The Answer to William F. Buckley’s “Why Don’t We Complain?” William F. Buckley created an essay in 1961 capturing the reluctance of “todays” society to complain about the things that things that are irksome. He divulges his opinion on why Americans are so unwilling to share their opinion on matters that are concerning to them regardless of how trivial the may seem, or how enlarged the situation may be. Buckley describes several accounts in his essay from the temperature on a train not being the ideal setting, the strains of having to deal with a blurry picture at the movies, and the failures of a waitress to respond to his needs of more milk with his breakfast. He also speaks about having to take an airline attendances words as only script …show more content…
Buckley expounds on that same idea in his second reasoning as to why we don’t complain. Buckley tells of his outing to a movie with his wife. The picture was out of focus and immediately he divulges to his wife that is an irritating circumstance for him, while she simply replies in a manner to quiet him. During the entire movie the picture remains blurry and Buckley imagines throughout that surely someone will speak up. He has been hushed by his wife and left with the self-control of not embarrassing her with his complaint, but he can’t help but wonder why no one else is speaking up. He shares that in his opinion that someone connected to the theatre, at some point, would correct the error (45). If this wasn’t to happen then surely others are having the same concern and someone closer to the staff in the back would make the complaint on behalf of the rest of the patrons (46). And if both of these fail, attributed to his own personal anxiety over the situation, the entire crowd would eventually rally behind one another and erupt in chaos demanding its correction (48-49). However, none of these three options happen. Why didn’t they happen? Buckley advocates this failure on the groups’ part to the ideal that “everyone was expecting someone else to take the initiative…” (54). Coupled with sulking away from creating one’s own demise dealing with a negative situation, everyone seems to wait for someone else to raise the issue before speaking …show more content…
He shares this opinion through two of his pooled examples in his essay. The first being his experience at breakfast the day after making a New Year’s Eve resolution to speak out and “complain”. He had to ask the waitress three times for a glass of milk for it to only be delivered after his meal was complete (80-83). Sure, he spoke up about the problem initially, but when confronted with the complaint of having to pay for the milk or have it sent back he shied away once again. The second time being on an airplane and needing to get more paper from beneath his feet but was constrained due to the empty lunch tray on his lap. Eager to remove this obstacle he spoke up and asked the stewardess to remove his tray and clear his lap. She responded with what seemed to him to be a scripted response and thought back to her earlier announcement of “If there is anything I or Miss French can do for you… please let us know” (132-133). Obviously this wasn’t true or the tray would have been removed, it was simply the script she would say to incite the idea that they would be there for your comfort. In these two experiences he spoke out, yet he didn’t continue his complaint because he felt that regardless of his helplessness, the issue would not be
Both works provide valuable insight into the political atmosphere of American society, but vary greatly in their intended message, usage of persuasive method, projected audience, and choice of tone. One can see resemblance, however, in the fact that the authors of both articles strive to spark a reaction in their readers and encourage change. In that regard, while Hedges’
Some people love controversy; some despise it. Regardless of how one views a controversial topic, odds are he is fascinated by it and has his own thoughts on the matter. Journalist Leonard Pitts, Jr., who authors editorial articles for the Miami Herald, writes extremely opinionated pieces on current controversial topics targeting those who are not minorities. He writes with the goal of bringing to light issues that people would rather not discuss. Pitts’ style can be seen through pieces such as “Don’t Lower the Bar on Education Standards;” “Torture Might Work, but That’s Not the Issue;” and “If the Gunman is White, We’re OK With Mass Murder.
“Why are we so angry” is a name of an article by Dianne Hales. She is a former contributing editor for Parade magazine and she is a published writer. This article is from a Parade magazine article she wrote in 2001. In the article Dianne Hales talks about a social phenomenon that more and more Americans are getting angrier and rage full more than before. Then they are pushed to the breaking point from this angry and rage. Dianne Hales then gives several recommendations which could help you calm down from the anger and rage. The ideas that Dianne Hales writes about in this article I feel is true and should be taken seriously and should be followed.
His conclusion, life is not fair. Boobie Miles, for example, is a High School student who has dedicated his life to football.... ... middle of paper ... ...
The critic would argue, “.They are baffled at the idea of fighting the class struggle of which. Ehrenriech appears to be the only person complaining about the situation.” In George’s case, he just moved to a new country and does not understand the way things work.... ... middle of paper ...
of a “permanent holiday.” He firmly believes that this merchandise in freedom and pleasure would ruin the meaning of life and the concept of satisfaction....
...ves that the American people do not complain. Buckley nailed the American way of thinking when he stated, "We are all in the United States is more and more anxious, but we are not willing to let our voice, hesitate to claim our rights, we are concerned that our cause is unjust, or, if it is not unfair, it is vague, even if not, it is too trivial, prove that terror against the authorities" (78). He described how to pass these scenes in today’s society. Some people feel society cannot change and that others are stupid to attempt to change. Others think they are too busy to bother or that it is not a big problem.
As i have mentioned before, David tries to shed light on his statement by using metaphors and examples which are crucial in the understanding
He shows that fear clouds the mind, thus making it absolutely imperative to maintain reason and logic throughout life. Fear will always end in a fate worse than death for those who survive it.
William Buckley expresses throughout his writing that Americans are way too passive. In “Why we don’t complain” he makes the conclusion that Americans do not speak up for what they want or believe in. Americans do not like intruding on other people and Buckley has three anecdotes that make his argument convincingly true.
As a majority, we do not act; we are complacent. We do not take a stand; we fear failure and humiliation. We do not lead; we follow. Society has increasingly grown passive, tired, and complacent. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s idea of the "appalling silence of the good people" is as poignant today as it was in the 1960s.
Author's Philosophy " After a short time silence, he stood up and told me that
Nicholas Carr has many strong points in his article. He successfully proves that what he has to say is worthy of his readers time, and that maybe we should all take caution to how much time we spend on the
One major issue with the nation is their emphasis on the importance of having a timocracy society where power is measured and gained through wealth. A common ideology shared among Americans is “You don’t share things in common; you have your own things” (Burgess 236). Through this statement, Burgess remarks about how American citizens no longer have the will to familiarize themselves with
Despite these convincing arguments, he does make a few points that don't hold water, such as that he would destroy the law if he were to escape – this is an exaggerated claim that invites refutation. Also, though his escape would be in general fruitless to himself and his comrades, further argument might contend that citizens of other cities would benefit from his teaching, and act as a civilizing force. However, due to space considerations of this essay, I didn't write a fourth section.