Sunday, September 10, 2006
Some Thoughts On Citizenship
This is something I have wanted to do for a while. The following quote is from the movie 'The American President.' I have presented the quoted in its entirety, but the bold faced portions are what I really wanted to 'get out of my system.' (The following quote was copied from imdb.com.) (http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0112346/quotes)
The following is stated by President Andrew Shepard near the end of the movie at a press conference: "For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this country was, to a certain extent, about character, and although I have not been willing to engage in his attacks on me, I've been here three years and three days, and I can tell you without hesitation: Being President of this country is entirely about character. For the record: yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU. But the more important question is why aren't you, Bob? Now, this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question: Why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a candidate for President, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? If you can answer that question, folks, then you're smarter than I am, because I didn't understand it until a couple of minutes ago. America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free". I've known Bob Rumson for years, and I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it. (Nobody has ever won an election by talking about what I was just talking about. This is a country made up of people with hard jobs that they're terrified of losing. The roots of freedom are of little or no interest to them at the moment. We are a nation afraid to go out at night. We're a society that has assigned low priority to education and has looked the other way while our public schools have been decimated.) We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious men to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, friend, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and personal character. And you hold up an old photo of the President's girlfriend. You scream about patriotism and you tell them she's to blame for their lot in life, and you go on television and you call her a whore. Sydney Ellen Wade has done nothing to you, Bob. She has done nothing but put herself through law school, prosecute criminals for five years, represent the interests of public school teachers for two years, and lobby for the safety of our natural resources. You want a character debate, Bob? You better stick with me, 'cause Sydney Ellen Wade is way out of your league. I've loved two women in my life. I lost one to cancer, and I lost the other 'cause I was so busy keeping my job I forgot to do my job. Well, that ends right now. Tomorrow morning, the White House is sending a bill to Congress for its consideration. It's White House Resolution 455, an energy bill requiring a 20 percent reduction of the emission of fossil fuels over the next ten years. It is by far the most aggressive stride ever taken in the fight to reverse the effects of global warming. The other piece of legislation is the crime bill. As of today, it no longer exists. I'm throwing it out. I'm throwing it out. I'm throwing it out and I'm writing a law that makes sense. You cannot address crime prevention without getting rid of assault weapons and handguns. I consider them a threat to national security, and I will go door to door if I have to, but I'm gonna convince Americans that I'm right, and I'm gonna get the guns. We've got serious problems, and we need serious men to solve them, and if you want to talk about character, Bob, you'd better come at me with more than a burning flag and a membership card. If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I'll show up. This is a time for serious men, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I am the President. "
First a not the portion of the text that is underlined and in parenthesis is not, to my knowledge, in the final cut of the movie, I have left it intact so that anyone checking this against the imdb site will see that the text is presented in its entirety.
The first point that is made that I believe is important to any political discussion is that character is important to any office. That being said we shall move to the next sentence.
The second section deals with the upholding of the Constitution. I, and numerous others, have continually discussed the idea of the current administration upholding the Constitution. I have bolded this portion because I think the question is important to think about in a general sense. Why does anyone in this country who has run for elected office not want to uphold the Constitution? I am not really sure.
The next segment that I have bolded is a discussion of the 'citizenship requirements' of the United States. Oddly, we have many people in this country who have no desire to be involved in the political process, even as far as voting. Our freedoms are protected by being involved in the process. (And by the military, but that is another discussion altogether.) Prior to the last election I was involved in an email group that was discussing a wide variety of politically charged topics. It was actually quite interesting. I did lose interest in the discussion group though, partially because several people who were expressing their opinions were not voters. While you have the right to have an opinion and to not vote, I personally find it frustrating to discuss issues with people who are not even taking the time to express their opinion in the most important way in this country.
The final segment I think is important because it is the way the Bush Administration has been proceeding with electioneering since it was elected. The more they scare the population, the more they believe the population will vote Republican. Will see if they can get it to work one more time. I tend to think they will not be successful, but that is just my opinion.
Have a good evening all. I will be back sometime this week.
The following is stated by President Andrew Shepard near the end of the movie at a press conference: "For the last couple of months, Senator Rumson has suggested that being president of this country was, to a certain extent, about character, and although I have not been willing to engage in his attacks on me, I've been here three years and three days, and I can tell you without hesitation: Being President of this country is entirely about character. For the record: yes, I am a card-carrying member of the ACLU. But the more important question is why aren't you, Bob? Now, this is an organization whose sole purpose is to defend the Bill of Rights, so it naturally begs the question: Why would a senator, his party's most powerful spokesman and a candidate for President, choose to reject upholding the Constitution? If you can answer that question, folks, then you're smarter than I am, because I didn't understand it until a couple of minutes ago. America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the "land of the free". I've known Bob Rumson for years, and I've been operating under the assumption that the reason Bob devotes so much time and energy to shouting at the rain was that he simply didn't get it. Well, I was wrong. Bob's problem isn't that he doesn't get it. Bob's problem is that he can't sell it. (Nobody has ever won an election by talking about what I was just talking about. This is a country made up of people with hard jobs that they're terrified of losing. The roots of freedom are of little or no interest to them at the moment. We are a nation afraid to go out at night. We're a society that has assigned low priority to education and has looked the other way while our public schools have been decimated.) We have serious problems to solve, and we need serious men to solve them. And whatever your particular problem is, friend, I promise you, Bob Rumson is not the least bit interested in solving it. He is interested in two things and two things only: making you afraid of it and telling you who's to blame for it. That, ladies and gentlemen, is how you win elections. You gather a group of middle-aged, middle-class, middle-income voters who remember with longing an easier time, and you talk to them about family and American values and personal character. And you hold up an old photo of the President's girlfriend. You scream about patriotism and you tell them she's to blame for their lot in life, and you go on television and you call her a whore. Sydney Ellen Wade has done nothing to you, Bob. She has done nothing but put herself through law school, prosecute criminals for five years, represent the interests of public school teachers for two years, and lobby for the safety of our natural resources. You want a character debate, Bob? You better stick with me, 'cause Sydney Ellen Wade is way out of your league. I've loved two women in my life. I lost one to cancer, and I lost the other 'cause I was so busy keeping my job I forgot to do my job. Well, that ends right now. Tomorrow morning, the White House is sending a bill to Congress for its consideration. It's White House Resolution 455, an energy bill requiring a 20 percent reduction of the emission of fossil fuels over the next ten years. It is by far the most aggressive stride ever taken in the fight to reverse the effects of global warming. The other piece of legislation is the crime bill. As of today, it no longer exists. I'm throwing it out. I'm throwing it out. I'm throwing it out and I'm writing a law that makes sense. You cannot address crime prevention without getting rid of assault weapons and handguns. I consider them a threat to national security, and I will go door to door if I have to, but I'm gonna convince Americans that I'm right, and I'm gonna get the guns. We've got serious problems, and we need serious men to solve them, and if you want to talk about character, Bob, you'd better come at me with more than a burning flag and a membership card. If you want to talk about character and American values, fine. Just tell me where and when, and I'll show up. This is a time for serious men, Bob, and your fifteen minutes are up. My name is Andrew Shepherd, and I am the President. "
First a not the portion of the text that is underlined and in parenthesis is not, to my knowledge, in the final cut of the movie, I have left it intact so that anyone checking this against the imdb site will see that the text is presented in its entirety.
The first point that is made that I believe is important to any political discussion is that character is important to any office. That being said we shall move to the next sentence.
The second section deals with the upholding of the Constitution. I, and numerous others, have continually discussed the idea of the current administration upholding the Constitution. I have bolded this portion because I think the question is important to think about in a general sense. Why does anyone in this country who has run for elected office not want to uphold the Constitution? I am not really sure.
The next segment that I have bolded is a discussion of the 'citizenship requirements' of the United States. Oddly, we have many people in this country who have no desire to be involved in the political process, even as far as voting. Our freedoms are protected by being involved in the process. (And by the military, but that is another discussion altogether.) Prior to the last election I was involved in an email group that was discussing a wide variety of politically charged topics. It was actually quite interesting. I did lose interest in the discussion group though, partially because several people who were expressing their opinions were not voters. While you have the right to have an opinion and to not vote, I personally find it frustrating to discuss issues with people who are not even taking the time to express their opinion in the most important way in this country.
The final segment I think is important because it is the way the Bush Administration has been proceeding with electioneering since it was elected. The more they scare the population, the more they believe the population will vote Republican. Will see if they can get it to work one more time. I tend to think they will not be successful, but that is just my opinion.
Have a good evening all. I will be back sometime this week.
Labels: Commentary
// posted by Little Wolf @ Sunday, September 10, 2006 
Comments:
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you need to get a life. i'm not sure what rating i gave this movie back in '95 but the only thing going for michael douglas now was his once hot wife.
# posted by 
: Wed Sep 13, 06:13:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 06:13:00 PM 2006
blah blah blah. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 07:41:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 07:41:00 PM 2006
so you look like yoda or you're wishing you were the yod-ster?
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 07:58:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 07:58:00 PM 2006
i had a light saber up there once...i thought i was going to the "darkside"
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:12:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:12:00 PM 2006
That place... is strong with the dark side of the Force. A domain of evil it is. In you must go.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:20:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:20:00 PM 2006
is that a light saber in your pocket or are you just glad to see me?
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:23:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:23:00 PM 2006
oh anna nicole, so outrageous you are. a warm feeling in my nether reaches you give me.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:24:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:24:00 PM 2006
i just googled "the most biggest waste of time blog ever?" and this shit-ass blog appeared.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:28:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:28:00 PM 2006
kevin baby, get yer ass back in this trailer pronto or yer cut off!
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:29:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:29:00 PM 2006
howard stern wants me to fly attached to a bunch of balloons, you guys need to get a life.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:31:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:31:00 PM 2006
hey what should we name our w2nd kid? i was thinking Luke? L fed
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:32:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:32:00 PM 2006
or maybe Blogger? I really liked the game Frogger and now we are bloggers, right?
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:35:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:35:00 PM 2006
why don't you just name the boy ---
Asshole, cause that what you both are.
Asshole, cause that what you both are.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:37:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:37:00 PM 2006
Don't listen to him. I luuuv you, baby. Hurry up and git in here so's we kin screw before little Sean Preston wakes up.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:40:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:40:00 PM 2006
hey I thought this was a Star Wars blog. Stop all the negative comments.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:40:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:40:00 PM 2006
i knew youz was out here, thats why i am divorcing your dumbass.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:45:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:45:00 PM 2006
yo don't be coming here all prejuiced i hang with the best of them
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:46:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:46:00 PM 2006
i am from russia and am looking for friens. please replie.
# posted by : Wed Sep 13, 08:48:00 PM 2006
: Wed Sep 13, 08:48:00 PM 2006
i'm disappointed at the posts to this blog. i thought blogging was a form of therapy, not a forum of evil. Little Wolf how did you cope with 9/11?
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# posted by : Fri Sep 15, 08:46:00 PM 2006
: Fri Sep 15, 08:46:00 PM 2006 << Home
