The Puritan Reading

"Americans, he says, have always tended to understand freedom as primarily a dimension of space.  To explore the possibilities of being human has been to possess unbounded freedom of movement over new terrain." -Belden Lane in "The Puritan Reading of the New England Landscape" (pg. 144)

     When I read these two sentences I thought they were so true.  The idea of being able to walk across a space without any hindrances from life is such a good feeling.  I read Into the Wild over the summer, and this idea is exactly what Chris McCandless was hungry for.  He wanted to get as far away as possible from the institutions he was used to, the control and influence of his parents, the idea of money, and many other things.  As Americans, we seem to hunger for it to some degree, but then we always come back to our "center," which is home, and our jobs, and our daily routine that we are comfortable in.  It seems like as Americans, we find it admirable to go out and explore for a while, but then reel that adventurous side in and be more "practical."  This was how many people felt about McCandless' journeys, and some even criticized him for it.  Where does this attitude come from, that we need to follow the cookie cutter pattern of the "American Life" when doing so sometimes causes us to inhibit ourselves and not make use of the freedoms we possess?  Maybe it's part of the stereotypical idea of the American Dream.  To me, it sometimes does not make a lot of sense because McCandless was utilizing freedom to its fullest, and felt as free as he had ever been, yet many people felt he was being stupid and naive.  I feel like he knew exactly what he wanted, and ended up getting that, to a certain extent.  He felt this "unbounded freedom of movement over new terrain."  I hope I can experience that feeling for a little bit of my life.  Feeling completely free, in this sense, is something that a lot of us never do, here in the "Land of the Free."  

The American Campus as an "Academical Village"

"Campus sums up the distinctive physical qualities of the American college, but also its integrity as a self-contained community and its architectural expression of educational and social ideals." -Paul Turner in The American Campus as an "Academical Village"

     Besides just this quote, I liked a lot of what Paul Turner was saying and what it reveals about the character of America.  I hadn't thought about the way colleges are set up in America versus other countries until reading this.  After visiting and touring multiple colleges in the past year, it is interesting to think about this idea of college campuses as individual cities and communities.  I remember commenting that the University of Minnesota is its own city after visiting it last fall, but every college really is its own community and world.  As a body of students, professors, and faculty, we abide by a code, so to speak.  This is why we can go without professors proctoring exams, mailboxes with locks, etc.  We elect our own hall council and live by similar "social ideals" like Turner talks about.  We coexist in a community in order to further the knowledge and education we have at the moment.  This is occurring on thousands of campuses around the country.  The fact that we, as Americans, set up our campuses in a way that we live together in order to learn shows the value that we give education and the independence we emphasize in our culture.  For a certain amount of time, and often for the rest of life, people devote all their time and energy solely to learning.  We emphasize how important it is to better yourself and advance your education so that you can be successful on the road ahead.  It is a part of our character as Americans to be educated in order to be an individual and have the ability to achieve that American Dream and exercise the freedoms that we have.  This stands at the core of being American and millions of us live it everyday.  

Anne Hutchinson

     I really liked the reading about Anne Hutchinson because it showed a different side of Anne and what she was really trying to do.   It was interesting to read about how she was not actually a deviant as she is portrayed so often to be.  One of the most interesting points of the reading was how Winthrop saw her as a threat, not because of her differing opinions about the church and beliefs, but the fact that she was a woman.  It would be interesting to see how Winthrop would have reacted if Anne had not been a female in this time.  Westerkamp talks about how he attacked her gender and the fact that she was not living up to her duties as a woman when she says, "Not only was she a woman, she was a disgusting woman, an unwomanly woman.  She could not even give birth" (493).  She also later says "Winthrop was responding to a threat he had linked, consciously or not, to Hutchinson's gender.   Whether or not he himself understood precisely the nature of that threat, there was a connection between Hutchinson's gender and her religiosity."  It seems like if Hutchinson was a man, things would have gone a lot differently.  If she was not a deviant, she simply was another part of a group with ideas that were different from Winthrop's and would have been looked at as much less of a threat, if she was not a female.

What Freedom Means to Me

     I thought that for my "extra" post of the week, I'd put up my "What Freedom Means to Me" object and the paragraph I wrote since we didn't get to see everyone's or read everyone's paragraphs.

     Cameras come in a variety of ways, whether they are plastic and disposable, expensive and complicated, or average yet functional.  Almost everyone these days owns a camera in one form or another to capture images of everyday life, travel sites, and special occasions. Even the most simple of cell phones now have cameras on them.  While people may take numerous pictures of whatever they so desire, it often goes unnoticed that Americans even have the freedom to take photos in public places and display them however or wherever they want, such as in blogs or on social websites like Facebook or Myspace.  It is important to realize that people in other countries do not always have this freedom.  Also, the idea of displaying pictures online, on walls, or elsewhere goes along with the freedom of speech.  People can make statements and convey ideas through images, whether they are trying to raise awareness for something or document a certain event.  For example, Norman Rockwell communicated ideas with his Four Freedoms posters.   It is said that “ a picture is worth a thousand words,” and images can have a powerful impact on how one thinks of something or someone.  Simply put, a camera is a good representation of the fact that in the United States, everyone has the freedom to photograph in a public place and use those photos to tell a story and express their thoughts in a visual way.    
    
