This I Believe

This was my final paper for my Comparative Politics class. You can learn about 'This I Believe' by going to ThisIBelieve.org.
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This I Believe
By Stephanie Ripley

“America isn't easy. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, 'cause it's gonna put up a fight. It's gonna say "You want free speech? Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours. You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country can't just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the ‘land of the free’.”

Since I was a little girl these words have been like my political bible. It may be short and it may be simple, but it guides me not just politically but morally as well. I live by them and swear by them and believe in their meaning passionately and completely. Sure, they are the words of a fictional character, a fictional president at that, but Andrew Shepherd’s words at the end of “The American President” will forever ring true and direct me in life. I wish I could meet Aaron Sorkin, the man who wrote these words, and shake his hand.

“The American President” is one of my all time favorite movies. I didn’t love it simply because it had Michael Douglass, as my mom did, or for the back and forth humor between Andrew Sheppard and his aides that my father loved. What has always captivated me is the speech that President Andrew Shepherd gives at the end of the movie. The press are asking questions about him to his press secretary, asking if he will ever comment on some of attacks his opponent has been slinging. Suddenly, he walks out onto the platform and says, “Yes, he will.” He starts into the speech that to this day continues to inspire me.

Growing up in a family where politics were often discussed and strong opinions were thrown at me from every angle, it was no surprise when I began to take an interest in politics myself, joining in on these conversations with the adults during family get-togethers and expressing my own opinions at a young age. For most kids, their only views were not really views, but teachings, things their parents had instilled in them and taught them to believe but were not based on their own experiences and questions. The same probably would have happened to me, agreeing with what my family members believed, had any of them actually agreed on things.

Alright, so they agree on some things, but they even argue over what they agree on! It can be pretty ridiculous at times, though mildly entertaining. Politics is a touchy subject in my family, especially on my dad’s side. The Ripleys have always been an opinionated bunch and we’re not afraid to show it. Debate is a constant form of communication and “stubbornness” is a common trait in all of us, making our back-and-forths an interesting experience to say the least. My mother learned early on when she married into this family something I am slowly learning myself: Just stay out of it because you can never win. While I know this is true, especially with my grandfather, I still can’t bring myself to “stay out of it”. I’m always throwing in my two cents and defending my arguments until I am so frustrated that I have to leave the room and go play with the little kids in order to calm down. My mom just laughs at me and shakes her head. As much as I hate to admit it sometimes, I really am a Ripley.

It can be hard, disagreeing with people you care about on issues that are important to you. I struggle with this all the time, and not just with my family, but with friends and peers as well. I can’t count the number of times I have sat in this Comparative Politics class or my Contemporary World Problems class, and literally bit my lips to keep from bursting. I can be overly passionate at times and have been known to bite off my friends’ heads when we get into an argument to heatedly, and I always regret it in the end. I want to defend my values, but I wonder sometimes if it is worth it at the expense of my friendships. It’s like that expression, stuck between a rock and a hard place. The sad truth is, I do believe that my values are worth more than my friendships. I hope, though, that I will never have to chose between the two, and so far I haven’t. I’ve had friends that completely disagree with a stance I have taken and that I back whole-heartedly, yet we are still friends. The beliefs shared by Andrew Shepherd, the fictional president, is exactly why this is possible. “Let's see you acknowledge a man whose words make your blood boil, who's standing center stage and advocating at the top of his lungs that which you would spend a lifetime opposing at the top of yours.” I believe in this so completely that I am willing to look past the disagreements and move on to something more productive. What good is fighting? I could fight with this person, argue with them until my lungs give out, and get absolutely nowhere. Or, we could listen to Aaron Sorkin and Andrew Shepherd and continue our friendship and respect each other enough to agree to disagree. I believe that this course of action would not only benefit our own sanity, but if more people would hold these views and actually act accordingly, everyone would be better off. These ‘wars’ between parties would not be so bitter and counter productive. People shouldn’t be afraid or ashamed to support their beliefs, but they do because no one understands the concept of respect.

