Preview

Classical Liberalism In Pearl Harbor

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
957 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Classical Liberalism In Pearl Harbor
In America’s history there has been an extreme presentation of nationalism, especially in the Pearl Harbor and 9/11 attacks. December 7, 1941, a date that resonates in the hearts of all Americans, was the day the Japanese Navy landed a surprise attack on the U.S naval base at Pearl Harbor. The USS West Virginia was one of the ships that sunk in during the assail, also claiming over 2000 innocent lives. Pearl Harbor was known as the worse attack on American ground by foreign assailants until 9/11. Not very long after the Twin Towers fell on September 11, 2001, the nation descended into a period of lament. We felt intense sorrow, but the anguish that we held was partly filled by a nationalistic dedication.

September 11, 2001, changed America.
…show more content…
Scholars have different names for these ideological ways of life within democratic consideration. The first is often called individualism, or classical liberalism, the second is dubbed communitarian thought or classical republicanism. For the most part they share the same stance, but deviate on a vital issue: who should delineate the good life? That is the American way of living. Classical liberalism says only individuals can do so, and that the government must stay as impartial as possible when it comes to right and wrong, but classical republicans obtain that several standards and ways of living are better than others, predominantly in a democracy, and hold that community can and must define those …show more content…
It is very important not to confuse these ideas with contemporary definitions of "Liberal" and "Republican." Classical liberals emphasize individual rights above all, and believe government's only valid purpose is to enable individuals to be as free as they can be. They are suspicious of arguments about the good of the group, fearing restrictions on their ability to seek the good life as they define it. "Small-r" republicans, meanwhile, can also be found all over the American political map. Etymology gets us quickly to republicanism's core: "republic" comes from the Latin phrase res publica, "public thing," and indeed republicans tend to imagine the "body politic" to be a real entity. Citizens form that body together, and our actions make it healthy or sick. Where liberals believe the self-interested, rights-bearing individual going her own way is the democratic ideal, republicans argue that self-government can only work if citizens develop specific civic virtues, and learn to act in a public-spirited way. The idea at the heart of republicanism, then, is virtue. On the right, advocates of a greater role for religion in American public life believe spiritual values will make the country strong; on the left, supporters of big increases in education spending believe the public schools can and must build responsible citizens if American democracy is to succeed.
The two philosophies are not mutually exclusive and overlap considerably - part of why both have endured in American thought.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Throughout President Franklin Roosevelt’s Pearl Harbor speech, he uses various devices to appeal to the audience listening. Although, the most effective excerpt from the speech is when President Roosevelt depicts the resilience and determination of the United States to fight back, both figuratively and metaphorically, “With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us God” (paragraph 17). By accentuating the unity of the nation with “our” armed forces and “our” people, Mr. President utilizes both pathos and parallelism. Pathos is exerted by the use of the pronouns “our” and “we”, in which Roosevelt includes himself with the rest of the Americans involved…

    • 277 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    911 and Pearl Harbor

    • 1917 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Pearl Harbor changed the lives of Americans; decades later 9/11 affected a new generation of Americans. Comparing Pearl Harbor and 9/11, written by Fred L. Borch points out inaccuracies of the comparisons that numerous individuals have made between 9/11 and Pearl Harbor. The author gives a unique perspective that has partial inaccuracies under the topics; whether or not 9/11 was an intelligence failure, was American unprepared, and military responsibilities. The author uses various facts and statics to support his cause, some creditable, some not.…

    • 1917 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    “Yesterday, December 17, 1941--A date which will live in infamy—the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan” (Roosevelt). These were the words spoken by the thirty-second president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. The quote was part of a speech which was spoken the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The attack was located on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The plan for the Japanese was to start the war with a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet. At about 8:00 AM, Japanese planes began their attack on Pearl Harbor. Less than two hours later, Japan had ruined the United States Pacific Fleets battleship force. The attack on Pearl Harbor not only affected American History but influenced the creation of different types of American literature including: eyewitness accounts, books, and poems.…

    • 1254 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The government and society that we have in America today is not fully from our own creation. In fact, our founding fathers have integrated ideas from both classical republicans and natural rights philosophers to create the constitutional republic we have in our country. While our founders have found a way to combine the theories from both thinkers into one government, classical republicanism and natural rights philosophy are actually very different in thoughts and concepts. But there are also few similarities such as both sides stress the need for education and preparation for citizenship.…

    • 657 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    September 11, 2001 was a day a tragedy for the United States. This was the day terrorist attacked. In the essay “The Price We Pay” written by Adam Mayblum, the events of this day and the heroic actions of ordinary men and women were shown. Many men and women were heroes that day because they exhibited bravery, selflessness, and leadership qualities.…

