When Hedrick Smith came to talk to the class I felt very honored to meet such a significant reporter and political figure for our American society. I could tell that he was very passionate as well as knowledgeable in the topics that he talked about. His qualifications such as having a Pulitzer Prize, visiting many different countries, examining the Pentagon Papers, making many documentaries, as well as other things. It was a really great experience being able to see his documentary in class while having Hedrick explain why he chose to focus on the aspects that he did, or why he chose to put certain images in, etc.
In the podcast Hedrick specifically talked about the significance of grassroots movements within the United States and their capabilities to have an immense impact on the American political system. One of his points that stood out to me is that when we think about politics, we often think about the happenings within Washington, D.C. But, many political reforms can happen at the public level and by people in the states, and a lot of people do not notice that they have this kind of power in their hands. Thus, Hedrick’s documentary aims to educate the public about these new grassroots movements and spark interest in taking back their own democracy.
I am quite surprised that Washington has been ignoring all of these grassroots movements, as Hedrick states that no one has been covering any of these issues that he examines in his documentary. Hedrick also says that he was inspired out of writing his book “Who Stole the American Dream,” and wanted to get out into the states, and get out of Washington, in order to see what the people are doing for democracy. He soon found that democracy is a struggle for the people as there are often barriers for people that are trying to exercise their right to be involved in American politics. For example, gerrymandering (manipulating the boundaries of districts to benefit certain political parties) has been an issue within the states for years, and has negatively affected the people’s votes. Hedrick examined the issue of gerrymandering in Florida, and found that the legislature tried to ignore the illegal gerrymandering that was occurring. But, the Supreme Court of Florida finally ruled for some of the congressional districts to be redrawn, and thus this became a victory for the people. It is astonishing to see how easily power can be taken out of the common people’s hands, but it is an even greater feeling to see the power being given back.
Hedrick also goes on to say that a successful political reform movement effectively connects with the people, and places fixing the political system as an important task on the agenda. One example of doing this would be persuading big organizations to take notice of this issue and try to fix the political system on their terms as well.
A lot can be done through the people in the United States. Many don’t notice the potential they have to change politics and take democracy into their own hands, but Hedrick’s documentary aims to inform people of their power.