Thoughts on Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Maddie D 

'America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed. That creed is set forth with dogmatic and even theological lucidity in the Declaration of Independence'...the nation's ideology can be described in five words: liberty, egalitarianism, individualism, populism, and laissez-faire." (From Seymour Martin Lipset, American Exceptionalism, 1996).

    Now I don't know if one can believe that America is the only nation to be founded on a creed, but it is certainly one of them. The ideologies stated in the introductory quote have been used repeatedly throughout American history in stories and politics to further political agendas and promote patriotism with the idealism of unity. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is, these ideologies have not been carried out throughout American history. The American government has failed over and over again to include and grant liberty to certain groups of people. As seen in the movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, white men are the only individuals with power. Although Saunders had great intelligence she isn’t allowed any true power in the senate. There are only several black people seen throughout the movie and they are portrayed in positions of subservience, and there is no mention of indigenous peoples who may have lived on the land that Smith and Taylor are fighting over. On top of that, each senator, reporter, or individual with power is a white man. This movie gives us a glance into the lack of diversity and unequal treatment that was acceptable and normalized in the 1930s. If we look back at the idea of liberty and how it was put on a pedestal throughout the movie it is clear that only certain individuals truly have it (surprise surprise, white men). This is true to an extent today in American politics, although progress has been made and many people are fighting for diversity and truly equal opportunity and treatment for all. 

    Looking back at the quote above, Lipset likens American ideology to a theological one. This aligns greatly with my experience with religion. The United States has a constitution that is interpreted to create a government with laws, just as Christianity has the bible that is interpreted to find rules to live by. In both of these cases, every individual is able to make their own interpretation and run with it, believing they are right in their ideologies. In Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Smith’s definition of liberty is completely different than that of Taylor’s. The movie asserts that Smith’s is more virtuous than Taylor’s, but I believe that there will always be individuals who disagree. In today’s America, there are people who believe liberty means taking away individuals’ reproductive rights and others who believe in reproductive freedom. In my experience with Christianity, people I know interpret the Bible in completely different matters. In some instances individuals feel justified in violence they cause due to the words in the Bible, while others pursue a life centered around helping others based on their Christian beliefs. The point I’m trying to make here is not that there are always two different interpretations of one thing (because there are certainly more) or that there is one correct interpretation of the constitution, but that the ideological representation of America that we see in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and in pieces of media does not mean the same thing to everyone. These ideologies are considered virtuous and grand, but America has not lived up to their expectations especially when those in power can interpret them in a way that allows the exclusion of  individuals based on their identity. However this thought leads me to wonder, how can a group of people as large as the population of the United States or even a certain state find unity without philosophies to chase after?

Illustrated by Ally Shwed