Common Sense and a Little Fire: Summary and Brief Analysis

Common Sense and a Little Fire:

Summary, Analysis, Evaluation

HIST 3343 Spring 2010

Common Sense and a Little Fire begins with brief introductions of the four main characters chronicled in the novel, and offers the author’s explanation for writing about them. Those women are: Rose Schneiderman, a gifted speaker who preferred to work with upper class men and women of the New York Women’s Trade Union League (NYWTUL); Pauline Newman, an idealist when possible, but a realist when necessary, worked with both the International Ladies’ Garment Workers’ Union (ILGWU) and the Women’s Trade Union League (WTUL); Fannia Cohn, a sensitive girl who often tried to avoid unions and leagues because she felt the only path to advancement lied in education; and Clara Lemlich Shavelson, another talented orator who used her voice to mobilize the lower, working, and middle classes away from unions and towards organized strikes.

What all these women have in common is work experience in the garment making industry, and a shared culture of political radicalism. Annelise Orleck felt that these women were worth putting in to writing because they were some of the driving forces behind the women’s labor movement in America. Also, she believes that there is a significant lack of first-hand accounts of the trials and tribulations that such women and their followers faced.

Chapter one outlines the reasons why these young women felt the need to organize a workers’ revolution. Although all four women encountered different events, their respective experiences led each one to believe that a change in working and living conditions was warranted. Some women were moved by sheer hunger and the ever-present threat of homelessness. Newman noted that working 70-80 hour work shifts per week, with more than one household member providing income, was not enough to afford rent and food expenses.

Still others were motivated to action through their day-to-day familiarity with the working conditions of the factories. Newman described the factories as dark, smelly, filled with dirt and rats, freezing temperatures in the winter, unbearably hot in the summers, and inaccessible to drinkable water. Affairs were even worse for workers in the industrial factories – where the consequences for error included death and loss of limbs.

It wasn’t long before these young women realized that the systems put in place to protect them were corrupt and/or unhelpful. Even though child labor laws had been passed to ban night work for children, foremen would often be tipped off before inspectors arrived, allowing plenty of time for the young ones to be hidden. Using their acquired knowledge of unions and the teachings of socialism, the girls began recruiting members for various garment and labor unions.

Much of their fervor was inspired by a successful boycott of meats being sold at grossly inflated prices, and a somewhat fruitful rent strike. Such experiences, combined with male union worker’s outspoken ideas that women and immigrants were unorganizable, forced these two classes to begin working independently of the major union coordinators.

Chapter two provides a greater understanding of how the women’s labor, and later suffrage movements began in America (between 1909 and 1915). Perhaps as important as how the movement gained momentum, is the conditions under which it did so. One of the major problems facing potential unionizers was the police. Instead of protecting protestors’ rights to peacefully assemble, they would break up crowds using violent and aggressive tactics. Many women were forced to leave or ended up in the hospital with broken bones and the problems associated with blunt trauma.

Part of the “justification” for this police brutality was the unjust association of working class women with “working women,” meaning prostitutes. Although the author admits that some of the girls actually were prostitutes, it was because they were unwillingly forced into the trade by extremely low wages. This only helped to perpetuate the stereotype that female protestors were rebellious, misguided, and possibly evil; whereas a woman who simply obeyed the rules of an unjust society, and suffered with dignity and without complaint, would have been seen as a “good” girl.

Such ideas are further illustrated by the effectiveness of so-called “Mink Brigades.” Although union leaders representing both males and females would plead for the rights to non-violent assembly, and beg lawmen to stop the bloodshed, it would come to no avail. Only by recruiting upper class men and women and college students (who were viewed in a positive light during this time period) to join workers on the streets, would the police minimize their brutality. Only a rich person, or someone of proper class, would be taken seriously in the event that a complaint or lawsuit was brought against the city.

New light was brought to the labor movement when, in 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory caught fire and caused the death of 146 people (mostly women). While the fire may not have been preventable, it was the exceptionally poor safety conditions which caused most of the deaths (locked doors, inaccessible fire exits, dilapidated staircases, lack of fire alarms on all floors, etc.) This catastrophe heightened awareness among unions that safety concerns needed to be addressed as much as wage and hour standards.

In the same year, the WTUL took an open stance towards excluding immigrants from their union. The following year, tensions arose among different area branches of the WTUL, just proving further that there were numerous factors which prevented the labor movement from meeting all of its goals. At the same time, sexual harassment was finally becoming a union issue, as well as the gender hierarchy within women’s trade and union leagues, and equal pay for members performing the same duties.

Chapter three marks a decidedly different course for women wishing for freedom. The popular belief that equal opportunities in the workplace and domestic sphere would be suitable was clearly not going to satisfy all women. Female union members began to see clearly that many of their demands could be met if they had the power to vote.

The 1910s also featured new methods of protest learned from the British (parades, rallies, civil disobedience, hunger strikes, and flamboyant speeches), and a campaign strategy aimed at uniting an entire gender, as opposed to distinct economic classes. Although the largest women’s suffrage group, the National American Woman Suffrage Association (NAWSA) divided itself among races, and the WTUL made open requests to ban Asians, Schneiderman was able to strike down such rules, and help incorporate all women, regardless of race or ethnicity, into the suffrage movement.

