This
week a lot of our class discussions revolved around the idea of the freedom of
speech, and what we as American's are allowed, and not allowed to say. This
discussion caused me to research if either of the Presidential candidates had a
comment similar to Tagg Romney’s comment that we also discussed in class. During
this research I came upon an article on one of Romney’s comments about
American's that shocked many people. He said "47 percent of Americans are
dependent on the government and see themselves as victims". This comment
evoked a lot anger from many voters. Although, what really interested me was
the context of this comment. Romney said this in privacy at a fundraiser, and
somehow, someone in the audience picked up a recording of his statement. Although
I believe this comment was not something smart to say, and could only hurt Romney’s
campaign, it was said in privacy and was not intended to be made public. This
got me thinking about if anything either candidate says is really private, and
should they deserve any privacy because of their positions in society. It seems
like they have no right to voice their opinions without it being all over the
internet within a few hours. This is very similar to famous athletes or
performers. Anything they say has the possibility of being recorded and made
public. Do these people deserve more privacy? Or do they deserve not having the
luxury of the type of privacy most American's have because of their position in
society?
To read more about Romney's comment, and see Obama's reaction click here.
I was also in shock when I heard Romney's comment (but I wasn't surprised). In my opinion, a politician should have a very low level of privacy, especially when campaigning, publicly or privately. Romney chose his words, and for a while he stood by them. But when you are at the point when you are running to be the President of the United States, everything that you say and do could and will be reported. If you run for office and expect to get privacy, ESPECIALLY when you make offensive comments like Romney did, you certainly do not deserve more privacy. Both candidates should have figured that out by now.
ReplyDeleteI think that what happened to Mitt Romney is fair. Similar things have happened to many celebrities and politicians before. I think that when you commit to one of these jobs, you commit to have your life in the public. It is not fair to act victimized by the press for leaking a secret about you, that is expected when you live in the public eye. Romney should have known, and kept that thought to himself, as anything he says could potentially be published.
ReplyDeleteWell known people such as politicians, celebrities, and professional athletes have to enter their career knowing that their lives will tremendously change for better and for worse. There may be perks in being famous, but I think they should have the expectation of not having privacy. Though I could not imagine, it must be so hard to live with all of your personal life revealed to the public. It may be hard, but I think the public should only have access to a certain amount of information. Sometimes it just goes too far, to the point of sometimes even ruining relationships or reputation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with AJ about how if you are running for President and campaigning, then what you say should be made public. However, I disagree on the point that people running for office should have no privacy with what they say. Obviously the comments Romney made should be publicized because they impact the electorate, especially all of his supporters (in both his 53 and 47 percent scenarios). His comments were stupid, un presidential (if that's a word), and did not help him in any way. Running for office is tricky because you have to be so mindful of what you say 24 hours a day. Like Hannah and Lily said, it's part of the job title. That is the reality. In today's world, politics or Hollywood, it seems a fundamental American value is to follow every action these people make. On the one hand, I agree with this because these people are role models and leaders in our society. On the other hand, I believe everyone has a right to personal privacy. In Romney's case, his comments did not deserve privacy because they impacted people other than himself and were hurtful to half of America.
ReplyDelete