Lee Atwater: The Marketers of Political Falsehoods

Lee Atwater, it is fair to say, is one of the most influential and infamous individuals whoever set foot in Washington D.C. After watching the film, it was clear to me that his methods of campaigning, speaking, and his particular swagger, so to speak, was undeniably present during this most recent campaign.

Between the stating of untrue falsehood and negative ad campaign, it was all there; as if Donal Trump and his many campaign managers took notes and learned the strategy in which Atwater set into place during the end of the 20th century. In the film, Atwater was able to portray himself to the public as a man of the people, a fair player, and a lover of the blues. However, his political stance and actions within his campaign were vile, for that they targeted the pressure points of opponents, whether they were a reality of a fallacy, and used them in order to damage the public perception of his counterpart. Loyalty was to Atwater as a way in which he has to depend on others, though others cannot depend on him.

Power was a revolving theme of the film. Atwater strove for the peek of the ranks within the political world. Although, it is apparent that whoever got in his way would be steamrolled over and would be faced with public scrutiny--due to the leaking of information that would find its way tot he press.

One difference in which can be considered between Lee Atwater and Donald Trump is the public perception of Atwater versus Trump. The film made clear that Atwater was often questioned on his tactics and information in which he deemed true, though Atwater could easily worm out of the question through jokes, another question, and other voids. With Trump, it seems that he is a lot slower than Atwater--mentally--ergo he is unable to use the tactics Atwater invented. While the entire strategy of Atwater is sickening and dishonorable, we can not help but be impressed by how well he played the public. The film shines a light on his deplorable actions and ways of politics, but it also shows that he was the ultimate BS'er for he was able to back it up with a 'story' and maintain an earnest tone; all while manipulating the people and an informed public to believe complete fallacies.

How Jesus Camp is Still Relevant 10 Years Later

     It's understandable to see how frustrated and uncontrollably angry one could get watching the documentary film 'Jesus Camp.' When I first saw the film years ago with some high school friends because we heard the movie was funny: I was in for a nasty, too-honest truth about how divided America really is. Watching it again for class, I knew all of the 'roll your eyes' parts already and wanted to go into the film to see more than its face value. More than laughing at how Evangelical Christians live or the fact that Rachael had a shirt that said ' Jesus Died for Your sins' with hearts and purple stars around it.

     The most important, and clearly hilarious scene in the documentary was when all of the children were praying around a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush, a man who won his presidency with the thanks of Evangelical Christians. As the holy Ted Haggard mentioned in the film: the Evangelicals are one of the largest voting communities in the nation and they alone, can sway the presidential election.

      What makes this documentary so relevant: has to do with the past Presidential election, where like the 2000 election, the Republican nominee won thanks to the electoral college not to the popular vote. Donald Trump has become essentially, a newer updated George W Bush and from that he has gained the same voter base. Trump has gained popularity within the Evangelicals mostly due to his conservative values and his strong sense of 'family' and 'Christian Values.' Also, a lot is due to his hatred to former President Obama and his claim that he was not born in America and wanted to see his birth certificate.

     Even though Trump did not win the popular vote, a lot of his vote was thanks to the Evangelical Church and all of its followers. Even George Marshall stated at the beginning of class before Jesus Camp was shown that all of the kids who went to that camp were able to vote in the 2016 election, and that should scare a lot of people.

     The kids in Jesus Camp are much more important than the adults, they are raised by parents from one generation and are expected to have those same ideas and beliefs in a rapidly changing and very liberal time. What they learned in Jesus Camp is what they are spreading now to others, and when people wonder why Trump became president: you can refer to the film and see how even at young ages the Evangelical can spread out messages to all audiences. And those messages could of become political.

Jesus Camp Response

After watching Jesus Camp, I felt very frustrated at the fact that these children were brainwashed from such a young age to be so intensely committed to a belief that they weren't even able to understand for themselves in the first place. This also brings up the idea of when something is considered brainwashing, at what point. These children were never given a chance to think or use their young imaginations for themselves. The fact that they had to criticize themselves to the point where they would cry and feel upset is not healthy for a developing child. The difference between these children and other children who are brought up under a religion is that Jesus Camp only told one story and that was it. The children were not exposed to diversity or different types of people. Being contained through home schooling to only understand what their parents want them to believe is brainwashing.
This was very disturbing for me because it not only effects the lives of young children but it effects the future. The fact that all these children are taught from a young age to bow down to George Bush is raising them to be a republication without allowing the children to see all angles of political parties.   As human beings we should be teaching children to question everything and to learn about the different views in order to form their own.