The Role of a Person in Political Activity

In the 1920s, two authors by the names of William F. Buckley and James Baldwin were born in the Burroughs of New York City. These two authors would revolutionize American ideology of one’s role in political activism.

The white, upper class, American author William F. Buckley, writes about how people must complain when an issue that bothers them arises. Meanwhile, the African American author who was born out of poverty, James Baldwin, writes about the need for White America to atone for the actions they have committed against black America.

Although both authors use different experiences in their life to emphasize what one’s role in the United States should be to keep the society healthy, William F.

Buckley’s argument is more affective because his experiences are relatable to people with all different backgrounds, not just to white and black Americans. William F. Buckley’s central argument is focused on the need for citizens of a society to stop being complacent and waiting for other people to do things for them, particularly in political activism. In is work “Why We Don’t Complain”, Buckley uses is past failures, so others make the right ones in both the everyday and political spheres. He starts his work with the narrator sitting in the very back of a train where the temperature is around eighty-five degrees. Even though he and his fellow riders are in an uncomfortable situation, Buckley doesn’t orally complain. Instead, he sits and wonders why, “not one of them had asked [ the conductor] to explain why the passengers in that car had been consigned to suffer”.

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This leads Buckley to illustrate a connecting event about a time he was at a movie theater.

Once again, there is a moment that he wants to complain but doesn’t in the hopes that someone else will. Buckley closes “Why We Don’t Complain” by writing about his New Year’s resolution in which he wanted to stop being a creature of habit and speak up when he wants to complain. Buckley compares his New Year’s resolution to what all Americans must do. He writes, “when our voices are finally mute, when we have finally suppressed the natural instinct to complain, whether the vexation is trivial or grave, we shall have become automatons, incapable of feeling”. We must complain! William F. Buckley believes that complaining is vital for society. On the other hand, James Baldwin thinks that acknowledging the issues of misconduct that white America has done towards black America is equally essential.

In his work ‘Notes of a Native Son,’ Baldwin writes about his relationship with his father. He starts his essay by recalling the day of his father’s funeral. Baldwin writes, “I had not known my father very well. We had got on badly, partly because we shared, in our different fashions, the vice of stubborn pride…It seems to be typical of life in America, where opportunities, real and fancied, are thicker than anywhere else on the globe, that the second generation has no time to talk to the first.” (Baldwin 1). Baldwin laments that he had not talked to his father as much as he should have. From being the first generation of free black Americans to getting laid off from his job, Baldwin describes his father’s life of hardship while living in New Orleans (Baldwin). Though there were other moments of joy such as Baldwin’s younger brother being born, most of his father’s life was filled with loneliness and depression.

Baldwin homes in on the only time he visited his father dying in the hospital. He compares this moment to the relationship between white and black America. Baldwin claims his reasoning for not visiting his father is the same reason it is tough for white Americans to talk about their historical relationship with black Americans. He writes, “one of the reasons people cling to hate so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, that they will be forced to deal with pain” (Baldwin 6). For Baldwin, one must be able to make themselves vulnerable and overcome awkwardness to heal broken relationships. While both William F. Buckley and James Baldwin both use past life experiences to determine one’s role in society, William F. Buckley’s argument is more effective than James Baldwin’s because it is more relatable to all citizens of the United States, not just to white and black Americans.

Being an African American male, I can understand firsthand the shaky relationship between white America and black America. However, the United States is more complex than black and white. The United States is a melting pot of all types of people. William F. Buckley tackles an issue that everyone has experienced; wanting to complain about something, but instead hoping for someone else to speak up for them. There have been many times in my life where I was bother by a situation or an issue but have remained silent due to lack of confidence or fear of rejection. One of these personal incidents happened a couple weeks ago. I was in Champaign, Illinois waiting for my 10:45 pm bus back to Loyola Chicago. The time was 10:45 and my bus was supposed to be at the station by that time.

I knew that something was wrong, but I waited for someone to ask the ticket office why the bus was running late. My hope was not fulfilled. No one spoke up, so I just kept waiting for another hour and a half with no information. I eventually learned that my bus was cancelled, and I would have to wait for the next bus at 9:30am the next morning. When I went to the station the next day, my problems continued. Once again, my bus was delayed for two hours. I was furious, and I could tell everyone else on my bus was feeling the same. I kept hoping someone would totally crack and complain to the ticketing officer demanding for a refund. Once again, no one did what I was too afraid to do. Instead, we all complained to each other about the current predicament we were in. Because no one was willing to talk to the officer about the multiple cancelations, we all lost the opportunity to get a refund for the trip.

It is in these moments that I become a bystander and due to human nature, everyone around me becomes a silent bystander as well. Buckley’s argument in “Why We Don’t Complain”, aims to strike a nerve in the hearts of its readers. “Why We Don’t Complain” creates a spark of passion-based confidence to voice our concerns about issues we face every day to bigger issues such as social injustices in one’s country. Buckley’s works re-energize people such as James Baldwin, to continue to use their platforms to speak passionately about issues they are emotionally invested in.

Works Cited

1. Baldwin, James. Notes of a Native Son. Boston: Beacon Press, 1984. Print.
2. Baldwin, James. (n.d.). Notes of A Native Son [PDF]. Http://thenewschoolhistory.org.
3. Buckley, William. F. (n.d.). Why We Don’t Complain [PDF]. Www.Sanjaun.edu
4. Cohen, Samuel S. 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017.
5. Fuller, William F. Buckley, Jr. “Why Don’t We Complain?” 50 Essays. Ed. Samuel Cohen. New York: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2004. 64-70.