"I do not wish to quarrel with any man or nation. I do not wish to split hairs, to make fine distinctions, or set myself up as better than my neighbors. I seek rather, I may say, even an excuse for conforming to the laws of the land. I am but too ready to conform to them. Indeed, I have reason to suspect myself on this head; and each year, as the tax-gatherer comes round, I find myself disposed to review the acts and position of the general and State governments, and the spirit of the people, to discover a pretext for conformity." (p. 15)
I interpret this quote as to say government is what has split the people, whether that means the American people or people all over the world. Do you agree with this statement? What affect do you think government has had on the division of the people, and how do you think that division will grow or lessen in the future?
I agree with your interpretation, and with the statement itself. I think governments only serve to separate people. Nations are social constructs, and their governments only exist to maintain the separations between them. The movements of globalism and its counter in isolationism are coming to a head now. I don't know which of these will prevail. With the popularity of globalism among young people, my educated guess is that it will become more popular.
ReplyDeleteGovernment does split people, look at our party system. The republicans and democrats are the two major political parties in America, and the two rarely agree on a subject. Associating with one party over another is enough to cause someone to dislike or even hate you, even if you have done nothing to cause such a reaction from a person.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with the interpretation, and the government has definitely split people. The construction of two political parties divides the nation. This is evident in almost any environment. Even as teenagers, the moment we log into our twitter accounts we are bombarded with arguments of how “conservatives did this” and “liberals are at fault for that.” The everlasting feud is unavoidable. Facebook even has an option when editing your profile to select your political party. The fact that it is on social media sets the idea in the minds of teens and children, setting us up to already have that division leading into adulthood.
ReplyDeleteThe government plays a vital role in splitting people. The first step is asking people to choose a political party. Then they must see the views of these assigned parties. This causes issues when people do not agree with those views. When someone starts to disagree with them, politicians make promises or offer deals in order to make people happy at the moment, and later on do not caarry out what they have promised to their people.
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