As well-intentioned as the suffragettes groups were, their close-minded views on race and class hindered their overall progress. This spurred the creation of a new group, founded by Harriot Stanton Blatch and Schneiderman, the Equality League of Self-Supporting Women (Equality League). Schneiderman was also involved with another group, the American Suffragettes, made up of upper class and educated women.

These groups, as well as the National Women’s Party (NWP) and the Socialist Party – and a new one, founded by Lemlich, Mollie Schepps, and Maggie Hinchey, the Wage Earners’ League for Woman Suffrage (WELWS), created to attract the working class, were constantly butting heads. They all wanted suffrage, but each group had a different plan of action to get it, and what to do with it. Meanwhile, leaders from the Socialist Party, the AFL, the New York State Federation of Labor, and the ILGWU, renounced the groups that were still fighting for the advancement of the working class. Even after woman suffrage was won in 1920, these groups, and more, feuded incessantly.

Chapter four begins with an ending of sorts. Schneiderman and Newman both took steps away from the radical factions they had spent their lives associating with and creating, in favor of more traditional government roles. Pushing for pieces of legislation and organizing modest grassroots groups became their primary functions. Cohn continued her work with the ILGWU. Unfortunately, because of her strong distrust of the Communist Party (CP), the government, upper class women, other unions, and men, she lost many friends and nearly severed the connection between Lemlich, Schneiderman, and Newman. Meanwhile, Lemlich got married and involved herself heavily with the CP. This separated her from the other three because the CP had become a fundamental enemy to the 1920s American labor movement.

With Newman and Schneiderman’s increasing roles in the WTUL, they became recognized experts in the field of women’s labor issues. When Eleanor Roosevelt joined the WTUL, and wanted to gain information about the current state of affairs, she searched out the two, and eventually introduced them to Franklin D. Roosevelt. Essentially, they taught FDR everything he knew about the movement, and later became very influential to other sympathetic government leaders.

However, as their egos and socioeconomic class increased, their views on how to help the belabored women changed dramatically. Newman and Schneiderman began to advocate against a welfare state, which they had previously endorsed, and instead embraced the view that what women really need, is equal opportunity. Additionally, they sabotaged connections between what they felt were “their” unions, the WTUL and ILGWU, and the CP and Congress of Industrial Organization (CIO). Finally, Schneiderman appeared to have turned her back on the militant unionist she used to be, while Newman settled down with a man and used her political clout to exert influence in Washington.

In the 1940s their decades-long battle against the male dominated establishment, and long time friendship with Eleanor Roosevelt and Frances Perkins paid off. Newman and Schneiderman played key roles in influencing the Washington agenda, especially concerning the minimum-wage, maximum-hours limits, an adequate workers’ compensation system, and laws for equal pay. The founding of these federal rulings are all due, at least in part, to them.

Chapter five resumes Cohn’s story. True to her roots, she still believed whole-heartedly that women would never stand on equal ground until they were all given a proper education. She created a unionwide Education Department (the first of its kind) within the ILGWU – and then ran it for forty years. This became the model for the following 300 union-sponsored summer schools across the nation. Cohn also understood that the unionized worker was human as well – and she needed roses. Thus began the undertaking of “Unity Centers,” places located near the schools, which provided baby-sitting, access to movies, music, a gymnasium, union meeting hall, and other such cultural escapades.

Unfortunately, even with all the advances in labor standards and woman’s rights, the unions were still heavily dominated by a patriarchy. With the ILGWU perpetuating the male oligarchy, and the CP hell-bent on dominating all the union realms, Cohn (and others) founded the Workers Education Bureau (WEB). Funded largely by her wealthy family in New York, Cohn was able to continue with her passion. Although the WEB was successful in many ways, Cohn drifted from union to union in a constant search for high ranking positions and the ability to help more of the disenfranchised. Speaking of union troubles, she says “Each side wants you to hate for the sake of love, to fight … for the sake of unity and solidarity. But for all of this there is a group of us which is making an effort to develop a progressive labor policy and to influence younger people in the labor movement (192).”

Chapter six chronicles Lemlich’s battles between her situation at home, and her lifestyle as a political activist. After leaving the ILGWU for the suffragist movement (because she was too radical for them), and then quitting that as well, Lemlich, not content to sit idly, focused on bettering the conditions of working class wives and mothers during the Great Depression. Using sit-ins, boycotts, lobbying, and strikes, Lemlich’s initially small band of wives and mothers grew into a keystone group of consumers with incredible economic power.

Wherever Lemlich moved, she mobilized a cause to support a higher standard of living. Be it in Brownsville with her anti-eviction strikes; Participating in the Housewives’ Councils of Greater New York, New Jersey, and Chicago, to redefine the wife’s role; Her continuous organizing for fairly priced consumer goods such as meats; Or her devotion to the CP and forming the United Council of Working Class Women to become a model group for future, younger housewives to become politically active.

For me, this book was a true eye-opener, and would make a fantastic companion to anybody who is learning about the time period of 1900-1945 (Prologue through Chapter 6). It illustrates four important aspects of Americans’ existence and culture that often go without mention: The roots of the Socialist movement in America, the roles that lower, middle, and working class girls played, and most importantly, the distinct flavors of gender disparities in almost every caveat of life – moreover, with a passion and level of detail that historical texts (that I’ve read) have failed to convey.

