Thursday, February 3, 2011
Wallace Documentary
The documentary did a really good job of showing Wallace's transformation into only a politician and back. I was really shocked at his transformation from someone who spoke for black southerners to a man who was staunchly against civil rights. Wallace was willing to put his ideas and compassion aside for votes. What kind of politicians do this? Do you think that a lot of politicians still do this today?
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i guess the obvious answer to what kind of politicians would do this? is the ones who solely want to gain popularity/power. For example, Wallace many political campaigns but still had a great deal of power during that time. My question is why would voters who supported him during these elections vote for him at all, I mean didn't they see how wavering he was in his beliefs? did they not do their research? did they not read the newspaper? or were his old ideologies not made public? I don't think that a lot of politicians still do this today, but i'm pretty sure some do and if these types of politicians get into office then it would be at the fault of that candidate's supporters because they were willing to hear the speeches and turn a blind eye to the facts.
ReplyDeleteI think a lot of politicians absolutely do this today. Politicians create campaign opinions based on what they think will get them the most votes. Yes, they clearly have to agree with what they state somewhat, but I do think a lot of politicians alter their true stance on what they think the people want to hear.
ReplyDeleteI also think this is part of the problem when politicians finally come into office and people are then not please with their performance. Much of what politicians say is for votes, when they know realistically certain things can't truly be done, or at least not to the extent that they promised.
Also, why do you think the people kept on voting and believing in Wallace even though his political opinions seemed to constantly change, or at least changed drastically at the beginning?
ReplyDeleteAfter watching the documentary, I too, was shocked at George Wallace's transformation especially because overall he was a good person in the beginning of his career. For example, when he was a judge, he practiced equality amongst African Americans.Recall that the African American man who spoke throughout the documentary said, "If I asked for 100 dollars, I walked away with 150 dollars." If I could describe Wallace, the perfect word would be: complex. His political career was a roller coaster: he was always changing his platform. At the end of the documentary, I started questioning politics of today. As voters, how do we sincerely know that politics base their campaigns on issues they actually believe in or care for. What if the only thing they are seeking is power? It's very hard to make a distinguish when someone has good intentions or bad, especially in politics. For example, recently headline news have been about how politicians steal money from the people to increase their salaries. How do we know that donations made for their campaigns actually go towards promoting the candidate rather than to their bank. Its very hard to distinguish the intentions of people because one can lose themselves with the ideas of money and power, just as George Wallace did.
ReplyDeleteThese kinds of power-hungry, fame-seeking politicians injure the virtue of the government, if in a way that's not always immediately obvious to the public. When their actions are inconsistent with their words, it not only prevents our voices from being voiced through representatives as they should, but it also deteriorates the worth and purpose of our democracy as a governmental system. And, should the public find out about the misdoings of these politicians, it weakens our trust in the government. But, somehow, perhaps this sort of revelation would be a good thing. As people have been mentioning, oftentimes it is difficult to determine whether someone's intentions are truly good or bad. Documentaries and sources that reveal the truth, irregardless of bias so long as fact is represented and we can differentiate between the two, push us to question the validity of major figures, which is important in that it helps by some amount to prevent corruption in the government. So in a way George Wallace's story can act as insight for us, on how to perhaps respond in the future.
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