    
    

Of Plymouth Plantation

"Thus it pleased God to vanquish their enemies and give them deliverance; and by His special providence so to dispose that not any one of them were either hurt or hit, though their arrows came close by them and on every side of them..." -William Bradford in Of Plymouth Plantation


     This statement was somewhat shocking to me because Bradford is implying that they, the Puritans, overpowered the Native Americans because they had God on their side.  He even says that it was pleasing to God to "vanquish" them.  I think the Puritans believed God to be on their side because they believed they were striving to live according to his commands and be free from worldly corruption while the Native Americans obviously were not, in their opinion.  Bradford even refers to them as "savage barbarians" earlier in the text. This makes me question- under what circumstances is God on our side as Americans?  I think it is an interesting idea to think about when it comes to the wars we've fought in, the way we've treated people, and the way we move forward now.  Abraham Lincoln said, "My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."  This is the opposite of how the Puritans thought about it.
     I think different people would answer my question very differently, depending on how they view God, as well as America.  Although I'm not sure what "qualifies" you to have God back you up,  it's an interesting thought for us as a nation as well as for looking back on the history we share.

Frontiers

"The lust for land, the fear of contagious disease, and, one surmises, a desire for freedom from the burden of community impelled this dispersal which leaders like Winthrop regularly lamented.  But expressions of regret, however sincere, did little to concentrate the spread of people who would go on to show a seeming inexhaustible appetite for frontiers." -Jim Cullen in Dream of the Good Life (I): The Puritan Enterprise


     This passage from The American Dream reminded me a lot of the poem The History of America.  Although Cullen doesn't state the idea in such negative light, both authors make similar points about a seemingly common characteristic of Americans- a certain hunger for land and the idea of a frontier.  Cullen talks about how both the Puritans and the Pilgrims began to become more and more spread out after a short time in the New World.  Alicia Ostriker talks about an aggressive drive west that involves the railroad, "murdering the buffalo," and "driving the laggard regiments."  It reminds me of how Americans oftentimes mean well, but end up being too overkill and making stupid mistakes.  Manifest Destiny and the move west made a lot of sense to people in that it was their mission as Americans to bring and promote democracy as far as they could and also part of God's will that this be done.  This is still an important idea to us today.  The war in Iraq comes to mind as well.  Working toward the good of everyone is admirable and important, but as a country that is already seen as being egocentric, we need to be careful not to overstep our bounds or trample on others and do damaging things like Alicia Ostriker mentions.      

References:
The American Dream by Jim Cullen
The History of America by Alicia Ostriker

Sailing to America

  "She turned and bravely set our course

North-by-northwest for the New World.

Did we arrive? Years later, yes.

By plane, suddenly. With suitcases

And something as hazy as a future."

-Gary Djanikian in Sailing to America

     In the first two lines of this passage from his poem, Gregory Djanikian makes reference to a childhood memory of playing with his sister in pretend ships as if journeying on an ocean together.  The third line suddenly bridges the gap from this distant memory to one slightly more recent.  Since this poem has such a personal feel (he even quotes himself and his sister from their childhood memories), I wanted to find out where this experience had come from in his life.  It turns out that Gregory was born in Alexandria, Egypt and came to the United States with his family at the age of 8 in 1957.  This fact goes with the idea of the American Dream, which we have started talking about in class.  It is extremely likely that this prompted the Djanikian family to move to the US and start a life for themselves in Pennsylvania.  I like how his use of the phrase "something as hazy as a future" provides a window into an experience that most of us can not relate to in a literal sense.  The phrase indicates the feeling of being unsure, anxious, and completely lost in a new place.  On a smaller scale, I can relate to Djanikian's experience.  Coming in to college for the first time certainly made me feel that way.  I understand the idea of having a completely unclear future, but still seeing the goal on the other side.  It's somewhat unnerving and uncomfortable, but exciting all the same.

  References: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/indepth_coverage/entertainment/poetry/profiles/poet_djanikian.html

Sailing to America by Gregory Djanikian

The American Dream

"The term [American Dream] seems like the most lofty as well as the most immediate component of an American identity, a birthright far more meaningful and compelling than terms like "democracy," "Constitution," or even "the United States." -Jim Cullen in The American Dream


     To me, this statement is somewhat startling yet also makes a lot of sense.  I think that the American Dream is an incredibly interesting idea, in all its forms, kinds, and details.  I love that the idea is important to the people of this country and that it is different for each person who believes in it (or doesn't believe in it).  However, it also does not really seem right that, as Cullen states, we value it more than the terms he states: democracy, Constitution, and United States.  This statement he makes in his introduction leads me to ask the question- why would we value the term or idea of the American Dream over three things that make our country what it is?
     I think that one reason the American Dream appeals to us more than democracy, Constitution, or United States is the fact that the American Dream is somewhat mysterious and not a concrete fact.  I like what Cullen says later in the introduction, "The American Dream would have no drama or mystique if it were a self-evident falsehood or a scientifically demonstrable principle."  We are allured to it because no one is quite sure that it is attainable.  This is so unlike the Constitution, which firmly lays out the framework of our country, or democracy, which we already understand and experience every day.  I think we are attracted to the American Dream because it applies directly to us right now.  This also goes along with some of the adjectives we used to describe Americans on the first day of class: individualistic, materialistic, driven.  Oftentimes, materialistic things are a huge part of the American Dream, such as nice houses and cars, and that also compels us far more than say, the Constitution does.  The American Dream is also very compelling in its nature of being individualistic- each of us wants to be the best we can be and achieve the greatest things we can achieve.
     I think it is important not to forget the three terms Cullen mentions because without them, the American Dream would be absolutely impossible to attain.  T.T. Williams even mentions one of the terms Cullen does when she points out what we could lose if we accept things the way they are- "Everything. Everything we value, cherish, and love. Democracy."  I think we forget the basics sometimes when we are striving to reach our goals and live our version of the American Dream, which again, would not be attainable without those basic principles.

Reference: The American Dream by Jim Cullen