In both philosophy and political science courses, I have been lectured about socialism and communism and how the dialectic marks them as naturally progressive steps up from capitalism, but that really isn’t so. The move to integrate social welfare policies into American politics was unnatural and difficult. These first-hand accounts of Jewish emigrants bringing their “radical” ways of thinking to New York, and then working incredibly hard to spread prosperity through their communities and workplaces, is something that I was never taught in school. The way professors talk about it, you would think that everybody just picked up a copy of The Communist Manifesto and voted to help the disenfranchised and working classes.

Similarly, the history of woman’s struggle from 1900-1945 that I have been exposed to portrays most women as docile, (possibly) unhappily married homebodies. They leave out the corrupt unions, the sweeping cries of factory slavery and 80 hour work weeks, the police brutality, the constant eviction notices and blatant price gouging for food; the decades of struggle, male oppression, or the small victories that changed the political and social landscapes.

I had no idea how crooked the entire system was. Gender disparities infected every aspect of life, from fair protection under the law, to the norms of society. Truly, the domination and tyranny enforced on the female gender was outrageous. Married women would openly work harder, toil longer, and make do with less than their spousal counterpart, only to be told that it was fair for them to earn half as much as their husband. I was appalled at the tactics employed by industrial leaders to keep workers from unionizing, and the safety issues that led to the Triangle Shirtwaist fire. I was unaware that when the government of the United States promised a free education, girls would be taught home economics and to pretend that they can read, while boys were schooled in Dickens and trained to be a leader.

Overall, the class politics that women endured quietly for so long can be equated to the forceful slavery of Africans in America, and should be taught as reminder of a horrible injustice in the same way that the Holocaust is. The social and legal dynamics behind gender subjugation in the “Land of the Free” need to be exposed more often in the way Annelise Orleck does it.

National Voter Registration Act 1993, aka Motor Voter Law, Has it Failed

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993

Has the Motor Voter Law Failed

Texas State University POSI 4336

Introduction

Throughout Democracy’s long, extravagant, and sometimes rebellious history, one question has remained the same: Who should vote and how? In this research based analysis I will attempt to answer just one caveat in the American form of democracy. By the addition of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, has the standard United States citizen been affected positively or negatively?

The answer is important because a positive effect means that voter registration (and likely turnout) rates should have increased since 1993, and by enacting such a law, democracy has been protected. However, if the “Motor Voter” Act has negatively impacted democratic rule, then the United States legislatures should immediately repeal it in the collective interests of its people. Regardless of any personal bias, a clear response is needed to make an informed evaluation of the overall political situation in America.

Sources and Review of the Information Used

In any research based study, the data collector will find him/herself in a position to influence readers with his/her own biases. In this section I hope to lay to rest any fears of favoritism by outlining my sources and making note of any prejudices that I detect. In doing so, I believe that I am giving the reader every possible opportunity to decide for themselves if what I am writing (or quoting) is merely propaganda, or an educated opinion.

1 Executive Summary of the Federal Election Commission Report to the Congress on the Impact of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Primary source. This is the official Federal Election Commission’s evaluation of the Motor Voter Act. It was prepared 4 years after the Act was implemented, and contains thorough statistics on many related subjects.

2 The Star-Ledger’s article entitled New Jersey to Push More Registrations Through “Motor Voter” Bill. Secondary source. This reports the findings of the New Jersey’s Special Advocate concerning failures of DMVs to enforce the Motor Voter bill.

3 Political Behavior, Vol. 20, No. 2, is a primary source which analyses direct National Election Study data to determine the effectiveness of the Motor Voter law.

4 The Journal of Politics, Vol. 57, No. 3, is a primary source which uses state-level data to determine if Motor Voter is working.

5 Political Science and Politics, Vol. 32, No. 2, is a secondary source which attempts to answer the question of “Why was voter turnout exceptionally low, and registration levels remarkably high, in the 1996 election?”

6 Public Choice, Vol. 103, No. 1/2, is a mixed source. Some of the data has been collected personally through surveys, and then compiled with existing data, for the purpose of stating conclusively if juror selection is a deterrent to voter registration.

7 The National Center for Policy Analysis is a partisan organization. However, for this article they used data collected by the Wall Street Journal to affirm the facts surrounding certain voter fraud situations.

8 The New York Times’s article is a secondary source editorial which aims to show some of the more drastic failings of the Motor Voter law in recent times, and accuses George W. Bush for chiefly responsible for many shortcomings.

9 The Motor Voter Act and Voter Fraud is a primary source statement read to a Congressional Committee concerning the monetary and iconic failure that Samples believes defines the Motor Voter law.

10 About the National Voter Registration Act is the primary source of law on Motor Voter. It is a government maintained website which contains all the statutes and sections of the National Voter Registration Act.

11 Fox News’s article is a primary source which follows the story of Mabel Briscoe, who successfully registered her dog to vote in the state of Maryland.

12 Political Science and Politics, Vol. 34, No. 1, is a secondary source which measures the differences between different registering stations and their affects on different classes and races.

Analysis of Information

The National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), or “Motor Voter Law,” was passed in 1993. The bill intended to increase voter registration with four major parts. First, by creating a semi-automatic method of registration at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). When applying for a license, or renewing an old one, an option is presented by the clerk to be automatically registered to vote. Second, the government agencies that distribute benefits such as unemployment checks and food stamps are required to also offer information on registration. Third, one section of the NVRA was dedicated to providing registration information in many different minority languages. Fourth, by creating strict guidelines for the removal of previous registrants from the voting roster.

