Posted: Thu Dec 10, 2009 10:35 pm Post subject: Due 12/11
Please respond to the reading on pp. 104-11 in your packet. Write a minimum of 100-200 words and include a question for your peers to build from. Aside from the first post, posts will not be counted unless they reference the writing or ideas of another student.
Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 5:45 am Post subject: Freedom High
1. I haven't read too many of MLK Jr's speeches except for the Letter from Birmingham Jail and the "I have a dream" speech so i found the section of reading on him to be interesting. His technique of appealing to white people proved to be a good one (except that he got shot..) and seemd to be very persuasive. I like how he referenced what was best for the country and supported his argument by saying "We will reach the goal of freedom because the goal of America is freedom."
2. The wording of one sentence specifically caught my attention. "But the issue had been muted..." (109). hmm, muted. not paused, but muted. What do you think they mean by "muted?"
3. "The movement itself became an all-consuming experience, which produced what SNCC activists called a 'freedom high,' a sense of individual purpose and personal fulfillment that encouraged hostility to structure and authority of all kinds." (pg 107)
James Baldwin asked the citizens of the United States to think about the meaning of the word "freedom." The word was being tossed around and used in defense, but few people knew the real meaning of the word.
I thought it was interesting that the freedom schools across Mississippi asked the students to define "freedom" as their first lesson. The range in the answers proved the range of people's definitions. While some "insisted that freedom meant legal equality; others saw it as essentially a "state of mind"."(106)
Other definitions included "an end to all the was wrong" along with the association of freedom with other words:
equality, power, recognition, rights, opportunities (106)
My question for you is: What is your definition of freedom and who do you think would agree with your definition? What other words, if any, do you associate with the word "freedom?"
but if you don't like that question, here is another one:
King says that after "doing something special against the Negro for hundred of years do something special for him now." (pg 109)
How do you feel about this statement and why?
I also found it interesting to read a more in-depth version of MLKJ's arguments and beliefs (I didn't previously know that he was so ardently Christian). And I didn't ever even explore the idea that he had written more than the "I Have a Dream" speech, haha!
I was fascinated with Johnson's dictation that the struggle for freedom did not end with theoretical freedom,
"Freedom is not enough. You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying: Now you are free to go where you want, do as you desire, and choose the leaders you please.
This is the next and more profound stage of the battle for civil rights. We seek... not just equality as a right and a theory, but equality as a fact and as a result." (111)
It seems totally obvious now that man must have concrete essentials to use the rights he now has; less obvious that it is the government's fault that he doesn't or that they should directly provide them. But I do think that Johnson's argument is intensely relevant, it just becomes a more messy situation when it comes to approaching a solution.
My definition of "freedom", is along the lines of having the resources (concrete and theoretical) that one needs to live satisfactorally and justly. Maybe freedom isn't entirely in synch with equality, but rather reaching each person's standards of what they need to live their lives in the way they want.
On page 110, it is stated that "In a 1964 public opinion survey, over one-half of the electorate but only one-third of "influentials" believed that the government had a responsibility to ensure that all Americans enjoyed a decent standard of living."
What do you think about this? Is the government responsible for American standards of living? If not, who is?
"A decent standard of living" is a very open ended concept. I believe many more people would argue that the government is responsible to ensure the people with liberty. However, when it comes to personal happiness people often begin to feel that that is a personal goal and that the government should not try to ensure this. It is not the place of the government to become mixed up in peoples personal lives. However, one must think about what the government is. Theoretically it is partially you and your neighbors and friends, as it is written it is not a mysterious evil entity with a secret motive that goes against what the people want. So then if it is the job of the people to ensure that "all Americans enjoy a decent standard of living" then it is the job of the government. Often times people do not trust the government this much, which leads me to my question.
Why is it that a government made by the people for the people can so often not be trusted to defend the rights of the people.
Why is it that a government made by the people for the people can so often not be trusted to defend the rights of the people?
I also think this is because of the type of people who are usually in government. Unfortunately for many people in the US, the majority are not like those who represent our government. I think that these people are usually rich white americans and they have different agendas then people who are in the working, middle class. The middle class wants things that the rich may already have. Also, the rich dont want laws that will take more away from them and not take as much from others.
I also think its because over the years, the government has started drifting away from what was originally written. Over time I think that some people in the government have just forgotten things about this country that make it so unique. I think we all take it for granted.
While reading the part when people were defining freedom, I asked myself how would I define freedom, but I couldn’t really answer it. People in the reading had gone through difficult oppressions, freedom seemed very far for them, but perhaps they see it more clearly being far from it. And the reading changed my way of looking at freedom, if someone asks me to define freedom before I read this, I would probably say it is to do whatever you want. But after reading the freedom in the reading, I think my definition of freedom was too our generation, by saying that I mean because the freedom that people were pursuing in the reading we mostly already have it, which made us pay less attention on this surface of freedom.
Aw…I don’t think what I’m saying make much sense, it is too hard to put those thoughts in words…
Anyway, my question is: Do you think the War on Poverty win or not?
yep, MLK was religious. he was a pastor, wasn’t he? : )
Heather’s question: King says that after "doing something special against the Negro for hundred of years do something special for him now." (pg 109) How do you feel about this statement and why?
I think that this is a strong, effective request; King uses both logic and emotion in his argument. He makes it difficult-- not impossible, of course, but definitely somewhat hard-- to refute, by being so straightforward. People talk a lot about affirmative action today (though I think the term has kind of mutated from King’s original intent), so clearly it has held up.
Question: How did MLK and Malcom X differ in their views/beliefs about dissent? (I know you could write entire books about this... and I’m pretty sure I’ve read one before... but just the major points.)
How did MLK and Malcom X differ in their views/beliefs about dissent?
Before I answer to this question, the reading made me think about the many restrictions in the past. Even few decades ago, people were suppressed from public speeches, racial discrimination, and draft into the Vietnam War. “By the end of 19070, some seventy thousand people had participated in civil rights demonstrations”(106). All these issues led numerous dissenters to fight for their rights and freedom. As a result, they gradually gain what they desire for a long time, freedom. Today would not exist if there were no sacrifice from our ancestors in the past.
Malcolm X and MLK had different strategy in civil rights movement. Malcolm x used violence against violence method, but in contrary, MLK used peaceful non-violent movement. Malcolm X experienced sad and painful childhood. His family was threatened and killed by KKK. As a result, he had formed animosity in his mind against racisms. MLK’s movement strategy greatly influenced from his Christianity background, which emphasizes loving everyone, even enemy. Although, both leaders were assassinated in the late 60’s, their powerful speeches and movements made them prominent figures even today.
My question is, today, we have more freedom than ever in the past. Do we still need more freedom or are we satisfying with current situation. If not, what other issues that need to be solved?
I really enjoyed this reading because I learned a lot about Rosa Parks and MLK Jr that I hadn't learned in previous studies of them. We had talked about the limited information and the limited story that most people know about the Civil Rights Movement. This reading enforced our concern that children weren't receiving a proper explanation as to what the movement was, as we can testify because we learned about it not too long ago.
I really enjoyed this reading because I learned a lot about Rosa Parks and MLK Jr that I hadn't learned in previous studies of them. We had talked about the limited information and the limited story that most people know about the Civil Rights Movement. This reading enforced our concern that children weren't receiving a proper explanation as to what the movement was, as we can testify because we learned about it not too long ago.
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