In the Presence of Fear is quite different from any book I have ever read. It is bold, intelligent, and yet, at few times, almost a bit crazy for my liking. I do agree with a handful of ideas Berry writes, but some of them are just too extreme. In Berry's first essay, Thoughts in the Presence of Fear, the section that really caught my attention was section six (VI). In this section, Berry claims that innovation has been the death of our past. Berry believes that our goal is too constantly move on from one technology to the next. He claims, "This of course implied at every point a hatred of the past, of thing inherited and free" (Berry 3). But I do not agree with this idea at all. I believe innovation is the key to success and that we have to keep moving forward, but it does not mean we hate the past. How are we going to move forward without the past? The past is where we learn and explore and create and keep pushing ourselves until we are satisfied with our outcome. Will we ever be satisfied, probably not. But that is because humans are curious and want to create and make tomorrow a better today.
I believe our country does a wonderful at remember the past. Look at Washington D.C, all the memorials and monuments to remember the past. We constantly looked back on old war technology in my high school American history class and discussed how it was useful and lacked efficiency and how modern warfare is able learn from past creations. We look back at old computers and ways we used to produce cars or movies. We have learned how to can create a more eco friendly and technologically advance car, with the help of updated computers. We see how we can enhance movies by modifying technology and thus creating more entertaining movies. People then are willing to spend money on seeing the film, which in turn stimulates the economy/employment.
In Berry's second essay, The Idea of a Local Economy, I did not agree with everything he said, but the one idea I did find to speak truth was how he talked about the importation and exportation of goods and services to and from foreign countries. Berry explains how America has become very dependent on foreign countries for a lot of our goods and services and how we have lacked to take care of our own country. Berry writes, "It does not [do not] import products that can be produced for themselves. And it does not [do not] export local products until local needs have been met" (31). I believe this is true. I believe American needs to sit back and realize how much we are sending over seas. We are capable of making these products and citizens are willing to give such services. The production and labor may may be more expensive all around, but for those who are unable to go to college and find a job that pays more than minimum wage, this would be in their favor.
A word that I did not know was
International bureaucracy: a non-elected administration or social system that relies on a set of rules and procedures. It is ranked on a scale of importance and they implement control over a government, organization or social group. In Berry's context he refers to international bureaucracy by stating we are giving our responsibilities, dealing with pollution and cooperations verse private property, to the bureaucracy over seas so that American elected officials do not have to deal with the international problems as much.
A question that I wondered while reading this is, does war stimulate our economy? Or are we just making enemies and wasting money? I have heard both yes's and no's to each of these questions and I really believe it depends on the circumstances of why our country is fighting. But what about our current war? Has that just brought horror, or has it really made a positive difference? I found this really interesting and scary link below that allows us to get a visual.
https://www.nationalpriorities.org/cost-of/
I gasped when I saw this and then I could understand why Berry presses for a peaceable nation. Will it ever happen? I have no idea. Berry is a true dreamer and it will be a miracle the day those numbers stop moving.
At first when I read Berry's statement about innovation, I agreed. After reading your thoughts, I can definitely agree with you. We need the past to move on to new innovation in our future. I do not consciously think about all the things in life that others have invented but I am still appreciative. Just as you were saying, we need the past to progress in our future. We should never stop progressing just because of the fear that we will resent our past, because that just seems silly.
ReplyDeleteHi Lydia,
ReplyDeleteFrom reading this, I liked how you analyzed the author’s expression on both the export and the import of products and services. I believe that competition is forcing us to do it. With the increase of price for raw materials, it is probably the only way companies can make profit. They would go for cheap labor overseas and that is what is driving the jobs away.
I agree with you on the idea of innovation that we need it to be successful. we need to move past the past and continue looking ahead to the future. We need to learn for our past and help our future!
ReplyDeleteI posted a similar question, does war help to stimulate our economy? I must say yes, historically speaking, war is the best stimulator for the economy. It proves to allow countries to grow in both land and helps to fill the general coffers.
ReplyDelete