    • 484 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    On the morning of December 7th, 1941, while most Americans were sleeping, drinking coffee, reading the morning paper or attending church, thousands of the men who fight for their country were being killed. Due to a shocking attack on Pearl Harbor, a naval base near Honolulu Hawaii, there were 18 naval vessels that were sunk or heavily damaged, 188 planes that were destroyed and over 2,000 servicemen who were killed. (Perloff, Pearl Harbor: Hawaii Was Surprised; FDR Was Not). Trailing the gruesome attack executed by the Empire of Japan, the 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, presented the “Pearl Harbor Speech” to a joint congressional session. While addressing congress about Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor, Roosevelt…

    • 155 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Right before 8:00 am on December 7, 1941 Japanese fighter planes had just attacked the American naval base at the Pearl Harbor. The Japanese fighter planes managed to destroy 20 American naval vessels. Also including 8 huge battle ships, and 300 planes. Killing more than 2,000 American soldiers and sailors. Another 1,000 were seriously wounded. After the huge attack President Franklin D. Roosevelt had asked the congress to declare war on Japan. The congress had approved the Presidents declaration with one dissenting vote. Three days after that, Japanese allies, Germany, and Italy also declared war on the U.S. More than 2 years into this conflict, America had finally joined World War…

    • 112 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    FDR And Pearl Harbor

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Opinions are diverse and having different opinions is an important part of diversity. There is nothing wrong with having different opinions and there seems to be many when it comes to the FDRs knowledge of pearl harbor before the attack. Some people think that it is imposible that President Roosevelt would allow the attack to happen. Others think that he saw it as the perfect opportunity to enter World War II. Because there is no way to tell what really happened no one's opinion can be proven wrong as long as there are facts to in some way back it up.…

    • 315 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Pearl Harbor Persuasive

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Pearl Harbor is probably one of the greatest known battles in history. It was not really a battle because of the one-sidedness by the Japanese. This slaughtering of Americans was uncalled for. The United States Military knew of the notions of the Japanese long before it occurred. The United States Government just sat around making futile attempts to create peace between the United States and the Japan. The United States did not want to accept the fact that they failed in their talks with the Japanese Government, and thus, were blinded by the fact that Pearl Harbor could and should have been prevented.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Infamy Speech

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Yesterday, December 7, 1941 - a date which will live in infamy”, a quote that almost every American is familiar with. On December 8th, 1941, the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin D Roosevelt asked to declare war against Japan. The country had been divided on putting ourselves in the war in Europe and Asia, because “it was not our concern”. Yet, after President Roosevelt’s, the country immediately changed their minds, and were all for justice for us Americans. The speech was convincing because of strong emotional appeals, extraordinary organization, and the establishment of character.…

    • 518 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Pearl Harbor

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The author of this essay is Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He was the president of the United States at the time of the Pearl Harbor attack. The purpose of this speech was to inform the entire United States about what had happened the day before at Pearl Harbor. The nation was to be warned that the United States was going to declare war against Japan. The intended audience is everyone in the United States. President Roosevelt effectively appeals to the pathos of the audience's emotions when he informs them what was going on. This news saddened and disappointed Americans all over the world.…

    • 834 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Social responsibility is defined as “the obligation of an organization's management towards the welfare and interests of the society in which it operates.” The U.S. government, a country “of the people”, should hold itself to that standard of practice. The government should be selfless, putting the best interest of society as a primary concern, not their own economic gain. Unfortunately, they failed to do so for the Chinese and Japanese immigrants who came to the U.S. in hopes of a better life. It did not take long for both groups to realize the “American Dream” they sought was not as easily attained as they expected. Although their situations differed in some ways, both groups faced multiple forms of racial discrimination by the American…

    • 1081 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    For more than 60 years now, "Pearl Harbor" has been one of the most famous place names in United States history.…

    • 228 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    All republicans share the same ideal of a limited government. Most Americans know this about the Republican Party but they do not know is the stances that the party takes on current political issues. Specifically, the Republican Party believes that there should be unlimited private funding for campaigns. Also, the party does not want any additional taxations on citizens. This is because republicans believe that there are already enough taxes. Also they believe that there should be little to no descriptions for gun owners because the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution protects gun owner’s rights. In addition, the Republican platform supports abortion and immigration restrictions. In order to improve the wellbeing of the citizens, the republicans believe that all children should receive a quality education. They also believe that job creation is needed in order to keep the economy growing and thriving (“Republican Platform”). All these stances are thought to be conservative because the views support traditional values and show that the republicans are more cautious about change in America. The republicans believe that their ideals and stances are going to make life better for the citizens of the United States. Politicians, are not the only people who can affiliate with the party there is also the voters who can affiliate with the…

    • 1020 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Author's rhetorical purposes are referential and expressive. The essay focuses on the facts that were known at the time the week after the 9/11 bombing. The Author states the numbers of deaths from tragedies around the world and also reflects on U.S and word history. Two examples of this is "Between 8,000 and 10,000 people worldwide die of starvation daily" and " While the bombing of pearl harbor awoke many to the fact that America could be targeted, the Japanese bombers hit Hawaii- then a U.S territory, not a state,…

    • 719 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays