The Century, America's Time: Then and Now (1 of 3)
Summary
TLDRThis script explores the technological and social transformations of the 20th century, highlighting the Eiffel Tower's significance and the internet's emergence as a global village connector. It delves into the Gulf War's impact on American military power and the world's perception of democracy, showcasing the rapid victory against Iraq and the ensuing celebration of American might. The narrative also touches on the fluctuating balance of government influence and the tragic Oklahoma City bombing, reflecting on the century's complex interplay of progress and challenge.
Takeaways
- 🎥 The script starts with a dramatic musical introduction and references to historical events and figures, setting a tone of significance and change.
- 🗼 The Eiffel Tower is highlighted as a symbol of the technological progress of the 20th century, illustrating the theme of advancement and human achievement.
- 🌐 Marshall McLuhan's concept of the 'global village' is mentioned, emphasizing the internet's role in connecting people across the world and making information universally accessible.
- 🚀 The script reflects on the transformative impact of science and technology, comparing the internet's invention to the invention of language in terms of its profound effect on society.
- 🌌 The internet's origin as a military project during the Cold War and its commercialization in 1990 is noted, showing the shift from a tool for conflict to a global communication platform.
- 🔍 The script discusses the internet's ability to transcend national and ideological boundaries, allowing for the formation of global connections and friendships.
- 💡 One of the internet's inventors, Vince Cerf, is quoted, drawing a parallel between the anticipation of technological advancements at the end of the 19th century and the potential for future breakthroughs.
- 🌟 The script suggests that science and technology have significantly altered the American perception of their role in the world, their government, democracy, and popular culture over the century.
- 🛡️ The Gulf War is discussed as a demonstration of American military power and a test for the international community, highlighting the use of advanced technology in warfare.
- 🔥 The environmental impact of war is shown through the description of oil wells set on fire during the Gulf War, illustrating the destructive consequences of conflict.
- 🎉 The Gulf War's conclusion and the celebratory parade in New York City are mentioned, reflecting the American sentiment of victory and the perception of the war as a 'good war'.
Q & A
What significant event is mentioned at the beginning of the script with the phrase 'Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!'?
-The script refers to the famous speech by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1987, calling for the demolition of the Berlin Wall, which symbolized the division between East and West during the Cold War.
Why was the Eiffel Tower a symbol of technological progress in the late 1800s?
-The Eiffel Tower was a symbol of technological progress because when it was built in 1889 for the Universal Exposition, it was the tallest structure in the world, showcasing the heights of engineering and construction at that time.
What did Marshall McLuhan suggest about advanced communications in the early 1960s?
-Marshall McLuhan suggested that advanced communications would 'shrink the world into a global village,' implying that it would bring people closer together regardless of their physical distance.
How did the internet change the accessibility of information according to the script?
-The script states that the internet made any kind of information available to anybody, anywhere, at any time, demonstrating a significant change in the accessibility of information.
What was the purpose of the Gulf War in 1991?
-The Gulf War was initiated to liberate Kuwait from the invasion by Iraq, led by Saddam Hussein, and to secure oil supplies, as well as to uphold international law and the collective security of nations.
What technological advancements were used during the Gulf War that were considered revolutionary?
-The Gulf War utilized 'smart bombs' and other advanced military technologies that were considered revolutionary at the time, showcasing a significant leap in warfare capabilities.
How did the media coverage of the Gulf War affect public perception?
-The media coverage of the Gulf War was restricted by the Pentagon, turning reporters into a virtual propaganda machine, which likely influenced public perception by controlling the narrative and information flow.
What was the environmental impact of Saddam Hussein's actions during the retreat from Kuwait?
-Saddam Hussein set fire to more than 700 oil wells during the retreat, causing a large dark cloud to cover Kuwait, symbolizing a significant environmental disaster.
What was the significance of the ticker tape parade in New York City on June 10, 1991?
-The ticker tape parade was the largest in American history, honoring the American soldiers who participated in the Gulf War and celebrating the victory and the demonstration of American military power.