According to the voting record held by the United States Senate (1993), the NVRA passed with 62 yeas, 36 nays, and 2 abstaining (1 Democrat and 1 Republican). Of the 62 yeas, 59 were Democrats. And of the 35 nays, all were Republicans (Untied States Senate, 1993). It can be clearly stated that since every Republican opposed the Motor Voter Law, that there would have been heavy arguments in the House. Additionally, since it passed with only 3 Republicans on board with the program, it is apparent that the debate did little to gain favor with politicians across party lines.

A similar result is seen the other House of Congress. The Office of the Clerk (1993) notes that the NVRA passed in the House of Representatives with 259 ayes (238 Democrat,) and 164 noes (150 Republican) (Office of the Clerk, 1993). Again the Democrats are able to shove the resolution through, not by working with the GOP, but by their sheer numbers.

In theory, the long-term political ramifications on support of a passed resolution should measure the same in both parties, since the bill has in fact already been approved. However, I theorize that because this law was adopted not by consent, but against the wishes of almost all Republicans in Congress, this will have a hidden negative impact on the bill. While I have not found any articles that discuss this issue, I believe the reader should consider this when attributing blame or credit to a piece of national legislation.

The question of whether or not the Motor Voter Law has helped differs from asking if the NVRA has been overall successful. Stephen Knack (1995) contends that, “In contrast to motor voter, other provisions required by the NVRA—including mail-in and agency-based registration, and limitations on the purging of voter polls—show little evidence of effectiveness in the states where they have already been implemented” (p. 798).

Enforcement of Motor Voter is a difficult task. Jason Fink (2008) reports that, “Just 11 percent of new voters in New Jersey registered at a motor vehicle agency. … The state is falling in line after the state Public Advocate found New Jersey was barely complying last year. A February 2007 study found only eight percent of people leaving motor vehicle agencies in the state had been offered the chance to register as voters” (Fink, 2008). He also notes that people acquiring a new license are not being handed registration forms, drivers seeking a change of address are not being updated on the voter list, and that registration signs are not easily visible (Fink, 2008).

In a study by Highton and Wolfinger (1998), they find that NVRA enforcement of DMV registration is different from the previous methods of implementation. Once the state had adopted the federal mandate, registration increased by four percentage points (4.7 - 8.7) – a miniscule amount compared to the NVRA’s predicted effect. Additionally, they find that the new purging system will increase turnout (as a proportion to registered voters) by only 2%; and the order to coordinate a “universal mailing system” has no effect (p. 81).

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) works to administer election campaign statutes. It provides an executive summary to Congress concerning all federally effected voting laws. In 1997 they submitted that “States reported a total of 142,995,856 registered voters nationwide for 1996, amounting to 72.77 % of the Voting Age Population (VAP). This is the highest percentage of voter registration since reliable records were first available in 1960. The report also notes that the number of Americans actually voting in 1996 declined by over 5 percentage points from 1992 -- the first presidential election since 1972, when the franchise was extended to 18-21 year olds, that voter registration rose while turnout declined” (FEC, 1997).

While the registration numbers are impressive, Knack (1999) articulated some very contradictory questions. Why did “Turnout drop in every state between 1992 and 1996[?] … [Why has] the most dramatic liberalization of voter registration procedures in American history coincided with not only the lowest level of turnout since 1924, but with the largest single four-year decline since 1920[?] … The theory that registration barriers are the chief cause of the gap … suffered a devastating blow, as turnout in North Dakota—where voters aren’t even required to register—was a mere 56% of the voting population in 1996” (p. 239).

John Samples, Director of the Center for Responsible Government at the Cato Institute, standing before the United States Senate Committee on Rules and Administration (2001), testified about the concrete and representational damage caused by Motor Voter. He said that the Act “Considerably complicated the states' task of keeping the registration rolls clean. … To remove a voter who has moved … the local jurisdiction … [must] get written confirmation of the move from the citizen … [or] send a notice to the voter … The cost of these mailings is significant. In Indiana … such a mailing would have a price tag of about $2 million … twice the Election Division's entire annual budget. Given … the limited resources of most local election boards, we should not be surprised that the registration rolls throughout the nation are enormously inaccurate. Some counties … report … voting roll numbers are bigger than the voting-age population. … The clogged rolls have cost taxpayers thousands of dollars in cleanup costs and additional election expenses. For example, the Indiana Election Division has conducted its statewide duplicate program four times at a total cost of about $900,000. Officials in Indiana have increased the number of voting sites unnecessarily because the lists are so inaccurate. … Each new precinct costs county taxpayers $10,000 for two voting machines and about $500 per election for additional poll workers and supplies. Statewide in Indiana, more than 200 precincts have been added since the law went into effect … the state gets nothing in return for such spending. Such costs for the nation as a whole must be large” (Samples, 2001).

Samples continues by pointing out that in Indiana alone, “Tens of thousands of people appear on the voter rolls more than once, that more than 300 dead people were registered, and that three convicted killers and two convicted child molesters were on the rolls. In general, experts believe one in five names on the rolls in Indiana do not belong there.” Moreover, “Georgia found more than 15,000 dead people on active voting rolls,” and “Alaska [1998]… had [65,968 more registries than there were] … people of voting age were living in the state that year. Similar studies in other states would no doubt return similar data. … The inflation of the registration rolls has also clearly misled Americans about the state of their democracy. Inflated and inaccurate rolls give a false measure of voting turnout as a proportion of registered voters. … Political scientists have charted the decline in trust in government over the past four decades … ‘Motor Voter’ has been part of that problem, not part of its solution” (Samples, 2001).

The National Center for Policy Analysis (2001) elaborates on the potential for fraud in the system, stating “It's much easier to vote today if you are dead or don't exist than it was before 1993.” Due to the fact that there are over 8 million people registering with license applications, but only 5% actually voting, there is clearly an abundant supply of eligible names to steal. A lack of I.D. requirement for any type of voting only complicates matters further (NCPA, 2001).

Kathleen Wereszynski (2001), a reporter for Fox News, finds a similar hole in Motor Voter. When 82-year-old Mabel Briscoe’s 3-year-old dog received a notice for jury duty in Maryland, Ms. Briscoe contacted her Country Board of Elections. Wereszynksi reports “[Briscoe believed] Motor Voter makes it possible for just about anyone, from non-U.S. citizens, those under 18 years of age, and criminals, to register. To test her suspicion, she attempted to register her dog Holly through the Motor Voter program two years ago. … The Calvert County Board of Elections received Holly’s registration application by mail on July 2, 1999, according to registrar Charlene Sparrow. ‘In the state of Maryland, identification is not required, just the sworn signature,’ Sparrow told Fox News. … But when a Maryland resident is registered to vote, his or her name becomes available to the court system for the jury pool” (Wereszynski, 2001). Needless to say, if an 82-year-old woman can fool the Board of Elections, suspicions of voter registration fraud, and the election fraud it generally entails, are absolutely warranted.

The rare canine summons is not the only problem Motor Voter poses concerning jury duty. In a study by Knack (2000) using survey and additional data sources, he “Confirms the finding that the use of voter registration lists for jury selection purposes significantly reduces registration rates.” His study also proves that “A large percentage of Americans are aware that voter registration lists are the primary source lists for selection of jurors” (p. 50). Registering to vote quickly and easily at first appeared to have no downsides, but once registrants are aware that a potentially time consuming (and generally considered arduous) task may await, one would expect a decrease in registrations and re-enrollment.

Conclusion

Although many points of view have been analyzed during the course of this review, I believe that one voice stands out far above any other. All of my research clearly demonstrates that the NVRA has been only minimally successful, and that the monetary and symbolic costs of this burdensome system have outweighed the benefits. Motor Voter has increased expenditures, the likelihood of fraud, and is beat on every level by methods such as direct registration at polls.

One reason for this might be the lack of Republican support. Locally elected politicians have much more unsupervised power than our federal appointments. This would help explain some of the differences in the Motor Voter Law’s varying effect in each state. Allegations of DMV failures to distribute the proper paperwork for example, would be first reported on the local level. If a Republican is handed a complaint about such an issue, it is conceivable that he could write it off on the “large federal government,” and nothing more would become of the matter.

Also, each individual Secretary of State is allowed to deny voter registration applications as he/she sees fit. In which case, unless the victims have the time and resources to file a lawsuit against the state, the Secretary’s ruling will stand. Again, it is plausible that a Republican who does not support the NVRA (of which there are many,) would be able to freely reject applications from the new registration sites. The overall effect being an apparent failure of the Motor Voter Law due to superficial statistics which would show little to no increase in the number of voter registrants from newly approved NVRA locations.

The bill may also have been compromised because 6 states were exempt from the NVRA due to differences in state registration methods. Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Wyoming, and Wisconsin, did not have to follow any provision of the NVRA because they either had direct registration at the polling locations, or required no registration at all (Department of Justice, 2008).

Arguments posted by individual states concerning the constitutionality of the NVRA may also have contributed to the Motor Voter Law’s perceived failure. Even states held by Democrats contested this bill. Within the first month of the law’s enactment, California, Illinois, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, New York, South Carolina, Vermont, and Virginia, were all sued by the federal government because of a failure to comply with the law. They believed that the legislation was unconstitutional (Department of Justice, 2008).

Unpopular and demanding statutes have also been the cause for 110 additional federal cases concerning the NVRA. Almost every state has been found to be in violation of some part of the law since 1993 (Department of Justice, 2008). With so many cases being filed, it is clear that there are multiple issues within the Motor Voter Law that make it excessively difficult for states to follow. This, combined with the low number of new voting registrants since 1993, who register within the DMV or through the newly appointed NVRA sites, lend much credibility to the argument that the Motor Voter Law has failed on multiple levels.

The question was also raised on whether or not we can trust data collected from the DMV as reliable. As Knack points out, since a drivers license must only be renewed, on average, every 6 years (or more depending on the state), it is difficult to measure the effectiveness of the Motor Voter Law. If we rely only on the attainment of new and re-enrolled registrants at the DMV as the indicator of success, then we can expect to only see results every several years. From a statistical perspective, the NVRA would appear to have failed, since the percentage of registrants will be spread out over a time span of years, causing a deceptively low proportional increase (Knack, 1995).

Another problem with Motor Voter occurred during its original conception. The NVRA was designed to ultimately increase voter turnout, specifically in national elections. The basic rationale being that registered voters will participate in the electoral process. However, political scientists find that voter turnout is separate, and sometimes independent, from registration. I believe this occurs because of two primary reasons.

