The microphone can be used in politics to make sure the voice of the people is heard. Giving someone volume makes them more able to gain followers and, thus, creates a movement. The power to amplify the human voice, makes one's opinions more meaningful because of the power of emotion in the human voice (26). The microphone has had a large effect on politics because it has allowed for the expansion of views by giving people the ability to amplify their opinions on issues.
Martin Luther King, Jr.'s famous "I Have A Dream" speech, where he addresses the mistreatment of blacks in America (29).
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Article 19 of the United States Constitution gives us the right to the freedom of speech but this became a problem for Martin Luther King, Jr. when his views did not match those of the majority. King rose in political power during a time of mass racial hysteria in the United States, beginning mainly with the 1955 Montgomery bus boycotts (27). At this point in time, freedom of speech was forgotten and Martin Luther King, Jr. was forced to endure “racist slanders, death threats, beatings from law enforcement and stabbings” because of the things he spoke out against (28). King’s views were able to spread as quickly as they did because of his use of the microphone. He was able to reach a large group of people in a short period of time, while also challenging the authority of the government, making for a movement across the entire country.
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Adolf Hitler used the microphone similarly to King, to voice his opinions and political views. Differently from King, however, the microphone worked for Hitler because of his ability to further oppress the voices that were not being amplified. In 1943, Hitler ordered a three-stage plan in relation to the “European Anti-Bolshevik Propaganda Action”. The first stage of this plan was for anti-Bolshevik campaigners to “take the microphone” and use the radio to launch Hitler’s plan. Hitler used the microphone to suppress the views of the Bolsheviks and further his own plan (30). Therefore, Hitler used the microphone not only to amplify his voice, but to also do so in a way that silenced the voices of others. Hitler's strategic use of the microphone proves the idea that humans crave power and also desire to be at the top of the social hierarchy (31).
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Adolf Hitler uses the microphone to express his views over a large group of people, showing how he capable of using the microphone to force his views onto a crowd (32).
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The microphone proves to have made an effect on politics through the amplification of an individuals voice as well as the oppression of voices. It is powerful in that it has the ability to amplify the voice of an individual, shown through Martin Luther King, Jr. It can be detrimental, however, when it is used as a way to drown out the voices of individuals who are not being amplified, such as what Hitler did in Nazi Germany. Though these two ways have different end results, the process is very similar, in that each leader used the microphone to create a movement through the use of their amplified voice.
(26) Kirk, John A. “State of the Art” Journal of American Studies. (2004). Accessed April 9, 2015.
(27) Oyiboke, Amen. “Martin Luther King, Jr.” Los Angeles Sentenial. (2015). Accessed April 9, 2015.
(28) Martin Luther King, Jr. “I Have A Dream”. Video, from www.youtube.com. Accessed on April 9, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smEqnnklfYs
(29) Waddington, Lorna. “Hitler’s Crusade” (2007). Accessed April 9, 2015.
(30) Beckman, Gary. History 238 Lecture, “The Earliest Cities and the Invention of Writing”. March 11, 2015.
(31) “Hitler Speaks About The Jews”. Video, from www.youtube.com. Accessed on April 9, 2015. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0V_xf3OQgM