What is the script's commentary on the role of communication technology in shaping American democracy and popular culture?
-The script suggests that advances in communication technology have transformed the way Americans see their role in the world, their government, their ideas of democracy, and their popular culture, indicating a profound impact on society and politics.
What historical event is referred to in the script with the mention of 'Oklahoma City, April the 19th, 1995'?
-The script refers to the Oklahoma City bombing, a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which resulted in the deaths of 168 people and was a significant event in American history.
Outlines
🌐 The Impact of Technology on Society
This paragraph discusses the transformative power of technology and its role in shaping the 20th century. It starts with a historical reference to significant political events and then shifts to the technological marvels of the 20th century, symbolized by the Eiffel Tower. The script highlights the evolution of communication, from the early days of the internet to its global impact, emphasizing Marshall McLuhan's concept of the 'global village.' The internet is portrayed as a powerful tool that has revolutionized access to information and connected people across the world, altering the way they interact and perceive their roles in society.
🌍 The Gulf War and its Aftermath
This paragraph delves into the historical context and consequences of the Gulf War, triggered by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. It details the international response led by the United States, which assembled a coalition to counter the aggression. The narrative covers the military strategy, technological advancements in warfare, and the psychological impact of the conflict. The script also touches on the media's role in shaping public opinion and the eventual liberation of Kuwait. The aftermath of the war, including the environmental disaster caused by oil well fires, is also discussed, highlighting the complex interplay between military actions and global politics.
🚨 The Oklahoma City Bombing: A Domestic Tragedy
The third paragraph focuses on the tragic event of the Oklahoma City bombing on April 19, 1995. It provides a personal account of the day's events, starting with a typical morning that quickly turned into chaos following the explosion. The script describes the immediate aftermath, including the response of emergency services and the shock felt by the community. The paragraph underscores the profound impact of the bombing on the nation, marking a significant moment in American history where domestic terrorism brought tragedy to the heartland, challenging the sense of security and raising questions about the role of government and the nature of threats faced by society.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Edison
💡Global Village
💡Internet
💡Technological Progress
💡Eiffel Tower
💡Gulf War
💡Smart Bombs
💡Oklahoma City Bombing
💡Democracy
💡Information Age
💡Popular Culture
Highlights
Edison's quote on the self-evident truth that all men are created equal
Gorbachev's call to tear down the Berlin Wall as a symbol of division
The Eiffel Tower as a monument to the technological progress of the 20th century
The internet's evolution from a military tool to a global communication platform
Marshall McLuhan's concept of the 'global village' shaped by advanced communications
The impact of the internet on personal finance and stock portfolio management
The transformative power of the internet compared to the invention of language
Vince Cerf's reflections on the internet's potential to change the way we live
The Gulf War as a demonstration of international community unity against aggression
President Bush's strategy in the Gulf War and the role of technology in warfare
The psychological impact of aerial bombardment on civilian populations
The rapid technological advancements in warfare from WWI to the Gulf War
The media's role in shaping public opinion during the Gulf War
Saddam Hussein's scorched earth policy during the retreat from Kuwait
The swift victory of the Allied forces and its implications for international relations
The celebration of the Gulf War as a 'good war' and its impact on American society
The Oklahoma City bombing as a tragic event that shook the nation
Transcripts
[Music]
I am the Edison
po not what your
country these choose to be
self-evident that all men are
created Mr
gorbachov tear down this wall
[Music]
in 1998 the people of Paris began to
count in public the remaining days of
the 20th century the countdown sign was
mounted on what had become a monument to
the technological progress of the 18 00s
the Eiffel
Tower when it was built as the
centerpiece of the universal exposition
of 1889 Gustaf eiffel's construction was
the tallest in the world a symbol built
with sweat and pig iron of How High man
could reach ignition sequence
[Music]
start left
now when man has gone to the moon and
his machines have reached beyond that to
Mars Science and Technology have given
us new ideas of the possible yeah
everything looks good
here in the early 1960s the Canadian
philosopher Marshall mclan suggested
that Advanced Communications would
shrink the world into a global village
[Music]
nothing has proved mclin's Point quite
like the
[Applause]
internet through the internet any kind
of information is available to anybody
anywhere at any time yeah I check my
mail and I'm also going to check my uh
portfolio um of my uh stocks and you
just log it into the computer and it'll
update every single day on the market
see how your stocks are doing
developed for military purposes during
the Cold War the internet went
commercial in
1990 today information crosses National
and ideological borders in a twinkling
and links people in a worldwide web
sometimes you even can find some friends
through internet I I found some in
Australia the internet is on a scale of
inventions that changed
everything probably somewhere right
after the invention of language it is an
incredibly powerful
[Music]
[Applause]
[Music]
tool the internet works equally as well
in the middle of the third world as it
does in the middle of Wall
Street you have a device that for the
lowest possible cost can reach anyone on
the surface of the
Earth so every day the edge of the
internet expands outward into new space
new territory Vince surf is one of the
internet's inventors I think back to the
end of the 19th century often now
imagining what must it have been like
for someone sitting in
1898 very close into the future
Kittyhawk coming in 1903 Einstein's
paper in
1905 what is awaiting that person is a
transformation of of the way we live so
here we are sitting on the threshold of
the 21st
century imagine what Kitty hops are just
on the other side of that
threshold I can rightly
wait Science and Technology have taken
us on quite a journey through the
century Young Americans cannot remember
a time when the automobile the the
telephone movies radio and television
seemed
revolutionary and many older Americans
are still mystified by the landscape of
the internet in this concluding episode
we'll see how advances in communication
technology have transformed the way that
Americans see their role in the world
their government their ideas of
democracy and certainly their popular
culture
through the century America experienced
the national Triumph and the personal
tragedies of two world wars Korea and
[Music]
Vietnam near the beginning of the
century American soldiers fought in the
war to end all
wars and yet as The Next Century got
closer they were still fighting
2 weeks before New Year's Eve the United
States had once again bombed the capital
of Iraq it was the second time in a
decade that American bombs and Iraqi
anti-aircraft fire had lit up the night
sky Over
Baghdad the first time in January 1991
marked the beginning of the Gulf War
precipitated by the Iraqi leader Saddam
Hussein in August 1990 he had invaded
the oil Rich Nextdoor Kingdom of Kuwait
once part of Iraq
[Music]
this will not stand this will not stand
this aggression against
Kuwait wait was gone became clear we're
going to have to dispatch American
troops to the gulf and make sure the
invasion didn't go any further President
Bush put together an alliance of more
than 2,000 countries and started to move
half a million men and almost 4 million
tons of equipment Halfway Around the
World to Saudi Arabia
the whole world had come together to say
these countries that continued to uh
ignore the lessons of the past ignore
the promise of democracy they were going
against the prevailing will of the
entire
[Music]
world many Americans believe that this
country was fighting a war to make the
world safe for democracy as it had in
1917 when President Wilson sent troops
to Europe when the United States entered
the first world war the country's
military strength consisted of 50 planes
and enough ammunition for only 9 hours
of bombardment at the other end of the
century when over there me the Persian
Gulf the United States was the greatest
military force on Earth and after the
humiliating defeat in Vietnam 20 years
earlier President Bush was ready to use
America's overwhelming power
for a month so-called smart bombs rained
down on Iraqi
targets the technology would have been
science fiction to people at the turn of
the century but the purpose of bombing
hadn't changed much since the first
world war in the first world war there
was the first exploitation of aerial
bombardment of Civilian
populations it was halfhazard as a
function of the technology of the day
but it worked in terrorize a population
and to try to destroy um commercial and
political centers of
power and so it did in
Baghdad within a few days parts of the
Iraqi Capital lay in
Ruins as it turned out smart bombs
weren't always so smart after
all like their low Tech predecessors
they killed civilians just as
effectively as they shower death on
Iraqi soldiers who shivered in their
bunkers drier but probably no less
fearful than the soldiers in World War I
at all times of the day from morning
till night there's a huge uh sound of
machine guns bombs uh planes in the air
the shelling practically never
stops they they go it may be a yard from
it it may be 100 yards from
they come Splash right at the feet of
they blown to
Pieces by February the 15th 1991 the
Allied Air Raids had destroyed onethird
of Iraqi armor and still Saddam Hussein
refused to leave Kuwait The Prestige of
the United States had been uh put on
this and frankly the the prospect for
the future at the end of the Cold War
had been put on the line the Coalition
geared up for a ground assault to
liberate Kuwait and secure its oil
supplies General Paul wanted to Rally
worldwide public opinion to the Allied
cause I needed something that would
essentially say to the say to the
American people and to the Troops and to
all of our allies and to our enemy all
watching instantaneously in television
real time uh something that would grab
them our strategy to go after this Army
is very very simple first we're going to
cut it off and then we're going to kill
it cut it off the Pentagon restricted
the flow of information turning the 1200
reporters in the Gulf War into a virtual
propaganda machine if George Bush
changed any Minds in Baghdad tonight
they were not if you demonize the enemy
if you say that you're in the presence
of the devil it shouldn't be at all
surprising that millions of people
thought that very substantial Celestial
forces were on the side of the
good Saddam Hussein did what he could to
fulfill the popular role of
devil on February 23rd as the ground
campaign began to actually liberate
Kuwait Saddam Hussein set fire to more
than 700 oil wells as we moved out and
as we got closer to the Border you could
see this large Dark Cloud that uh was
sitting over
Kuwait and uh as we drove Under This
Cloud late in the afternoon it was like
going from day or literally was going
from day into night
[Music]
American soldiers were on their way to
Kuwait at a confrontation with the army
of Iraq they'd been told this was the
fourth largest military power in the
world I had a a shortwave radio that I
could listen to the BBC on and you know
there was all kinds of U reports for
probable casualty figures and that
definitely was on your
mind but there was little Iraqi
resistance they would exchange a few
rounds uh maybe for show or for Pride I
don't know uh and then their hands would
come up the flags would come out and
they would come looking for someone to
surrender to we realize what a what a
disorganized discouraged demoralized
Force we were fighting as a result of 30
odd days of air campaigning and the
Marines were in Kuwait City in short
order this was not just a test of
America this was a test
of the International Community it was
part of our effort to show a united
front to the
[Music]
Iraqis troops from Saudi Arabia were the
first to be greeted by overjoyed
[Music]
kuties and on June June the 10th 1991 in
New York City 4 million cheering people
honored the American soldiers with the
largest ticker tape parade in American
history Americans are are looking to
celebrate the notion of the Persian Gulf
War being a good war and a war that
didn't hurt anyone except the bad guys
the Gulf War was a big
[Applause]
hit since the time that American troops
had returned from World War I and
another generation of American soldiers
came home from the Gulf War and the
United States had grown from a minor
player to the globe's only
superpower we are number one and number
two is number 12 but at the time we saw
that there was a new world of some kind
emerging and a term we used at the time
which is not in favor any longer the New
World Order because the new world
doesn't appear to be that orderly
for freedom-loving Americans a
fundamental question has always been how
much influence should the government
have during the century the answer has
gone from one extreme to the
other this is the Dandy William show
along with Thomas Crystal Waters Brian
O'Brien Rock 100.5 The Cat it is the
Rick and Brad radio program good looking
morning should be probably about 70 for
the high today but a good looking Day
Sunshine Oklahoma City April the 19th
1995 that day started like any other uh
I was out at our training center uh
where we had training as a I'm a hostage
negotiator I was going to stop and visit
with my girlfriend that morning and have
coffee and on the way into work I just
decided to go ahead and head on to the
office Priscilla salers worked for you
US Customs in Oklahoma's federal
building across the street the Oklahoma
Water Resources board was holding its
weekly meeting receive information
regarding everybody let's get out of
here watch the
electricity we just had an explosion
downtown we just had some kind of
explosion
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