John Reed was an active socialist who no matter his position in life, he would always question and challenge the status quo. In the beginning of Reed’s academic livelihood, he ran into a problem that many great minds go through, where he began to notice that the school had a curriculum to create good citizens and not to stimulate the imagination (Rosenstone, 17). This shows that as Reed was growing up his mentality was to always challenge and to question what everyone is being led to know. By questioning the school system shows that a great mind as Reed will not be a conformist of whatever the media or other portray. Moreover, after Reed continuing his academia he then attended Harvard where many elitists attended and would not challenge the
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While many believed that these peasants should not be left to govern themselves and be free for their ignorance assumption, that is not the case. As Reed recounts a peasant, “‘We are fighting for Libertad.’ ‘What do you mean by Libertad?’ ‘Libertad is when I can do what I want!’ ‘But suppose it hurts somebody else?’… ‘Peace is the respect for the rights of others!’ (42). While the government was fighting to oppress the people of Mexico and violate their rights as people, this exposes to the world who the barbaric side was. Furthermore, as the peasants were fighting for Libertad, shows the people that they are not ignorant, but people fighting for respect and human rights. While the revolutionaries were fighting for the poor and their freedom which was not well-known around the world, Reed describes the government forces such as the Colorados, “They swept through Northern Mexico, burning, pillaging and robbing the poor. In Chihuahua, they cut the soles from the feet of one poor devil, and drove him a mile across the desert before he died” (62). While most people were being deceived by media and the revolutionaries being the ruthless fighters and rebels, this shows how the government was taking part in more aggressive actions against the innocent people. Also it shows, unlike the revolutionaries that were taking away from those that owned the means of production, not only the government but their soldiers were taking from those that had no means of production which demonstrates who the real threat to Mexico
While many believed that these peasants should not be left to govern themselves and be free for their ignorance assumption, that is not the case. As Reed recounts a peasant, “‘We are fighting for Libertad.’ ‘What do you mean by Libertad?’ ‘Libertad is when I can do what I want!’ ‘But suppose it hurts somebody else?’… ‘Peace is the respect for the rights of others!’ (42). While the government was fighting to oppress the people of Mexico and violate their rights as people, this exposes to the world who the barbaric side was. Furthermore, as the peasants were fighting for Libertad, shows the people that they are not ignorant, but people fighting for respect and human rights. While the revolutionaries were fighting for the poor and their freedom which was not well-known around the world, Reed describes the government forces such as the Colorados, “They swept through Northern Mexico, burning, pillaging and robbing the poor. In Chihuahua, they cut the soles from the feet of one poor devil, and drove him a mile across the desert before he died” (62). While most people were being deceived by media and the revolutionaries being the ruthless fighters and rebels, this shows how the government was taking part in more aggressive actions against the innocent people. Also it shows, unlike the revolutionaries that were taking away from those that owned the means of production, not only the government but their soldiers were taking from those that had no means of production which demonstrates who the real threat to Mexico