You know leading up to the olympics there was a lot of talk (as I am sure you all know) about China's human rights record and rightfully so. There also was a lot of talk about who would confront China about this and I am very pleased that President Bush made a stand for freedom. You know of all the people who made a stand for Tibet and Darfur, President Bush possibly had the most to lose. I mean what if China had declared a stand-off with the US because President Bush recognized China for the lack of value they place on human life. It thankfully didn't turn out that way. President Bush definitely made the right call though.
You know speaking of human rights I want you to imagine living somewhere like China where you have no clue what is going on in the world unless the government allows you to. Or even worse a place where you couldn't express your feelings about the government. That method was actually used in the United States for a short time! In 1798 the Alien and Sedition Acts were signed into law by President John Adams. The fourth bill of these acts was The Sedition Act which made it a crime to publish "false, scandalous, and malicious writing" against the government or its officials. Imagine the US today if we could not attack our politicians, the evening news anchors would be out of jobs! This bill did not last long and was repealed by Thomas Jefferson in 1802.
I am paying close attention to the 2008 election and feel free to share your thoughts as well. We live in a great country!
Link to my website: www.noahmccullough.com
5 comments:
I definitely can imagine living in a country like that, because I lived there for almost 5 years. (moved home last summer) I was quickly educated as to the total control over media that China exercised. When everything in Iraq started heating up and I spoke about it to one of the Chinese managers in our compound, she knew nothing of it and did not even know the name Saddam. It was an eye-opening experience for me.
Kay
That's very interesting. Thank you for that interesting historical fact. I am going to purchase your book when I get a chance.
-http://www.samobar.com
hey noah! this is zara and allie. you know, in your class! we are big fans!!!! so hi. we think u are totly amazing!! can we have ur autograph? thanks for reading and being a super role model! JK
from zara and allie
PS we know where u live. MWAHAHA :)
Great job, Noah! Like you, I have been interested in presidents since I was about 8 years old - and that was over 60 years ago.
I have your first book and will get your present one.
I like seeing young people interesed in history. Keep up the good work.
We do live in a great country! I have two minor suggestions for you that no doubt are things you might have considered at one point in time.
One - I just was lucky enough to travel to Europe for the third time. I think in some ways, hanging out with foreigners and discussing how they view America and what they think of our political candidates is an eye opening experience. I've driven across the States a few times as well, and while I cherish that experience, I think that sometimes it's nice to see life outside the US because it makes us grateful to come home, and helps us understand the places that we often just make generalizations about. And they do the same - it's fun to see what their perceptions might be. I had my first chance to go to Europe when I was a junior in high school - hopefully you will have a similar opportunity. My brother and his wife recently lived in Dubai as teachers for two years, and they had a similar sense of things, especially with the Iraqis they met, who were, by all accounts very kind and warm people.
My other suggestion is to not be so sure you'll be a Republican in 2032. People sometimes see changes they don't like in their party - see Colin Powell's recent support of Obama. I have no problem with the Republican Party, but keep in mind that we change as we grow, and you might not want to limit your opportunities for growth.
Good luck in your misson! I'll keep my eyes peeled for your progress!
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