Illustration of Information in Novels

 

In Fahrenheit 451 and The name of the Rose, a common theme is the role of the government’s hierarchy and the ability to control knowledge. Both the book and the film illustrate a strong sense of how society and the people within that society thrive off of knowledge and information. This raises the question, is the government right by holding information back from the public?

The freedom of knowledge has given the public the ability to overcome obstacles and tribulations. Without knowledge, our own thoughts would be suppressed. For instance, in the film, "The Name of the Rose" conveyed the message that some knowledge is like a forbidden fruit, "dangerous". When the Monks found the Socrates book in their library, they knew that it was wrong, because it was a source of laughter, which was not allowed. Despite, the monks knowledge of knowing that this book was forbidden, the temptation to read it’s secrets were too great to resist.

Therefore, the fact that these monks found a source of laughter, which represented lack of respect to the Catholic Church. This would undermine the Franciscan hierarchy. In addition, the power of free thought is a dangerous and powerful tool among men. The Socrates book did exactly that, by nurturing free thought. This fact illustrates and reinforces the theory that when one has more knowledge, they rely less on others for directions. In other words, the secret of knowledge poses a threat to people in power.
Another example of how dangerous knowledge can be was demonstrated in “The Name of the Rose”, when a monk read Socrates and was found murdered and used as an example to surrounding citizens. This example, was meant to keep people in line and show that you do not go against the powers of the government. The character, William, played by Sean Connery, used his intelligence to outweigh demonic possession, and used his knowledge to solve the case of the murder that had taken place. The character of William, already possessed his own train of free thought, which enabled him to unfold oppressive hierarchy of power.

Another example of controlling information can be seen in the novel “ Fahrenheit 451”. For instance, the main character, Montag, who is a fireman burns books. This is a way for the government to limit societies knowledge. In our world, the role of a fireman is to save anything that is materialistic or a source of knowledge. In contrast, in “Fahrenheit 451”, a fireman’s job is to destroy books in order to keep people from thinking outside the norms of society. The problem with this is that without any books, peoples memories begin to fade, and then nobody has any recollection of history.

Throughout both books, the common theme of fire is used. Montag who is the main character in “Fahrenheit 451”, is a fireman whose job is to set fires, in order to suppress the society and keep order as it should be, in the hands of the government. Since he has been putting our fires for so long, and does not know the reasons behind his orders, he has a void of emotions and feelings, that normal people in our society naturally have. Therefore, the use of fire conveys the most powerful means of destruction. The destruction of books in a sense is the destruction of free will and thought.

On the other hand, in the “Name of the Rose” the people that were seen reading or obtaining knowledge in one form or another would be burnt at the stake. For example, the character Menocchio was burnt at the stake, because we gazed his eyes on the Socrates book, which was the most sinful things that one can do in the eyes of the church. The reason Menochhio was burnt at the stake, is because he was opened about his intelligence and this theories and philosophies. These are the reasons why the hierarchy views knowledge as a privilege that is reserved for certain people.

Therefore, through the analysis of each book and the common themes of knowledge and fire, it is obvious that if the ruling power of a society loses the upper hand on their citizens, their power dissipates. This theory can be used in modern society as we see it today. For example, when the government holds the majority of information, and chooses to either censor the information, or only distribute the knowledge as they see fit, the citizens of that society have fear in their hearts. However, when the knowledge is acknowledged publicly, the government loses authority and order over the citizens that they suppress.

The Charisma Of FDR

The Best President in History?

    During the Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presidential terms, he faced serious  political tribulations. Among these tribulations, were the issues of African American Civil Rights, the Great Depression and war. FDR found himself having to make choices that were impossible to make, and often times, he went with the less of two evils.

Stage 1: Strong Sense of Mission
    Despite Franklin’s moral compass he failed to advocate the federal anti-trust lynching legislation and unfortunately refused to integrate the armed forces. His main conflict was that although he had sympathetic views on African Americans, if he did support the anti-lynching legislation, his New Deal policy would have been in jeopardy if he ostracized southern supporters.

