For our Past, For our Present, and For our Future Freedom!!

I recently came across an article written by Daphne Patai called " Ray Bradbury and the Assault on Free Thought." Ray Bradbury is a successful writer. He began writing short stories called Fahrenheit 451. In the article it goes into great detail about the author Ray and his short stories. It also talks about how he was in tuned with the fact that television could control peoples minds. They talk a lot about his books and it seems as they were more geared to the future of mankind. The reason I feel that it is the future of Americans is because, he talks about large televisions that are wall size big and about cities being destroyed and people having to live in nature to survive destruction. He talks about television broadcast as growing large because there is less effort in watching and listening to television. He also writes how television broadcast were made to gather large sums of peoples attention, it was not intended to grasp only a few people here and there. The article even talks about President Roosevelt and how he started federal funding to libraries . He also made the statement,  “the great tools of scholarship, the great repositories of culture, and the great symbols of the freedom of the mind.” (President Roosevelt). As the article continues to progress  on it starts to lead up to the fears that Bradbury had have free speech being taken away. Patai begins to write about colleges taking control and power over individuals free wills. Patai goes on to start quoting Bradburys book " We [the firemen] stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought. We have our fingers in the dike." (Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451) Patai also goes on to mention different political persuasions have always tried to end free speech and any thoughts that they did not approve of.  The write goes on to tell moments that have occurred in Muslim counties, bout them not having the freedom of expression or actions. It talks bout Muslims as not speaking but having riot outburst. They also talk bout being unable to reenact Muslim events because there beliefs override free expression. The article event mentions a group called FIRE, they bring forth issues and matters that pertain to free speech and how others are trying to silence others rights. They fight for the rights of individuals. 

Work Cite:

Bradbury, R. 1979. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Ballantine Books

[orig. pub. 1953].

FIRE: The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education.

www.thefire.org

Patai, Daphne. "Ray Bradbury and the Assault on Free Thought." Society 50.1 (2013): 41-47. Print.

DOI 10.1007/s12115-012-9617-x

http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.libproxy.maricopa.edu/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=3&sid=c31afa72-c1c0-4aa2-b31b-1974df6cb2fb%40sessionmgr114&hid=115