Respect. Now there’s a word you don’t hear often enough, let alone see being instituted in every day life. People are too concerned with winning, with being on top, that they will do anything to get there, including walking all over respect, dismissing it and spitting on it. In this country, we can not afford to treat respect so poorly. Our country is the Land of the Free! How is anyone truly free if we suppress each other on a daily basis? How are we the Land of the Free if the amount of disrespect people unload upon one another causes us to hide our beliefs, or worse, change them. You can believe whatever you want, but at least have the decency to be educated, and to consider all the opposing arguments. Listen to those words that make your blood boil, and let them stand center stage. Respect them for being brave and informed and passionate. Only when you have done that do you deserve your own podium, to stand up and oppose at the top of your lungs that which they have advocated at the top of theirs.

As children we are taught that it doesn’t matter if you win or lose, as long as you played the game and gave it your all. When did we stop believing this? When did we become so self-centered that we would even toss respect out the window in order to achieve our own ends? When did power become more important that what that power was used for?

The fact that these questions even exist is frightening in its own right. I believe that America has lost itself, that we have forgotten what we are here for, what we were founded upon. We were not suppose to be a country of people who step on each other to reach the top. We were suppose to be a country where those who manage to discover a way to the top, extend a hand and offer help to those below. America may offer opportunity and freedom, but what good are those freedoms if people turn them around and use them to suppress?

I believe that as Americans it is our duty to be informed and our responsibility to be strong and stand our ground. We can not just sit back and allow others to bully us into their views, or to take advantage of our ignorance. It is also our duty to not be the bully, or to take advantage in return. Just because we can step on the little guys doesn’t mean we should. Respect is a powerful thing, a tool that we have forgotten but could do a world of good with if we all would just clear off the dust and wield it once more. This country can not afford to step on each other. As much as so many hate to admit, we are dependant upon one another in more ways than we could possibly realize.

Respect and understanding goes deeper than just our respect for one another as human beings with differing opinions. We are Americans, but we seem to forget just what that means. People do not respect their country anymore, and I believe that this fact is almost more heart breaking than the lack of respect you find between people. Regardless of your stance, chances are you love this country. Why is it, then, we do not respect it? Why do we not respect the obligations set before us enough to actually fulfill them? Most people do not care about the issues, let alone vote and share their opinions. As much as I believe in listening to one another, how can we listen when no one is doing the talking? No one is trying anymore. As the opening quote begins, America is advanced citizenship. You have to want it, because it will put up a fight. And it does put up a fight, one that is easy to win. The problem is that no one cares to fight in the first place. America is a beautiful country because of freedoms granted to us through words written with the blood of those who died fighting for it. They died for an idea, a concept that had yet to be established. They risked their lives, and lost their lives, just for the dream that some day, America would be real. Yet people today aren’t even willing to risk embarrassment, or opposition for something that is here, that does exist. Are we really that pathetic?

Another movie I love is “Swing Vote”. The idea is that somehow the next president will be decided by one single vote, and the world is watching as Bud, a drunk factory worker who doesn’t even know who is running, makes a decision. The two candidates are overly stereotyped towards their parties and Bud is the last person anyone would want deciding who becomes president. Through the course of the movie, the candidates try and play to Bud’s ignorance, something I have already frowned upon. However, they go further than bribery, throwing him parties, and playing to what he knows. They go so far as to change their views to try and sway Bud to their side. The Democrat becomes Pro-Life, the Republican is for Gay Rights and saving the environment. They end up twisting their views for power, and Bud falls for it every time. In the end his daughter, a rather brilliant little girl who knows more about politics and is more confident in her opinions than most American adults, shows Bud just how important his decision is, and why he can’t take this lightly. America waits, begging one man to pick their candidate. In the end Bud realizes that his daughter is right, and decides that he wants to hold a final debate between the two candidates. He takes the time to read the hundreds of thousands of letters people have sent him, and educates himself on the issues. He realizes that just because he has the right to be ignorant and the right to not vote, doesn’t mean he should exercise that right. He finds respect for himself, for the candidates, and for the political system and his country. Bud realizes that from the top of the chain, all the way down to the bottom, we can not afford to be petty, to be misinformed, to be uneducated, or to be disrespectful. We must stop playing games and make the system work the way we were taught it should.

