Analysis Of George F. Kennan's Training For Statesmanship

In the country populated with millions of people there are many unique voices to be heard. These voices giving each individual a sense of power they feel they have over their lives and their community. However, this is not always the case. In some cases some voices tend to grow louder than other and they take full advantage of that. An individual who makes note of this is George F. Kennan. In George F. Kennan’s powerful article “Training for Statesmanship” he uses many strong arguments that help support his theory that in America our individual voices become muted by some groups exerting power. “Sometimes unfortunately, it exists in irregular forces- in underworld groups, criminal gangs or informal associations of a vigilance nature.” With …show more content…
One of the earliest signs of this would be in Colonial America with the Sons of Liberty. The Sons of Liberty were an underground organization of individuals who formed during the time of the Thirteen Colonies and their main mission was to protect the rights of the American citizens over the harsh taxation of the mother country, Great Britain. An example of how the Sons of Liberty would get the results they wanted was by a process of tar and feathering. The purpose of tarring and feathering was used for both public humiliation, and to enforce justice and/or revenge. They way it worked was the Sons of Liberty would find a British representative within the colonies and when they saw them, they would take them hostage, hold them down, pour molten liquid tar on them and throw feathers on them. Lastly the Sons of Liberty would parade them around the town so their pain and humiliation can be increased. The Sons of Liberty main goal were to help America and protect it from the harmful ways of the mother country, however, they did not realize that what they were doing was exerting a dominant power over the American citizens. For instance, if a loyalist (someone who is pro Britain) agrees with the taxation they would not want to voice their opinion because of the fear they will face the Sons of Liberty. To conclude, even irregular groups who appear to be for the greater good still exert their power in negative