Why Don 't We Complain By William F. Buckley Jr

In The Perils of Obedience, Stanley Milgram introduces us to his experimental studies on the conflict between one’s own conscience and obedience to authority. From these experiments, Milgram discovered that a lot of people will obey a figure in authority; irrespective of the task given - even if it goes against their own moral belief and values. Milgram’s decision to conduct these experiments was to investigate the role of Adolf Eichmann (who played a major part in the Holocaust) and ascertain if his actions were based on the fact that he was just following orders; as most Germans accused of being guilty for war crimes commonly explained that they were only being obedient to persons in higher authority.

In Ronald Regan’s speech, “A Time for Choosing” he starts by saying that for most of his life he was a Democrat and that “I have recently seen fit to follow another course. He then goes on to talk about the economy saying that the tax burden is one that no nation in history has ever survived. He then goes on to illustrate with facts saying that “Every 37 cents out of every dollar earned in this country is the tax collectors share, and yet our government continues to spend 17 million dollars a day more that the government takes in.” He also says that that out of the last 34 plus year 28 of those have not seen a balanced budget. Additionally the treasury only has 15 million dollars in gold and that 27.3 billion dollars of that is claimed by foreign governments. He then switches gears talking now about preserving peace and asking how can we preserve peace when the country is engaged in war in South Vietnam. He asks the if they (The Democrats) “ Mean peace, or do they mean we just want to be left in peace.” Saying that anywhere there are Americans fighting and dying there can be no real peace. He makes this point to say that peace is not just given it has to be earned and that there are always people out there that desire nothing more than to see our country and the rest of the free world in flames or under their heel. Regan then changes gears again and talk about how the American system of government is the most original plan in the history of the world. He

In William F. Buckley Jr.’s “Why Don’t We Complain?” he discusses the apathy that saturates modern society and the weakening effect it has on the collective determination to fairness. Drawing from personal experience, Buckley observes how Americans would rather tolerate the negligent inconveniences of the service industry, than express even the most tactful grievance. He claims this is largely due to the growing apathy toward political and social issues. With the presence of a steadily overbearing government, people feel restrained and according to Buckley, this has fostered a culture of indifference. Via detailed anecdotes, Buckley discloses his own feelings of regret, when having to silently endure inconveniences that may have been remedied had he simply spoken up. Buckley condemns how Americans in general have been lulled to a state of passive compliance. He explains Americans for too long have had to suffer being ignored for the silly reason of avoiding confrontation with authority. Buckley’s observations in 1961 are accurate and parallel the modern era in that people often wait on others to complain for them, lack the nerve for confrontation and place little confidence in their right to disapprove.

No two accounts of any event are ever exactly the same, as different people have unique experiences that impact their views. Historical accounts and history books are the same way, as an examination of A People’s History of the United States, by Howard Zinn, and Give Me Liberty, by Eric Foner demonstrates. Both accounts of early American history cover the important colonies, such as Jamestown and the influential Puritans and the immigration of different peoples to America. They differ however, not only on the depth they choose to go into these events, but also on interactions between the natives and the colonists. A People’s History, by Howard Zinn, tells history in a biased way that excludes information that Eric Foner, of Give Me Liberty, does not. Zinn’s bias is in favor of the Indians, while Foner lacks a bias, telling history from all views. This difference can be noted in the telling of the Pueblo

In Buckley 's essay, "Why Don’t We Complain," he writes about his observations and experiences regarding complaining. He argues

Sonia Sotomayor is a women full of many talents and accomplishments. In her book, My Beloved World, Sonia reveals many people, circumstances, hardships, and successfulness. Sonia has embraces many characteristics in which I can relate. Successfulness, determination, and the importance of learning are all crucial elements that make Sonia into the inspiring woman she is today. Relating to Sonia Sotomayor throughout her book allowed me to remain intrigued in the book and helped apply concepts to my everyday life.

In Why We Can’t Wait by Martin Luther King Jr, Martin describes the weather and also implies that the civil rights movement were like the severe weather in 1962-63. He compared the harsh weather with the discrimination that black people were trying to overcome. In addition, black people were facing judgment, unfairness, poverty and lack of education. However, today black people often can get what they want and they come together and fight for their freedom and justice.

If a person had the option to change the world for the better, would they? If they would, then why is it when a person gets minor inconvenienced by a small problem like not having enough chips for the bean dip, they just accept the problem and they do not do anything about it. William F. Buckley Jr. Wrote an essay called, "Why Don't We Complain". Buckley is giving the readers his experience on both the lack of care within the political system and also the apathy people give when it comes to life's minor roadblocks. Society needs to learn that fixing minor problems when given the chance is better than letting a problem grow so much that it starts affecting other people. The audience that this essay is directed to will learn the message of why people should complain, and the purpose the author has to complain.

