Post by chfisch35 on Nov 16, 2011 18:55:21 GMT -5
Puritans May Be Gone, But Never Forgotten
Whether or not one believes it, American history is paved with ugly traditions. Early American history saw Puritans lead the way by using fear as means of gaining control 300 years ago. It was also seen in times of crisis like the Red Scare and the aftermath of 9/11. Most tyrants of history perfected this practice, and used fear to control their people and increase their power. In our ‘free country’ that escaped what Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry called tyranny, this curious ritual reappears over and over. Only days ago, in pushing support for the new Jobs Bill, Obama’s administration resorts to this ugly, yet proven useful ritual of using fear to gain control.
Fear is everywhere; Americans just don’t always notice because we are tempered with it. We see fear all over the place in our modern American society. Sometimes subtle, things as common as advertisements use fear to sell products. For example the Lipitor commercial implies that if a middle age man doesn’t take their product, he will get a heart attack. Fear is ingrained in people, especially leaders as a tool to get control and cooperation. Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards told people that an angry god has aimed the arrow at them, and he can easily make it “drunk with your blood.” Puritans, known for being God-fearing people, used fear to control and taught America to be ruled by fear. The Obama administration kept the tradition alive when on October 18, 2011 they used fear of rape to support their Jobs Bill. Obama’s Job Bill hires more government jobs such as Policemen and Firemen in an effort to revive the economy. The Obama administration was frustrated with the Republicans in Senate who kept blocking the passage of their ‘save the economy’ bill. In desperation Vice President Biden used faulty figures about Flint Michigan to show a correlation between rape and number of police officers. He was asserting that if Republicans keep blocking the bill, rape and other crimes will increase. Vice President Biden said that he heard the Jobs Bill being blocked “is just temporary.” He continued, “Well let me tell you, it’s not temporary when that 911 call comes in and a woman’s being raped” (Biden 2011). When seriously listened to, it sounds as though our Vice President is deliberately threatening citizens with rape. But the worst is yet to come. Directed towards his conservative ‘friends’ in senate Biden said, “I wish they had some notion what it’s like to be on the other side of a gun. Or a 200 pound man standing over you telling you to submit” (Biden 2011). That statement screams out the Obama Administration’s usage of fear to gain control, as he is wishing that the opponents of the bill to undergo those scarring horrors. The vivid imagery of a 200 pound man standing over is overpowering, yet has no political value. Biden expressed it to get people thinking emotionally about the horror of rape; it actually has very little to do with the blocking of the Jobs Bill.
In some ways our current American society has improved, but in other ways, we haven’t changed one bit. Government using fear to gain power is nothing new at all, no change in that. People scoff at the absurdity of Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards’s famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. But while it may seem ludicrous to threaten people with God, is it any better to threaten people with rape? Perhaps just a product of Puritanism, our current society keeps some American traditions alive.
Word Count: 595
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX46sbLhjQI&feature=player_embedded
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fxxotkX9ZOo
articles.businessinsider.com/2011-10-21/politics/30305233_1_jobs-bill-rapes-and-murders-joe-biden
dailycaller.com/2011/10/20/now-bidens-rape-claims-are-legitimate/
abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/vp-biden-wishes-opponents-of-more-police-funding-had-some-notion-of-what-its-like-to-have-a-200-pound-man-standing-over-them-telling-them-to-submit/
Whether or not one believes it, American history is paved with ugly traditions. Early American history saw Puritans lead the way by using fear as means of gaining control 300 years ago. It was also seen in times of crisis like the Red Scare and the aftermath of 9/11. Most tyrants of history perfected this practice, and used fear to control their people and increase their power. In our ‘free country’ that escaped what Thomas Paine and Patrick Henry called tyranny, this curious ritual reappears over and over. Only days ago, in pushing support for the new Jobs Bill, Obama’s administration resorts to this ugly, yet proven useful ritual of using fear to gain control.
Fear is everywhere; Americans just don’t always notice because we are tempered with it. We see fear all over the place in our modern American society. Sometimes subtle, things as common as advertisements use fear to sell products. For example the Lipitor commercial implies that if a middle age man doesn’t take their product, he will get a heart attack. Fear is ingrained in people, especially leaders as a tool to get control and cooperation. Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards told people that an angry god has aimed the arrow at them, and he can easily make it “drunk with your blood.” Puritans, known for being God-fearing people, used fear to control and taught America to be ruled by fear. The Obama administration kept the tradition alive when on October 18, 2011 they used fear of rape to support their Jobs Bill. Obama’s Job Bill hires more government jobs such as Policemen and Firemen in an effort to revive the economy. The Obama administration was frustrated with the Republicans in Senate who kept blocking the passage of their ‘save the economy’ bill. In desperation Vice President Biden used faulty figures about Flint Michigan to show a correlation between rape and number of police officers. He was asserting that if Republicans keep blocking the bill, rape and other crimes will increase. Vice President Biden said that he heard the Jobs Bill being blocked “is just temporary.” He continued, “Well let me tell you, it’s not temporary when that 911 call comes in and a woman’s being raped” (Biden 2011). When seriously listened to, it sounds as though our Vice President is deliberately threatening citizens with rape. But the worst is yet to come. Directed towards his conservative ‘friends’ in senate Biden said, “I wish they had some notion what it’s like to be on the other side of a gun. Or a 200 pound man standing over you telling you to submit” (Biden 2011). That statement screams out the Obama Administration’s usage of fear to gain control, as he is wishing that the opponents of the bill to undergo those scarring horrors. The vivid imagery of a 200 pound man standing over is overpowering, yet has no political value. Biden expressed it to get people thinking emotionally about the horror of rape; it actually has very little to do with the blocking of the Jobs Bill.
In some ways our current American society has improved, but in other ways, we haven’t changed one bit. Government using fear to gain power is nothing new at all, no change in that. People scoff at the absurdity of Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards’s famous sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. But while it may seem ludicrous to threaten people with God, is it any better to threaten people with rape? Perhaps just a product of Puritanism, our current society keeps some American traditions alive.
Word Count: 595
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dX46sbLhjQI&feature=player_embedded
www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=fxxotkX9ZOo
articles.businessinsider.com/2011-10-21/politics/30305233_1_jobs-bill-rapes-and-murders-joe-biden
dailycaller.com/2011/10/20/now-bidens-rape-claims-are-legitimate/
abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2011/10/vp-biden-wishes-opponents-of-more-police-funding-had-some-notion-of-what-its-like-to-have-a-200-pound-man-standing-over-them-telling-them-to-submit/