Why I Chose Chapter 1: Sowing the Seeds of Revolution

I have always been interested in the American Revolution, and this chapter talks about how journalism played a big role in the war.  I decided to write about this and tie it in with other examples of the power of journalism.

Restarting the World is Common Sense

Thomas Paine, http://www.flickr.com/photos/28268328@N00/3045835627

"We have it in our power to begin the world over again." -Thomas Paine, Common Sense, 1776


In 1774, Thomas Paine, ironically a former tax collector from London, was sent to America by Benjamin Franklin, who recognized the talents of the young dissident.  He went on to become "the most important writer of the colonial era" (Streitmatter), helping pave the way for the creation of the new world along with George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and the other great American revolutionaries of the time.  His greatest contribution was the pamphlet Common Sense which "argued that those men and women [of the colonies] not only deserved, but were obligated as citizens of the human race, to demand much more [than their rights]." (Streitmatter)  His pamphlet struck a cord with a great number of colonists, and served as a catalyst for them to fight for their independence.

Paine not only wrote about the power of humans to create a new world, he served as a living testament to his theory.  With the ability to reach a large audience, a person possesses a potent tool for change.  Throughout history, people have used this power for a multitude of purposes, both positive and negative.  The effects of this can definitely have been said to begin the world over again.

Going back to the American Revolution, Sam Adams, a journalist for the Boston Gazette, used his persuasive voice to garner support against taxes on the colonists.  His support allowed him to organize the Boston Tea party, which was the first large civil act against the crown.  After this event, support for the revolution snowballed, the war began, and the result, of course was the formation of the United States.

Sam Adams, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/J_S_Copley_-_Samuel_Adams.jpg

However, power when used inappropriately has dangerous consequences.  Judith Miller was a journalist for The New York Times who propagated the false belief that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.  She made the error of not checking her sources, and publishing the information without any real investigation of the truth (http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/media/features/9226/).  Her spread of misinformation helped create a pro-war sentiment in the US when it came to Iraq, and years later, our economy is still decimated from the war and almost 4,500 of our soldiers have been killed (http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/).

Thomas Paine's words still serve as a lesson for all journalists and people with vocal power today.  Since they have the ability to change the world to such a degree that life as we know it could start over, these influential people have the responsibility to report, not repeat, and make sure their words don't have the ability to restart the world in a negative way.