1 Jury selection and other nonelectoral uses of registrant data. Obviously, any potential registrant wanting to avoid jury duty (more than they want to vote,) will decline even the simplest registration options. This number, according to Knack (2000) is very large.

2 Failure to promote interest. The real problem with Motor Voter is that fails to address the main cause of low voter turnout: Dwindling feelings of political efficacy.

Wolfinger and Hoffman concluded that “One explanation for this disappointment [in voter turnout] is the common observation that people for whom registration is costless are unlikely to exert themselves to vote.” (p. 2). Political efficacy is the greatest determinant in likelihood to voting, and is clearly not being upshot by higher registration rates.

Even the one seemingly real advancement in upping voter registration coming directly after the NVRA was implemented into law is suspicious. Prior to the NVRA, states would purge their registration lists of people who did not vote in the last general election, or those who had moved within the state. Reinstatement of such a large number of individuals would make the NVRA appear (falsely) to be immediately effective (Knack, 1995). Thus the huge increase in initial voter registration may simply be attributed to the states re-enrollment of wrongfully removed voters.

Figure 1, Samples (2001) illustrates that although registration increases, turnout does not.

I don’t believe that fraud (or the fear of it swinging elections) is a major contributor to the overall low turnout rate in America. Since low turnout was a problem before the NVRA, and levels fluctuated previous to proof of fraudulent voting surfacing, it can be fairly ruled out as a major contributor to low election attendance. However, increased fraud due to requirements of the Motor Voter Law, do enhance the bill’s reputation as an overall disappointment.

The problems with the DMVs in New Jersey do raise a comprehensive concern. Had the New Jersey Public Advocate not been investigating, it is unlikely that any such DMV failures would have been reported. Considering that New York and New Jersey are the only states with such an entity, it elevates anxiety that DMVs around the country are not up to snuff on NVRA requirements. Yet again, Motor Voter disappoints by overlooking such provisions.

Unfortunately, the incidents at numerous New Jersey DMVs are not isolated to that state alone. Similar problems are being reported at multiple federal assistance sites. According to The New York Times (2009), “In a 2005 study of 103 people leaving a Department of Jobs and Family Services office in Ohio, only three reported being given voter registration forms. Surveys conducted outside of public assistance offices in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland and other states found similar problems … the motor voter law is proving to be far less effective in registering voters than it should be. According to the report by Project Vote and Demos, the number of people registering from public assistance agencies fell 79 percent between 1995 and 1996 … and 2005 and 2006, the most recent reporting period.” In the same article, Senator Schumer (D – NY) specifically blames George W. Bush, stating that “For eight years, the Bush Justice Department showed little interest in enforcing the law” (New York Times, 2009).

References

Federal Election Commission. (1997). Executive Summary of the Federal Election Commission Report to the Congress on the Impact of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Retrieved from http://www.fec.gov/votregis/nvrasum.htm

Fink, J. (2008). New Jersey to Push More Registrations Through 'Motor Voter' Bill. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved from http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2008/03/new_jersey_to_push_more_regist.html

Highton, B., & Wolfinger R. E. (1998). Estimating the Effects of the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. Political Behavior, Vol. 20, No. 2, 79-104. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from JSTOR database.

Knack, S. (1995). Does “Motor Voter” Work? Evidence from State-Level Data. The Journal of Politics, Vol. 57, No. 3, 796-811. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from JSTOR database.

Knack, S. (1999). Drivers Wanted: Motor Voter and the Election of 1996. Political Science and Politics, Vol. 32, No. 2, 237-243. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from JSTOR database.

Knack, S. (2001). Deterring Voter Registration through Juror Selection Practices: Evidence from Survey Data. Public Choice, Vol. 103, No. 1/2, 49-62. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from JSTOR database.

National Center for Policy Analysis, The. (2001). “Motor Voter” Law Has Encourage Ballot Fraud. Editorial. Retrieved from http://www.ncpa.org/sub/dpd/index.php?Article_ID=7397

New York Times, The. (2009). Reviving the Motor Voter Law. Editorial. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/11/opinion/11sat4.html?_r=1

Samples, J. (2001). The Motor Voter Act and Voter Fraud. Washington, DC: The Cato Institute.

United States Department of Justice. (2008). Civil Rights Division. About the National Voter Registration Act. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from http://www.justice.gov/crt/voting/nvra/activ_nvra.php

United States Senate. (May 1993). Legislation and Records. U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 103^rd Congress - 1^st Session. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=103&session=1&vote=00118#top

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Wereszynski, K. (2001). Stunt Reveals Holes in “Motor Voter” Law. Fox News. Retrieved from http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,27281,00.html

Wolfinger, R. E., & Hoffman, J. (2001). Registering and Voting with Motor Voter. Political Science and Politics, Vol. 34, No. 1, 85-92. Retrieved November 15, 2009, from JSTOR database.

