Source #2

Summary:

         Originally published in the journal American Scholar, Edward Hoagland’s article, The Gravity of Falling: having hurtled through the American century, we are distracted and confused.  But can we find our way again? Is a wealth of historical information of the United States, in which Hoagland expresses his feelings of where our country has gone wrong over the course of his 56 years of published writing. Hoagland portrays the American people as, “a self-styled Chosen People” due to our ability to always reinvent ourselves and succeed in the world.  Hoagland watched the fall of communism, 60’s protests, the end of World War II, the assassination of J.F.K, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and he has watched the recession of the American economy.  Today, Hoagland finds himself with deep feelings of disdain for what has happened to the America he once knew.  The change from the small town feeling, in which you could shake hands and a deal, was made.  To a time where a handshake is nothing and without proper documentation anything can be cheated or taken from you.  That faith in your employer and in those around you is no longer applicable to our society in Hoagland’s eyes. 
            Not only is the faith in those around you gone, but the emotional response Americans were so well known for has decayed.  The drive in which created the country, and made the United States a super power has in Hoagland’s eyes disappeared.  The protests 1960s even though they went against all ideals, they were understood and achieved what was expected without destruction.  Without this emotional response, and the lack of the drive to truly swing for the fences, Edward Hoagland can see only worse things coming in the future.

Response:                                      

       

Edward Hoagland’s article was a small trip down memory lane for him, and it was incredibly fun to read.  At times it may have seemed like an old man’s rant on government, and how the younger generation is nothing but lazy and text message obsessed.  Though occasionally a bit of light shines through and you realize the amount of pride Hoagland feels for being an American through the emotion in his writing.  Hoagland’s article does not so much seek necessary change for the future to better it for coming generations, but to look back on the past and realize what once made the United States so superpower; not just in government, but in culture itself people wanted to follow.  Hoagland urges for the restoration of respect and trust in those around you, when shaking a hand alone sealed a deal, or knowing all those around you while in your neighborhood. 

            Hoagland wrote this article in 2012, and is considered by many to be one of the greatest essayists of his time.  From reading this article, it is easy to understand why, Hoagland puts so much emphasis on his words and how his essay flows.  It is hard not to take the trip down memory lane of American History, and his good old days when reading this article.  That being said, Hoagland’s hopes for a future that resembles our once great past are just his own version of the American Dream.  It seems this old way of life wouldn’t fare well with today’s technology and ways of life.