To agree with Henry Fordıs quote would be denying history.
"People are becoming too intelligent ever to have another big war.
Statesmen have not anything like the prestige they had years ago, and what is
educating the ordinary people against war is that they are mixing so much.
The motor-car, radio and such things are great mixersı I believe
that last war was too much an educator for there ever to be another on a large
scale," said Henry Ford. His ideas were wrong because he thought that there
would never be another Great War after World War I because of manıs inventions,
their views to their authorities, and that there would be a bigger war to come.
Ford was always outspoken on political subjects and opposed World War I. He
tried many attempts to require subjects and opposed different countries and
cities, such as Holland, Norway, Sweden and Stockholm. He went without our
government support or approval. He gave speeches about how the conflict of war
can end. Ford was very persistent, but he never succeeded. His quote was more
over a source of comfort and an example of his confidence in peace.
Fordıs quote was written in 1928; ten years after World War I and eleven years
before World War I broke out. In 1895, the radio was invented and became very
popular in the early 1900ıs. People were able to hear what was going on in the
world for the first time. In the yearly 1900ıs, the motor-car war invented so
people could actually go out and explore the world more than they had before.
This exploration created a mixture in the cultures of people. Ford expresses his
idea as a possible solution for war because people would learn about both sides
of a controversy other than what they just knew. His idea sounded well though
out, but the "mixing" of cultures also created problems. Adolf Hitler,
a German political leader, wanted an Aryan race. He opposed the idea of
"mixing." His beliefs were also shared by hundreds of others. This
type of hatred soon started the Second World War.
The invention of the motor-car and the radio also informed the people about
their political leaders. Ford stated that up until 1928, Statesmen where looked
up to and were believed completely in everything they did and said. Along with
the radio came the press. There was an agreement between the Statesmen and press
that was called The Gentlemenıs Agreement. Only until after that agreement was
broken between the two parties, people were starting to question their Statesmen
and were not going along with everything they did. This was a security for the
people so they knew nothing would go wrong. In the 1950ıs, a Senator form
Wisconsin accused people of being related to communistic activities. Polls
stated that the people supported McCarthy until he was aired on television and
people saw his cruel tactics of prosecution. His public support fell, and he was
condemned for his conduct.
After World War I ended, people were more intelligent about war. They found out
that war could be hard and also devastating. The hardships were not over though.
Ford said that "the last war was too much educator for there ever to be
another on a large scale." In eleven years, World War II broke out and it
hit harder than the first. Ford said that there wouldnıt be another war on a
large scale. That might have been comforting for him and others, but it was
mistakable wrong to think that the war with the Axis Power was over. Obstacles
were building up over those eleven years to create something so big that not
even Statesmen or technology could have stopped.
I donıt agree with Henry Ford because he failed to look on both sides of
possibility. Ford said that if cultures were mixed, dilemmas would not occur
between different beliefs. America is going through a difficult time in mixing
cultures since September 11. Different cultures are everywhere and people are
trying to get a better understanding of the world, but learning about different
cultures is only a small step to stopping a major war. The processes to overcome
racial ignorance are not easy. There will always be people who look at situation
only from their perspective and those are the people that cause the problems all
over the world.
Ford also thought that if people were aware of the world and knew what is going
on, there wouldnıt be any problems in knowing everything. The other side to
that is if people know more, then they would have more problems with our
government. Knowing more is also good because knowledge of our government is a
security for the public to make sure that everything is going well. In
this point in time, the press has educated the people on what the Statesmen are
doing, even if we know what kind of toothpaste they are using in the morning.
Ford only looked at one side to his hypothesizes and didnıt acknowledge the
other sides of his theories.
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