Stage 2: Formula for achieving goals
    This raises the issue of whether the New deal was truly meant to help America come out of the depression, or was it a means to prolong the depression and oppress blacks in America. According to Powell, “the New Deal threw African Americans out of work, raised the price of food during the depths of the depression, and granted monopoly bargaining powers to racist unions.” Therefore, in theory, Roosevelt’s charisma although strong, was also misguided or flawed by the public. In other words, FDR often had an indifferent attitude toward minorities.
    In the beginning of FDR’s administration, he was seen as a charismatic, optimistic president, which enabled him to connect with supporters, which gave him the ability to sell his policies to America. Roosevelt faced major pressures during his time in office from his advisors, who forced him to think further to the left, as far as the economy and the war.

Stage 3: Awe, Social Distance, Deference
    FDR not only faced economic issues during his administration, but he also faced his own personal trials and tribulations, which shows how dedicated he was in bettering America and its hardships. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was struck by polio, which made him feel feverish and weak in the legs. At age 39, Roosevelt lost the use of both of his legs. Despite the paralysis, FDR refused to let the disease of polio limit him in his every day responsibilities.
    Therefore, because  of FDR’s determination to not be seen as a cripple in the eye of the public, he had steel leg braces created, so that he could appear to be healthy and strong. In other words, he was able to walk slowly with an aid by his side, and nobody knew that his legs were paralyzed.

Stage 4: Expression of Inchoate Sentiments
    Despite his paralysis, FDR grew stronger and seeked a higher calling, and help find away to help the United States out of the Great Depression. Many citizens lost their savings and jobs, people became infuriated at President Herbert Hoover, who was taking small steps to help save the American people from the economic crisis that they faced. However, that all changed in the 1932 elections, where the citizens of the United States demanded change, and on the receiving end, FDR promised them what they wanted.

Stage 5: Hazardous nature of the Message:
    The American people were extremely lucky,  that they voted for FDR, because his charisma pushed him to serve as president for almost four terms, which enabled him to fulfill his promises to help America get out of the Great Depression and win World War II. During Roosevelt’s first two terms as president he took steps to transition the U.S. out of the Great Depression. Within his first 100 days in office, FDR implemented the “New Deal” in which he closed all banks, in order to re-establish the American peoples confidence in banks, which would eventually strengthen their belief in the economic system. In addition, FDR also introduced the creation of alphabet agencies, which consisted of, AAA, CCC, FERA, TVA, and TWA, which offered relief to American citizens.
    Another example of FDR’s charisma, was his ability to connect with the American people, through the use of the radio. For instance, in March of 1933, FDR utilized the radio to address citizens, with his “fireside chats”, which was a way for him to communicate with the public and convey confidence in the government and to calm citizens’ fears and worries.

Stage 6: Validation of message through achievement of success
    The best decision that Franklin Delano Roosevelt made was to involve the U.S. in WWII. This decision on FDR’s side, because it enabled the U.S. to get out of the economic depression. Once the U.S. entered WW II he put in an order to increase production of war machinery and supplies. This opened up the floodgates to give jobs to the unemployed and indirectly gave him the foot in the door, which gave them equal opportunities in the labor force.

President Obama’s Strategy for Afghanistan

 

There is no doubt in my mind, that within the first year of Barack Obama’s Presidency, he has faced many obstacles, but overall, he has been pushing for his vision of change. Although, it is difficult for him to maintain his position in office and maintain some form of neutrality. The thing that people have to understand is that he has to make the difficult choice, therefore, make decisions that he doesn’t necessarily want to make.

That being said, our educated President Barack Obama, is put in a position, where he must consider four options for the U.S. strategy in Afghanistan.

The White House press secretary, Robert Gibbs said, “Obama will discuss the four scenarios with his national security team on Wednesday.”

In addition, whatever, decision President Obama makes, the American people should take in account, not only the short term goals of his administration, but rather think about what these policies and decisions will do for the long term.

Letterman Allegedly Lied About Affair

 

The Media Never seems to Suprise me….

What people will do to stay in the spotlight?

 

As we all know, David Letterman openly confessed to having an affair with his personal assistant, Stephanie Birkitt. However, he stated that he had ended this affair, in hopes to save his career and his marriage.

In addition, Letterman’s rep stated that the affair ended before Letterman’s marriage in March.

That being said, earlier today, Letterman’s lawyer stalled and refused to discuss when Letterman broke off his affair.

According to court papers that were filed earlier today, Tuesday November 10th, the man that originally tried to blackmail Letterman, Halderman, had his lawyer to ask the judge to dismiss the extortion case. The grounds behind this supposed dismissal is because the grand jury did not have enough evidence to target Halderman and his indiscretion’s as far as attempting to extort money from Letterman.