Here is a quote from Bud at the end of the movie in his opening remarks before he moderates the debate:

“I can’t say I’ve been much of anything most of my life. Its sort of like somewhere along the line I checked out and its not like I had big dreams to begin with, but I had something once, something close to faith or hope or whatever word you want to use for how good life could be. But then the years, they start moving quicker and what’ s going good for everybody else ain’t going so good for you. But tonight I feel embarrassed. I’ve had my chances more than most. I’ve grown up in a country where if I decided to do more with my life than just drift and drink, then I could be standing where maybe you stand tonight. Instead I’ve taken freely and I’ve given nothing. I’m ashamed in front of my daughter and my country. I’ve never served or sacrificed. The only heavy lifting I’ve ever been asked is simple stuff like, you know, pay attention. Vote. If America has a true enemy tonight I guess its me. Tonight a below average man is going to chose between two exceptional men. Tomorrow one man’s vote is going to make a difference, cause Tomorrow we are going to have a president and not just someone to fill a chair in Washington. We need someone who’s bigger than their speeches, the kind of president we learned about in school when we still cared. America needs a big thinker. You know, like a giant, really. Someone who has a good sense to get in front of our problems, somebody who has the wisdom to lead us to a place where we are at peace with ourselves in the world.”

Bud is at the bottom of the barrel, believing that his voice would never count, and therefore he never defined his voice. He learns that his voice does matter, and not just because of the fictional happenstance that one vote decides an election, but because the issues themselves matter, and the people matter. I believe that it is our duty as Americans to be involved, to take a stand and fight for what we believe in. No matter who you are, whether you are running for president, or just trying to support your family on minimum wage, you do matter. That is what makes America so great is that every single person in this country has a voice and they are allowed to use it! So why don’t they? How come people don’t believe in themselves, in their voices, in the system, in this country? If people would only believe again they would see that we can fix these problems with our society. We can’t attack this deficit, or make ruling on same sex marriage, or come to a decision on gun control, or anything else, until we have the means to do so. This doesn’t mean money, this doesn’t mean power. This means that we can not decide what is best for America if we have no idea what America is thinking because they are too ignorant or too scared to do anything about the world around them.

I can’t describe how frustrating it is to look at this country and see where we as a society have landed ourselves. We have forgotten what real freedom is. We have forgotten how to make opinions and to support those opinions versus taking sides. We have forgotten that through our disagreements we can actually bring unity. We have forgotten to respect each other, and to respect ourselves. We have forgotten that these rights were not granted to us, but earned and fought for. We have forgotten that just because we can do something, doesn’t mean we should. This country has forgotten what it means to be an American, and until we wake up from this illusion that it is okay for everything to be decided for us, that it is okay to just sit back and let the world happen, we can not proclaim that we are Americans and proud of it. Until we open our eyes, there is nothing to be proud of.

I believe that America needs to wake up and remember what it is that makes us so great. I believe that respect, passion, dignity, and responsibility must be regained. I believe that the system can work and that America is capable of so much more, but only if its citizens work for it. America is like a citizen. It can succeed, or it can fail, it all depends on what it chooses and how hard it works for that success. I believe that America is not trying hard enough, and if we don’t wake up soon, we are bound to fail. The beauty is, I believe we can pick ourselves back up, that if we start fighting for our rights and start believing again, we can come out on top once more.

I believe in a lot of things. I believe in freedom, in respect, in voting and education, but most importantly, I believe people, and that in the end they won’t let America down.