Why DonT 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.

Employing simple anecdotes, William F. Buckley argues in his essay “Why Don’t We Complain”, that as people continue to ignore rudimentary issues, their passivity is transferring into political indifference. Buckley begins with a simple story of how “train temperatures in the dead of the winter… climb up to 85 degrees without complaint” and how “For generations, Americans who were too hot, or too cold, got up and did something about it”. Although there were many passengers on the train, all visibly uncomfortable, no one said a word to the conductor about the issue. Buckley implies that the recent disinclination of Americans to speak up about a problem with a simple solution is only the beginning of a

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

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

Throughout once in your life, you may have been confronted with a situation where you accept inconveniences instead of taking action. According to William F. Buckley, American people everywhere have refrained from “trying to rectify irrational vexations”. In Buckley’s essay, “Why Don’t We Complain?” he explains some situations that he was involved in where no one would complain to repair an uncomfortable situation. Throughout the essay, Buckley uses his experiences and strong reasoning to show why he believes that the American people do not complain. Buckley attempts to support that the apathy that Americans would accept inconveniences instead of taking action is the cause of many Americans’

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.

There are many other things such as sexism, hunger, terrorism, unemployment, climate change, poverty, and water issues. In 2011 the city of Flint Michigan decided to change their water supplier. Shortly after, the residents began to complain about the water smelling and tasting funny, and even looking dirty. The iron levels in the water were nineteen times higher than the iron levels in their original supplier. But the people of Flint had not seen the worst of it. Most of the pipes that carried the water were made of lead, and it began to travel into the water. It was no longer safe to drink. In these situations, you can either stand idly by, or do something about it, and that’s exactly what Mari Copeny did. She wrote to President Obama asking if she could visit him in DC when she was there to see the congressional hearing about Flint. But he did something even better. The president wrote back saying that he would visit Flint and meet her there, and that’s exactly what he did. Through her optimism, she brought more light to this important situation, even though her letter to the president didn’t fix everything she still had hope for the future and said“Even if the water is bad we’re still

“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.

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.

In “Why Don't We Complain?", William F. Buckley, Jr. addresses how Americans are having the tendency to sit back and accept what comes, to purely endure what happens to them. I think that Buckley’s ideas on passive compliance and heedless insurance are precise and effective.

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.

Artfully crafted, historically accurate, eloquently written, and very captivating are all phrases that could be used to describe Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor. Not only does this book take the reader back in time to the two Continental Conventions that met from 1774-1776, but it also brings alive all of the major delegates who were pivotal players in these meetings and discussions. Richard Beeman does a great job of describing these meetings with great accuracy, as well as in great detail. Not only does he tell the story well, he makes it easy and enjoyable to read. Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor is a masterful depiction of some of the most important years of American history and brings the road to the decision

White privilege is the societal privileges that specifically benefit white people. White privilege is why white people can get pulled over by the police and escape a ticket with just a smile and apology. White privilege is also why whites are in charge of a company and they see a black person, they bypass the application. Whites carry a certain privilege not available to people of color. Marilyn Frye describes how whiteness is a form social and political power.

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.