Kubrick: Dr. Strangelove, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket (with sources): A Brief Analysis

Visual Genius: Stanley Kubrick


When one analyses a film, or series of films by the same director, a good reviewer will have no choice but to take the subject matter chosen in to evaluation. The subject that a director chooses to capture on film can say a lot about that person. For example, when assessing a film using the psychoanalytical approach, or more specifically, Freudian criticism, a reviewer “believes that a movie is an expression of the filmmaker’s psyche and that a film’s meaning lies beneath the obvious images on the screen” (Boggs 381). Stanley Kubrick once wrote that “the most terrifying thing in the universe is not that it is hostile but that it is indifferent, but if we can come to terms with this indifference, then our existence as a species can have genuine meaning. However vast the darkness, we must supply our own light.” This central idea, that the universe is indifferent and we must make our own way, is reflected in all of Kubrick’s films.


The “dehumanization of men into machines and vice versa” (Rod, “The Kubrick Site”) is portrayed most excellently in two of his films, A Clockwork Orange, and Full Metal Jacket. In Full Metal Jacket, the young marines are subject to extreme mental and physical abuse at boot camp until they are stripped of their emotions. They are then raised up by the strength they share in each other. However, this is not a loving strength, it is more like a responsibility – it causes thoughts like “If I don’t fight my comrades will die.” All human life can then be protected by fighting off “the enemy.” Thus, violence becomes one of the most important things imaginable. The Marine Corp has now created soldiers that think the only path to peace, is war. Some soldiers’ helmets even have things like “Born to Kill” written on them; which further enhances the theme that Kubrick is pushing upon us. Similar in this ways is A Clockwork Orange, in which the main character Alex, is robbed of his free will. While this solves his violent behavior, it asks an equally sinister question: “Do we lose our humanity if we are deprived of the free-will choice between good and evil” (Dirks, “Clockwork Orange” 1)? Once again, this strongly enforces Kubrick’s idea that in this world, we must carve our own path.


Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, shows a variation on Kubrick’s theme about humanity: a “nightmarish, apocalyptic theme about how technology had gone haywire and had dominated humanity” (Dirks, “Dr. Strangelove” 1). In other words, the ultimate fail safe machine is actually possible of making errors. This is, of course, a paradox. How can a fail safe machine make a mistake? While Full Metal Jacket and A Clockwork Orange show people progressively turning in to machines, Dr. Strangelove takes the opposite approach by showing machines gaining more humanistic senses. In the film, the Russians have created a super-nuke which will destroy all life forms on Earth. This foolproof weapon will automatically trigger itself when Russia becomes seriously threatened by a nuclear attack. However, the super weapon can not be turned off because that could be a trick or even sabotage. In effect, mankind has endowed the power to kill upon machines which are guaranteed to be more reasonable than us. Kubrick is stating with this film that our trust in technology will eventually be our downfall. The film seems to give us an answer to this problem. Kubrick suggests that nothing is perfect, but that human emotion is perfect in its imperfection; thus saying that nothing can make decisions for us, that the only way to correct wrongs is to fall victim to our own destinies, which are anything but predefined.


A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket deal heavily with the struggle between good and evil. A Clockwork Orange shows evil as being inbred, suggesting that we are conceived evil by nature, and that it is our choice to be good, or more naturally, follow our born path. The film deals with what happens when you take away the choice to change, in somebody who has not made that decision. In the end, it portrays good v. evil in a very ironic sense by allowing Alex to return to his more natural ways. In doing this, the viewer is almost blinded by the blurred line between what is moral and what is sinister. Full Metal Jacket lets us follow Private Joker in to combat scenarios. Joker’s duality within himself is startling. He says things like, “I wanted to meet interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture... and kill them....,” and “They have to destroy the village in order to save it.” His helmet has “Born to Kill” written on it, and yet he wears a peace button on his uniform. Joker is quite obviously struggling internally between his nature as a killer, and his desire to be virtuous. In the end, Joker acknowledges that one can not exist without the other – which like A Clockwork Orange almost disintegrates that difference between the two.


Dr. Strangelove handles this theme of good versus evil on a special, satirical level. The movie was produced with black and white film, at a time when color was available. Black has classically represented evil, and white, purity. So before the film really starts, I already can see that good versus evil may be a premise. The fact that the movie revolves around nuclear war only enhances this idea. Dr. Strangelove abounds with sexual puns such as excessively large cigars, airplanes refueling (which looks like a mating ritual,) and “the orgasmic atomic bomb that Kong rides between his legs” (Dirks, “Dr. Strangelove” 1) at the end of the feature. Also, “many of the absurd, omnipresent names of the male, military characters have sexual connotations or allegorical references that suggest the connection between war, sexual obsession and the male sex drive” (Dirks, “Dr. Strangelove” 1). For instance, the base commander Jack D. Ripper named after the notorious murderer Jack the Ripper, and Major T.J. Kong, similar to the destructive giant ape King Kong. As Dirks has pointed out, men, sex, and war almost go hand-in-hand (“Dr. Strangelove” 1). Just like in A Clockwork Orange and Full Metal Jacket, the proposal that man is born with wickedness and war on the brain, and that it is only through a battle of free will that we are able to defeat it, is reaffirmed.


Stanley Kubrick, visual genius that he is, is able to reiterate his belief in “supplying our light” in the darkness by portraying characters who do exactly that. What makes Kubrick unique in this aspect is that he is able to do this in an entertaining, and thought provoking way that is as applicable in the 1960’s when some were made, as it is today, and as it has ever been. Kubrick’s immortal theme of finding our special niche in society, as exposed wonderfully in Full Metal Jacket, A Clockwork Orange, and Dr. Strangelove, can give life, as he puts it, a “genuine meaning.”


