"Why Don't We Complain?" was a novel written by William F. Buckley. Buckley was an American conservative author who lived from 1925-2008, according to http://www.biography.com/people/william-f-buckley-jr-9230494. In this particular novel, Buckley attacks the American custom to disregard our problems, essentially "why we don't complain." Buckley begins page 64 with a personal anecdote. He's on a packed train, riding coach. The outside temperature is well below freezing, and the temperature inside the car is a stifling 85 degrees. He expresses his shock in the lack of complaints to the conductor by word choice, such as in paragraph two, "Instantly the doleful eyes of my seatmate turned tirely from his newspaper to fix me with a resentful stare..." The author seems truly shocked that his fellow passengers WOULDN"T complain, and had the audacity to attack him for even considering it.
As a whole, I'd say Buckley is wrong. He was born right in the midst of the Great Depression, where complaints were most definitely present, aimed in specific towards the government. Herbert Hoover was elected as the 31st president when Buckley was only four years old, and instantaneously he became Americas scapegoat. Shanty towns nicknamed "hoovervilles" were established. Newspapers used for warmth were nicknamed "hoover blankets", "hoover leather" was the cardboard used to fill holes in shoes, "hoover flags" were the turned inside-out pockets of pants to publicize lack of coins. Even today, Americans aren't afraid to express their opinions. Don't agree with something? Stage a protest. Protests were even present in Buckleys early life, during the civil rights movement. MLK and his fellow protesters didn't like the way they were being treated, and so in a sense, they complained. Back to current day, gay rights. Until extremely recently, it was deemed unconstitutional for same sex couples to be legally wed. Endless peaceful protests and other movements were acted upon until the law was changed. Lastly, lets take a less broad situation into consideration. I work at an extremely popular ice cream shop off of HWY 55 in Angier. After working for a few months, you start to recognize the "regulars", recall their orders, refer to them by name. There's one lady in specific who all the employees tend to avoid, not because she's rude, but because she brings a scale with her and weighs every cup of ice cream she purchases. One night I was given the unfortunate duty of scooping for her. After handing her her usual double scoop of strawberry cheesecake in a cup, I watched her whip out her scale as always. Only this time, she was unsatisfied. According to her, the scoop weighed .12 less than it did last time, and she wanted more ice cream. Perhaps this is an extreme example, but it is fairly accurate. Americans throughout history simply have not been afraid to share their opinions, whether for better or for worse.
Buckley, William F. "Why Don't We Complain." N.p., n.d. Web.
As a whole, I'd say Buckley is wrong. He was born right in the midst of the Great Depression, where complaints were most definitely present, aimed in specific towards the government. Herbert Hoover was elected as the 31st president when Buckley was only four years old, and instantaneously he became Americas scapegoat. Shanty towns nicknamed "hoovervilles" were established. Newspapers used for warmth were nicknamed "hoover blankets", "hoover leather" was the cardboard used to fill holes in shoes, "hoover flags" were the turned inside-out pockets of pants to publicize lack of coins. Even today, Americans aren't afraid to express their opinions. Don't agree with something? Stage a protest. Protests were even present in Buckleys early life, during the civil rights movement. MLK and his fellow protesters didn't like the way they were being treated, and so in a sense, they complained. Back to current day, gay rights. Until extremely recently, it was deemed unconstitutional for same sex couples to be legally wed. Endless peaceful protests and other movements were acted upon until the law was changed. Lastly, lets take a less broad situation into consideration. I work at an extremely popular ice cream shop off of HWY 55 in Angier. After working for a few months, you start to recognize the "regulars", recall their orders, refer to them by name. There's one lady in specific who all the employees tend to avoid, not because she's rude, but because she brings a scale with her and weighs every cup of ice cream she purchases. One night I was given the unfortunate duty of scooping for her. After handing her her usual double scoop of strawberry cheesecake in a cup, I watched her whip out her scale as always. Only this time, she was unsatisfied. According to her, the scoop weighed .12 less than it did last time, and she wanted more ice cream. Perhaps this is an extreme example, but it is fairly accurate. Americans throughout history simply have not been afraid to share their opinions, whether for better or for worse.
Buckley, William F. "Why Don't We Complain." N.p., n.d. Web.
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