During the early 20^th century, reporters more commonly known as “muckrakers” were dominant in U.S. society. Many Americans believed that these reporters expressed views that were perhaps too pessimistic, or rather, excessively negative. Among these Americans was former president Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt overtly expresses his opinion regarding muckrakers when he states that a muckraker, “refuses to see aught that is lofty.” Clearly, Roosevelt is of the opinion that the muckrakers should not focus on America’s negative issues. Instead, he believes that they should pay more heed to the positive aspects of American life. I refute Roosevelt’s claim for the simple but perhaps not so obvious reason that there cannot exist positive attributes if we remain ignorant, or even worse, if we remain deliberately ignorant of the negative aspects of American society.

            Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, a prestigious figure in American history, once said, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” The same principle could be so easily applied to the issue of the muckrakers. In Upton Sinclair’s novel, The Jungle, he writes, “These rats were nuisances, and the packers would put poisoned bread out for them; they would die, and then rats, bread, and meat would go into the hoppers together.” If such irrevocable behavior on the part of American citizens could not be called injustice, then there is no justice in the world. If writers are asked to gaze upon such atrocities with cold eyes and silent lips, then surely no one can speak with a truthful tongue. If American citizens don such unconscientious minds and hearts, then, doubtlessly, America is no longer the vision of ideality our fathers believed it to be. To deny such palpable truths should be an act performed only by the most taciturn heart and the blindest eye.

            I believe that the utopian image that has been bestowed upon America was not only sketched with the actions of our fathers, but also painted with the words of writers, such as Francis Scott Key who defined the USA as, “the land of the free and the home of the brave.” This image has seemingly blinded us to the flaws of our nation. The United States is far from being an immaculate portrait. Heinous acts of slavery and injustice have faded the vibrant colors of its paints. Political machinery and corruption have rendered the lines our fathers sketched nearly imperceptible. It is a sad truth, but denying it would lead us even farther on the road to oblivion. This truth has been expressed by Ida Tarbell when she writes, “Since then (1892), not less than one hundred and fifty have been known to have met violent death [lynching] at the hands of cruel bloodthirsty mobs during the past nine months.” How can we claim that the United States is a “land of the free” if even in times of peace, intermittent wars are raging? How can we pledge allegiance to a flag that is speckled with the blood of our innocent brothers and sisters? Above all, how can we turn a blind eye to a people who do not accept the doctrine that we are all equal?

            Finally, I do not wish to be mistaken for one who believes that there are no positive qualities in America. Our achievements grow greater and more crucial day after day. Yet, our defeats grow as well. Yes! Our defeats! We are continuously defeated by the venomous snakes of greed and selfishness, the binding and addictive ropes of prejudice and hatred. We are forced daily to be fed the sulfurous poison of injustice. It slowly eats away our hearts, till we are left with nothing but skin and bones. Then, it will do us no good to recall the great deeds of our fathers with pangs of nostalgia. It will then do us no good to remain fiercely determined that the United States is the greatest nation ever established by mankind, when all other evidence show otherwise. We are a magnificent nation that bore weight to George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Thomas Edison. We are a nation of the greatest leaders who ever set foot on this planet. Nevertheless, it would be a disgrace to the names of our fathers, a disgrace to us as Americans, if we resolve to ignore our faults.

– Ayah Gouda