Works Cited

Boggs, Joseph and Dennis Petrie. The Art of Watching Films. 6th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2004.

Dirks, Tim. A Clockwork Orange (1971). 1996-2007. April 20, 2007. <http://www.filmsite.org/cloc.html>.

Dirks, Tim. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). 1996-2007. April 20, 2007. <http://www.filmsite.org/drst.html>.

Rod. The Kubrick Site. 6 Dec. 2005. April 20, 2007.
<http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/amk/>.

Ingmar Bergman's The Seventh Seal: A Brief Analysis

Death Plays Chess


Many filmmakers strive to achieve a level of significance in their work that will endure the test of time. Many filmmakers and their productions fail, but there are some that do not. One such example is Ingmar Bergman’s 1957 effort, The Seventh Seal. This film sets a lofty level of ambition by using a theme that is highly universal and important: the quest for the meaning of life, and how to achieve a proper resolution. The Seventh Seal chronicles one man’s journey to discovering his personal answer. This theme is reinforced using the elements of setting, dialogue, editing and transitions, and the dramatic element, cosmic irony.


The primary element used to explore the theme can be found in the setting and in the set design of the movie. I believe Bergman wants us to believe that the meaning of life is found by conquering the passage of death. Accordingly, death is shown all around us in the set design as a physical obstacle to be overcome by the main character, Antonius Block. In the beginning of the film, we are given the image of a beach cast a slew with unforgiving jagged rocks. Looming above Antonius is a gigantic cliff which casts an equally large shadow. The beach looks like it is not suitable for any living creature. Secondly, a fertile earth is rarely ever shown. In the following scene, Antonius and his squire, Jons, are shown riding horseback across land with no flowers, trees, or indication of life. A rotting monk who has apparently come out here to die from the bubonic plague is the only landmark. The sun beats without mercy on the main characters and all the landscape. Deserted villages are everywhere; and every populated town they come across appears to have been ravaged not only by the Black Plague, but also by dust storms and perhaps vandalism. No set pieces are pretty, nice, or lively in a way to suggest anything but a land for the dying.


The second most important element in enhancing the theme can be found in the sound effects and dialogue. This movie does not contain a lot of dialogue or explanations, so the few exchanges of words seem to take on more importance than they might otherwise. Many conversations, such as the one between Antonius and Death during their final game of chess, can summarize the whole movie: Death says, “You look worried. Are you hiding something?” Antonius replies, “Nothing escapes you.” Death retorts, “Nothing escapes me.” This tête-à-tête marks not only the end of their chess game, but also the close of Block’s quest for knowledge. I think the most meaningful dialogue in the film is the reading from the Book of Revelations, concerning the breaking of The Seventh Seal (which symbolizes the end of mankind and the beginning of Judgment Day.) The movie opens with the reading of this portion of the Bible, and it comes to a close with Block’s wife reading Revelations as ceremony before eating dinner. This reading is very pertinent to the story because it represents Block’s struggle with Death, and eventually leads to his apocalyptic conclusion that the end of his life was always the inevitable answer to his questions. The sound effects in the film were also essential to breathing true life in to the story. Heavy music was often choreographed to violent scenes and the appearance of characters that represent misfortune.


Another highly important element to the theme is the contrast between darkness and light using editing and transitions. Bergman frequently uses the director’s interpretive point of view to do this. For example, in the beginning of the film, we are given time to reflect upon a lasting shot of the ocean, with the loud ambience. Then we are very quickly transitioned to a shot of Death (wearing all black) standing tall against the bright rising sun, with no more sounds at all. Once Death begins to move forward, we immediately are struck at how all-encompassing his cape is. As the camera closes in, it becomes larger and larger until the screen, (and our view of Antonius) is completely covered by it, showing what a huge force Death plays in the movie. When engaging in chess, our players are framed very carefully to separate the darkness of Death from the brightness of Antonius; representing perhaps the struggle between good and evil in a highly picturesque way. While Block confides in Death during Confession, quick transitional images show back-and-forth close-ups of the exceptionally pale and sinister face of Death, and then the face of a crucified Jesus, mourning, and bleeding with a crown of thorns on. This is very effective in showing the stark contrast between Block, linked by the imagery to Jesus, and his counterpart and opponent, Death.


Possibly the most subtle contributing factor to the theme is the dramatic element, cosmic irony. It is ever present and suggested in each scene. All of the humor in the film comes from this cosmic irony. When Jons makes jokes, they are not funny in the way a clown is, but humorous in a way that mocks all mankind by showing the futility of living. When Antonius confesses to Death his deepest grievances, we can clearly hear his doubt in God, and yet realize the impossibility of killing his faith. Throughout the entire movie, we steadily become conscious of the absurdity of Antonius Block besting Death, yet we are entranced to observe the outcome. The cosmic irony runs so deep in the theme of this film, that it could go unnoticed if we are not careful.


Thanks to the elements of setting, dialogue, editing, cosmic irony, and powerful acting, Ingmar Bergman was able to help illuminate one of the shadiest of human deliberations: what is the meaning of life? Following Bergman’s direction of Antonius Block, we can see that all roads lead the Death. It is only then that he shows us the contradiction – one may only gain implication of the meaning, if one can see victory in Death. In the end, Bergman succeeds gloriously in his ambitious production, The Seventh Seal, and passes the test of time.