Anthem, the futuristic novel pinned by Ayn Rand in 1937 gives light to a very scary place and time. This writing expressed her views and beliefs that the United States would be repeating a dark place of its history. Setting the preface where slavery and dictatorship was once more the social norm. As with most forward thinkers their thoughts and ideas are concerned extreme and not given the validity they deserve until future generation look back into the past. History and human behavior always repeats itself.

“If I truly believe the war is wrong, is it then also wrong to go off and kill people? If I do that, what will happen to my soul?” (pg 60). Tim O 'Brien is an American man who was drafted into the Vietnam War. O 'Brien is not a violent man and struggles because he believes that the war is wrong. He debates whether or not he should go to war or move to Canada to avoid the draft. Tim O 'Brien decides to join the army. O 'Brien uses his personal experiences as a foot soldier in the Vietnam War to convey his possible bias perspective that the Vietnam War was a waste of people 's lives and a shameful venture for the United States.

America is the land of opportunity and equality. Many people grow up believing this to be absolutely true, but Stephen Marche feels otherwise. He wrote “We Are Not All Created Equal,” arguing his point that opportunities in this country are strictly determined by the fate of ones class in society. Marche starts off making a strong case by mentioning the United States’ third place ranking for the least amount of social mobility. In further attempts to prove his point he outlines how class determines the fate of Americans place in society by comparing it’s rigid divisions to those of the aristocracy in Britain. There is a repeating idea throughout the paper that many people in the upper classes love to assume that the poor should fault themselves for their predicament due to their lack of hard work. Marche knocks that assumption out the park with statistical evidence to back up his claims. Although he made a very convincing argument with facts, he had a host of overgeneralized statements throughout the paper, which ultimately weakened his argument of class being the only determining factor of success in America.

As a political personality, Robert Reich writes a book that closely relates the deteriorating status of the U.S. economy with the greed of other politicians and the government as a whole. To some extent, Robert Reich pulls out the sense in economy deterioration with the help of pinning the major government policies. Robert Reich 's argument comes out clearly, directly, and at some point presented willfully. From the heading of the topic of the book, what went wrong with our economy and our democracy, and how to fix it, a reader can clearly picture the content of the book that is politics and the financial mess that the United States of America is in today. The book provides a clear, simple, and easy to understand information on how the author, Robert Reich relates the cause a bad financial status for the country and how the government and other wealthy people living in America contribute to causing the financial crisis.

If anyone in the United States were asked, "What is the best part about living in this country?," most people would answer "equality". The United States is built on and known for the equality among its citizens and is often referred to as the 'melting pot'. After reading Jonathan Kozol's, The Shame of the Nation, equality is nonexistent within the schools he has gone to, and has been employed through. With his travels, expert testimony and personal stories gathered from the people within the community and schools, he shows the exact opposite of equality. Minority schools being his main focus, he discusses the inequalities these students endure and truly opens up your eyes to just how awful these minority schools have it. Jonathan Kozol is successful in his writing of The Shame of the Nation, and makes himself a voice for these minority schools that are denied of their voices.

At the end of Prohibition President Franklin D. Roosevelt declared, "What America needs now is a drink". 13 years before Roosevelt said that, on December 16, 1920, the United States went dry causing all breweries, distilleries, and saloons to shut down. This also prohibited the manufacture, sale, and transportation of alcohol nationwide which is stated in the 18th amendment. This tried to decrease violence, increase efficiency in the workplace, and overall just make America better. In Prohibition 13 Years that Changed America by Edward Behr, Prohibition is a crucial event that takes place which causes a disruption in American society which makes illegal activities more normalized such as George Remus’s Bootlegging business causing him to find

The phrase, “We the people”, holds a lot of meaning to American citizens. As the first three words of the United States Constitution, it signifies a core value intended to act as a unifying factor in America’s democratic society: popular sovereignty. This is the idea of a majority rules, or to put more simply, the one with the most votes wins. The U.S. system of government relies upon the fact that the American people are capable of coming together to make informed decisions about matters that will ultimately better the lives of everyone. Despite this, however, there are certain instances in which a minority group will impose on or have more influence than the majority group. This phenomenon occurs all the time in politics, as politicians tend to regard the predilections of small groups of citizens as opposed to the general populace.