Bill Clinton #4

In this section of Bill Clinton's My Life, Clinton is now running for the nomination to become the candidate for the presidency. With the New Hampshire primaries approaching, a woman named Gennifer Flowers said that Clinton had carried on an affair for twelve years with her. In order to defend himself of these charges, Bill and Hillary Clinton accept an offer of a televised interview. Clinton writes that they "wanted to defend against the scandal coverage and get back to the real issue without demeaning ourselves and adding fuel to the fire" (385). This choice shows how Clinton addressed the ethical as well as social dilemma of answering personal questions truthfully but without compromising the support he needed. During the session, the interviewer asked Clinton if he'd had any affairs. Clinton responded that he "acknowledged causing pain in my marriage, that I had already said more about the subject then any other politician ever had and... the American people understood what I meant" (385). Clinton's response to the personal attacks shows thought about his actions as well as remorse and reflect his ethical beliefs.

As the New Hampshire primaries closed in, questions about Clinton's character were still being raised. In a speech in Dover, Clinton addresses these concerns by saying "I'll tell you what I think the character issue is: Who really cares about you? Who's really trying to say what he would do specifically if he was elected president? Who has a demonstrated record of doing what they're talking about?" (391). Bill Clinton knew that people were wary of him but despite this he met the allegations head on because he felt he was the best candidate for the job. Clinton's opponent, Paul Tsongas disgreed and while campaining in the Midwest, Tsongas questioned his character concerning the middle-class tax cut Clinton wanted to introduce. The attack did not seem to hurt Clinton's numbers, however, for on the next day "we won in Illinois, Hillary's home state, with 52 percent... and in Michigan with 49 percent" (397). The numbers dont lie and instead tell us that Clinton's character seemed to be good enough for the voters and was good enough to lead him to victory.

Bill Clinton #3

In this next section of Bill Clinton's life, Clinton is forced to make a decision that could impact not only his life but the lives of many others. In 1987, Ronald Reagen was about to leave office and the Democratic Party was getting ready for the primaries. Clinton had a lot of support around the country to try and run for President but he was conflicted over the issue. He writes that he "was holding back. I know I would be a good candidate but I wasn't sure I had lived long enough to aquire the wisdom and judgement necessary to becomes President" (333). Clinton knew that if he ran for President and got elected, the lives of his nation would be in his hands and he wasn't sure that he could shoulder all that responsibility yet. In the end, the deciding factor for him was his daughter, Chelsea. Clinton had been talking to a friend about making a decision when she asked where they were going for summer vacation, to which he responded "I might not be able to take one if I ran for President. Chelsea replied, 'Then Mom and I will go without you.' That did it" (334). At that moment, Clinton realized that the place he needed to be most right then was home with his family and that it was more important to him to watch his daughter grow up now then to run for an office that he wasn't sure he was ready for. Though many were disappointed by his choice, Clinton knew that he had made the right decision for his consituents, his nation and his family.

OTW Post

In On the Waterfront, the the consequenses of speaking up are clear. Betray the mob and die for it. The mob bosses, Johnny Friendly and Charlie the Gent, enforce this standard for what they see to be their own protection. If they don't keep squealers under their thumbs, then their whole livlihood thats been built up on the docks will be crushed and they'll be jailed. Terry thinks along these lines as well, or at least on the other side of it. When Charlie is murdered, the connection between "talking" and "dying" is only reaffirmed in his mind which is why instead of going straight to the cops, he goes to take his revenge before he himself dies.

I think that there are a few differences between a whistle blower and a traitor. Mainly, what their motivations are and the consequences of not taking action. If someone is fueled by selfish desire, such as money or revenge or anything else personal, then they would be considered a traitor by exposing whatever illicit activity we're talking about. If the act is carried out with the intent to contribute to the greater good, then it would be considered noble in nature. Also, if the costs to society are so great that by not taking the initiative to stop whatever it is, then I believe that you are morally obligated to blow the proverbial whistle and by extent, failing to do so would be a traitorous act to the community affected. If either of these two conditions that I mentioned are fulfilled, I think that one should be considered a whistle blower and be benefiting society as a whole.

AMS Blog

In the play/book All My Sons by Arthur Miller, the character of Joe Keller makes a rash and uninformed decision to tell his employee and friend, Steve Deever, to cover a mistake that directly leads to 21 killed pilots. His reason in doing so, he explains it that he was trying to provide for his family and care for them. As he told his son Chris, "Chris...Chris, I did it for you, it was a chance and I took it for you" (70). He does his best to explain his actions to his son but he just can't understand what could drive him to do this. Joe thinks that by providing for his son with money, he is doing what is best.

I think that Joe's limited education and worldview makes his perspective on ethics narrow and limited to the people he knows personally, eg. his family and friends. Because of this he feels its completely justified to provide for his son the best way he knows how. Even though this meant that he sent his neighbor to prison, he still felt he was doing good by offering Steve a position back at the factory when he gets out. All this is understandable and rightous to Joe, but to Chris, who has more experience in the world and has really come to understand death and war the things his father did are sheer acts of immoral and preventable murder. Chris' view is that all actions have consequences beyond what we experience and that is something that has to factor into making a difficult decision. My personal views align with my interpretation of Chris' because we can't just look at whats around us, we have to think outside of that box and look beyond what we encounter every day.