Being America by Jedediah Purdy
Being America by Jedediah Purdy asks the reader to take a good look at some of the most important issues that our generation will have to deal with. Most of these issues have not risen since the days of Rome. Purdy presents his arguments in a way that I feel was not very effective. I found his writing technique to be not only boring but often repetitive and unnecessary. I agree with most of Purdy's ideas, although there are many times where his ideas were actually the ideas of previous intellects. I feel that Purdy left out some recent controversies such as outsourcing. Purdy is obviously a well educated man having attended both Yale and Harvard so my initial reaction was to trust every word he told me. I was not able to catch any mistakes, but after reading an essay titled Reaction to Jedediah Purdy's Being America by David E. Powell I found out otherwise. He found instances where information was not only undocumented, but sometimes unable to document. He always found places where information was just flat out wrong. Even though I do not have enough knowledge about these issues to find an error, Powell's findings make me wonder how valid Purdy's book is. Purdy's language barrier a
"7 To start the repair of out mistakes I think the first step is to get an honest leader and start digging ourselves out. Low skilled jobs were sent overseas first, but high skilled jobs are at risk too. Then on page 75 Purdy says, "Every illiberal American act gives comfort to the forces of resentment. Outsourcing may help other countries economies, but it is only hurting ours. Purdy, de Tocqueville, and myself all agree that the idea of America is irresistible to some people. I don't think we should force people to become democratic, but just allow them to naturally make their own decision. I found the movie to be very intellectually stimulating as well as moving. I wish he had focused in on less topics. It really made me stop thinking about my personal, small life and start thinking about life in a bigger perspective. As Thomas Jefferson said, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance. I feel like Alexis de Toqueville knew that America would make mistakes and that is why he said, "The great advantage of Americans consists in their being able to commit faults which they may afterwards repair. In conclusion, I am glad that I read this book even though it was the worst written book I have ever read. 9 The government feels that putting an end to outsourcing will only make companies less competitive. "1 This is an obvious example of Purdy using his opinion. I would love to know how Purdy feels about outsourcing.
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Acceptance Essays
