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Post by tbw on Dec 9, 2011 20:11:05 GMT -5
I think it appropriate that I should post this here at this time. Years ago, in my college years, I was asked by my English Professor to write an essay in class about a topic that would announced at the end of the class that day. The essay itself would be written in the next class two days later. Needless to say there wasn't much prep time to prepare for such an undertaking. The subject if I remember correctly now was Don Quixote fighting his windmills. Well that's what stands out any way. What I did was quite innovative and was quite unexpected by my me was, I memorized the entire song from the "Man From La Mancha" or "The Impossible Dream" and used it as my essay. The professor later called me into his office after class, the only one to have that distinct honor, and no, not at the time was it an oh goody feeling. He told me to take a seat, and sat there looking at my paper for a while before addressing me. He then raised his head and said, "I don't know how to grade this." He paused. And then went on. "This isn't your words. I wanted your words. But this, (shaking his head) this is incredible, never in my years, and I've been here for 23 years have I ever had a student do this." Paused again, and then said, "How do you think I should grade this?" I quite frankly didn't know either. I just knew the song fit with Don Quixote. I just shrugged. He said, "well, I'll tell you what, this is innovative that's for sure, and I'll give you credit for that, and if you had put this into your own words you would have gotten an A+," hesitation again, "tell you what, how's a B sound?" I was ecstatic. I thought he was going to make me do something else worse, so I was more than willing to accept the B. He reached back and pulled a book from his shelf and gave it to me. He said, "here, I want to have this to read and keep. I think you will value this for the rest of your life. I normally wouldn't just give this book to anyone, remember that. But for the work you have done here, you need something more to make up for the B that I have to give you." The meeting went on for a little while longer. I've never told this story to anyone. But I am glad to share it here, at this time as it has a special meaning for not just me, but to someone else that might learn through the same experience. Did I read the book? I must admit, the subject of the book wasn't one that much interested me at the time. And wasn't something that I would have rushed to the book store to buy. But the Professor had some motive for giving me that book, and I wondered why. And it was the greatest gift any professor ever gave me and I've treasured it every since. Not so much the book, but what was in it. Malcolm X speaks: selected speeches and statements By Malcolm X, George Breitman books.google.com/books?id=ShfNyQrAa-YC&printsec=frontcover&dq=malcolm+x+book&hl=en&ei=A6jiTqasHKa22gXv_7HEBA&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CDYQ6AEwADgK#v=onepage&q=malcolm%20x%20book&f=false |
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Post by tbw on Dec 10, 2011 10:46:20 GMT -5
Thanks for that perspective Sir Strange. I think it rather highlights what I was getting at, but still won't comment on at this time. Again another very good post And one more point... Regardless of how crass Jackson was with the Indians, he did do good at keeping our freedom and democracy/republic alive during his presidency. And every citizen that criticized him was still free to speak the same way the next day. Jackson finally came and went and we started fresh again with the next guy to take office. Thus the beauty of our system. The next guy in office was Martin Van Buren... And he wholeheartedly supported what was known as Jacksonian democracy over the main opposition at the time known as Jeffersonian democracy. There were significant political philosophical differences between the two. Below are listed everything the Jacksonians (thus Andrew Jackson himself) thought up and stood for (to include his successor Martin Van Buren). Quite naturally the Jeffersonians would be opposed to these ideals. 1. Manifest Destiny: Jacksonians believed that white Americans were destined to settle the American Continent, thus extending and expanding their control from the Pacific to the Atlantic. Van Buren wanted a limitation on slavery in the new territories to allow the "poor white man" to thrive. Of course the removal of the American Indians from the Southeast was as much a part of this as anything. The opposition party (Jeffersonians) as I said opposed Manifest Destiny and even expansion, they wanted to build better infrastructure (primarily in their cities) with what they had. 2. States Rights: Although it may be found in various writings that Jackson and thus Jacksonians were for more states rights than Federal interference, this wasn't the case. The Nullification Crisis found Jackson on the wrong side of the states rights issue. He thought that the states were improperly encroaching into the Federal governments sphere of influence. And from that time on as Jacksonians consolidated their powers, they more often than not advocated expanding Presidential and Federal power wherever and whenever they could. 3. Economics: They favored doing nothing, ie let it alone. Jackson fought tooth and toe nail to end the government monopoly of the 2nd U.S. Bank. He was opposed by the Whigs (Jeffersonians) who were led by Daniel Webster and the banks chairman. Jackson was opposed to any and all banks anywhere, because he believed they were something that was used to cheat the common people. He and many of his followers believed that only silver and gold should be unregulated currency. Jacksonians believed so much in a free economic system that prior to 1820 in order to vote one had to own property or pay taxes, by about 1850 these requirements had been dropped due to the Jacksonians efforts. Politics: Jackson was to create a system that ousted properly elected officials in government that were of an opposing party. And in their stead he replaced them with his supporters as a reward for them supporting him in getting him elected. This policy, patronage, is still going on today, but wasn't what it was ever meant to be as the Jeffersonians fully supported the system that Jackson and his supporters changed. What it led to was the hiring of incompetent and not altogether infrequent employment of corrupt officials in place of properly elected and competent ones even though they were from one of the other party's. While such an elected system might today overburden the voting system, one could only imagine electing Obama's Chief of Staff. Oh, lets say the voters decided on Carl Rove over Obama's shill - Rahm Emmanuel. Now that would have been interesting situation and a truly Constitutional Republic form of government it was intended to be. And especially if his Chief Economic adviser was an elected follower of Friedrich Hayek rather than John Maynard Keynes. Sadly Martin Van Buren wasn't a proponent of going back to the old system of Jeffersonian democracy, had he been, we might have had more say over our President and what he can do than what we do have today. But, he was a Jacksonian Democrat through and through, and appointed his own just as Jackson did, and wasn't about to abolish that greater power given to him over the people. Fascism? I don't know, perhaps. In a little while the ban comes off of CC, and I for one would entertain the notion that he express his own views on the matter.  |
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Post by joewiggs on Dec 10, 2011 22:17:11 GMT -5
Outstanding post as usual and as expected. I could not possibly add one iota of substantial information other than my personal bias against the philosophical theory commonly referred to as Manifest Destiny.
if I should "offend" let me now apologize to any and all members of this forum as my intent is not to denigrate nor embarrass a single member of this forum, all of whom I have the deepest regard.
it is my opinion that the concept referred to in the above was nothing more than a political conception designed by the "greedy" to eradicate any and all obstacles to the Congress of the United States from laying claim to and, possessing every inch of land that had not already been consumed by our government.
Anyone who honestly believes in the Jacksonian theory that we (America) were destined to appropriate land occupied by other human beings please raise your right hand. Now answer this, if we were destined to do so who destined us and, why did we have to kill the previous tenants to get it?
Thank you Sir for another wonderful post!
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Post by joewiggs on Dec 10, 2011 22:39:42 GMT -5
Dr. Strange you are undoubtedly correct in your assessment of President Jackson. He did much for us of the present era. Ironically, this stalwart bastion of freedom actually defied the Supreme Court who rendered a vote in favor of the five civilized tribes that they not be removed from their lands
Instead of complying with the highest Court of the land Jackson initiated policy that brought about the "trail of Tears."
Can you imagine if the same scenario were to occur in our modern era? Electronic videos of hundreds of poor souls on a forced march accompanied by hostile, military personnel, who watch as helpless, exhausted and famished little children weakly trudged alone, some of them falling to the ground to sleep the eternal sleep being published in Russia, China, Iran, Syria, etc.
How fortunate are we that such a historical episode did not happen a second time.
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Post by tbw on Dec 11, 2011 9:33:16 GMT -5
Dr. Strange you are undoubtedly correct in your assessment of President Jackson. He did much for us of the present era. Ironically, this stalwart bastion of freedom actually defied the Supreme Court who rendered a vote in favor of the five civilized tribes that they not be removed from their lands Instead of complying with the highest Court of the land Jackson initiated policy that brought about the "trail of Tears." Can you imagine if the same scenario were to occur in our modern era? Electronic videos of hundreds of poor souls on a forced march accompanied by hostile, military personnel, who watch as helpless, exhausted and famished little children weakly trudged alone, some of them falling to the ground to sleep the eternal sleep being published in Russia, China, Iran, Syria, etc. How fortunate are we that such a historical episode did not happen a second time. I'm not sure I'd agree that Jackson did much for us at all and was why I posted the information previous. The one thing that really bothers me about Jacksonian politics was what he did when he subverted the election process and began the "patronage policy" that lasts to this day. The founders of this nation, of which Jefferson was - and Jackson wasn't, had instituted a system of checks and balances upon not just our style of government, but the elected officials themselves. One, just one of those who they felt it was paramount to keep under this system of checks and balances was the President himself, otherwise such a President without those would surely become dictatorial and as much a ruler over the people as the one they had just fought against in the Revolutionary War. What was so important about keeping the Presidential cabinet and in fact all of his now "appointees" - ELECTED - was those very system of checks and balances that we NOW don't have against a ruler gone mad. And we have had quite a few of those over the years, where such a system would have curbed the mans appetite more than he would have liked. This is what Jackson hated about it and why he abolished it and why you now see what you do. And frankly, I don't think its very pretty at all. |
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Post by Cutter on Dec 24, 2011 10:39:54 GMT -5
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Post by stumblingbear on Dec 24, 2011 11:06:34 GMT -5
Did this not give everyone a reason to think before leaping into "titles" that could mean one thing yet, be interpreted into many things? I guess the feelings that come from "hate" are so strong that they burn the giver and the receiver equally.  |
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Post by Cutter on Dec 24, 2011 12:43:17 GMT -5
Yup, "I've never been hurt by something I didn't say", silent Cal. ;D
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Post by joewiggs on Dec 24, 2011 13:03:55 GMT -5
How true and how great would it be if we all remembered that!  |
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Post by whitebull on Dec 24, 2011 20:39:21 GMT -5
Cutter, Silent Sal is the answer to a whole lot of the world's problems. You are a very wise man! I salute you partner!
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