Faith" that patriotism is not a virtue but it is actually a vice. Keller begins by splitting the views on this philosophical debate into three different representations. The first being the "communitarian patriot", where patriotism is not only a valued virtue to someone's self but that it is actually an essential virtue. The second representation is a radical contradiction of the first, known as the "hard universalist. The hard Universalist sees patriotism as a vice instead of being any type of positive virtue. They think that everyone should be valued the same, and that there should be no favoritism. The third representation is the idea of the first two combined, to form what is called the "soft universalist." This view is understood as patriotism is allowed, and is not seen as a vice, but also that one has an obligation to the rest of the world, almost to try and treat them as a loyalty that you would have towards your own country. (p.112).
Since the advent of television networks, Americans have relied on local and national newscasts to inform them of the world’s happenings. In the 1950’s there were no other mass informational outlets besides the network news and newspapers. Today we have the internet, which allows independent research, but the majority of Americans still depend on network and cable newscasts for their local, political, and foreign news. With the responsibility and power of informing an entire country, are television newscasts as reliable as most Americans assume them to be? Most Americans don’t consider where their news is coming from or who is producing it. Network and cable news are owned and operated by people and thus are not as objective and unbiased as we would like to think. In light of the war in Iraq and the most recent presidential election, critics of television network administration are voicing their concern for today’s presentation of the news. Increasingly more Americans are demanding a rehabilitation of newscasts, starting with ownership.
Michael Moore brilliantly manipulates the conventions of film to make the audience see and feel these political and moral issues the way he does. Moore, an outspoken loather of the President has shaped his film like a cinematic bullet, with character assassination as his priority. “Fahrenheit 9/11” shows a series of solemn images and sound bites, arranged as a critical history of the President’s actions since he took office, including the abuse of power and use of fear tactics that have been employed for his monetary and narcissistic gains. Regardless of personal political leanings, “Fahrenheit 9/11” is an amazing accomplishment of individual expression and anti-government aggression.
398).It is also stated that news divisions reduced their costs, and raised the entertainment factor of the broadcasts put on air. (p. 400). Secondly, the media determines its sources for stories by putting the best journalists on the case and assign them to areas where news worthy stories just emanates. (p.400). Third, the media decides how to present the news by taking the most controversial or relevant events and compressing them into 30 second sound-bites. (p.402). finally, the authors also explain how the media affects the general public. The authors’ state “The effect of one news story on public opinion may be trivial but the cumulative effect of dozens of news stories may be important. This shows a direct correlation between public opinions and what the media may find “relevant”. (Edwards, Wattenberg, Lineberry, 2015, p.
The old proverb “the Pen is mightier than the sword” (Edward Bulwer-Lytton, Richelieu; Or the Conspiracy) still holds significance in protecting of public rights. Words such as freedom, and liberty engendered the idea for democracy. Such words formed into sentences and paragraphs enlightened the public to take action against tyranny and corruption. Freedom of the press is what ensured the general masses of their public rights. The exemplary case in which the freedom of the press played a role was the endeavors of Woodward and Bernstein to unravel the corrupted politics behind the Watergate Scandal. The movie All the President’s Men depicts the proceedings of the Watergate scandal, the scheme to attack the crux of democracy: “ the open election”. Also how the two journalists of the Washington Post progressed to unveil the relationship between the Watergate Burglary and the White House. On one hand, the movie represents the role of the media in its obligation to convey the truth to the masses. On the other hand, the movie reflects political corruption and conspiracy. The accomplishment of Woodward and Bernstein presents the importance of the interaction between the media, the government, and the general masses of society. The role of the media is not only to intervene between the State and the public, but also to take account of public ideas and to apply those ideas to new policies. Also, the media acts as a safeguard to prevent the corruption of the State. Thus, the Watergate scandal signifies the significance of the media as an intermediary between the government and the public mass.
The media takes a biased approach on the news that they cover, giving their audience an incomplete view of what had actually happened in a story. Most people believe that they are not “being propagandized or being in some way manipulated” into thinking a certain way or hearing certain “truths” told by their favorite media outlets (Greenwald 827). In reality, everyone is susceptible to suggestion as emphasized in the article “Limiting Democracy: The American Media’s World View, and Ours.” The
After witnessing a hotly contested election and the massive amounts of campaigning done by both parties in effort to inform the public and reach as many voters as possible, one question still remains poignant: Where do we get our information? The myriad landscape that is the media today, can be accessed from almost anywhere, and has, in many ways, entrenched itself in American culture, replacing what used to be standard outlets of information. Television and print news have long dominated the average American household in terms of being used to access information, but new outlets, like the internet and film have grown into major ways in which people learn about what is happening in the world. The emergence of so many varied sources of information, however, and the ever-growing accessibility of unchecked information raises a different question; not so much the source of our information but rather, what is the quality of the information we are getting? Mass media has long had an influence on society and an in depth look at its most popular forms today would most definitely reveal several glaring inequities in the way TV networks, print media, and internet websites communicate information. Many media sources are slanted, one way or another, in their views and coverage of people and events. Everette Dennis once stated that objectivity is what sets apart American mass media from the rest of the world and is one of the most important precepts of American journalism (103). In present times, however, media that provides completely impartial analysis of the facts is either hard to find, or deemed incredible. The fact of the matter is that in a large portion of mass media outlets what is best described as obj...
In the United States we are constantly reminded to pay thanks to the men and women who work to protect our nation, and rightfully so, but sometimes the cost of doing so can outweigh the positive aspect. In the past week Arizona Senators John McCain and Jeff Flake published a report showing that the United States Department of Defense had been spent $6.8 million of their budget paying sports teams to promote the military. Anyone who has watched or attended a sports game is familiar with military appreciation, from having a veteran throw the first pitch to teams wearing camouflage uniforms. It has always seemed somewhat forced, as teams would always try to one-up each other to try and prove how patriotic they are. Now seeing that most of these
9, 10) ?War, Propaganda and the Media? (2003). Online at: <http://www.globalissues.org/HumanRights/Media/Propaganda/Iraq.asp#SomeExamplesofPropaganda>, consulted on March 30th, 2004.