Entry #8: Dolores Dante & Phil Stallings

Dolores Dante told the story of working as a waitress. She loved her job and the many people she got to interact with everyday. Her point of view of working as a waitress was interesting. She felt some sort of anger towards people above her that didn't have to work as hard for their living. "People say, 'No one does good work any more.' I don't believe it. YOu know who's saying that? The man at the top, who says the people beneath him are not doing a good job. He's the one who always said, 'You're nothing'" (Terkel 334). Dolores Dante states that people that do not work very hard for their living as she did, didn't know how hard people like her tried. They didn't understand the circumstances that people were left with leading them to work jobs like being a waitress.
Phil Stallings discussed how important work was to him and how his job could be replaced easily while he worked for Ford. He knew that with the machines he was working with, his job could go to someone else if he messed up. "You really begin to wonder. What price do they put on me? Look at the price they put on the machine. If that machine breaks down, there's  somebody out there to fix it right away. If I break down, I'm just pushed over to the other side till another man takes my place. The only thing they have on their mind is to keep that line running" (Terkel 356). I think the idea that Phil Stallings brings up of having a price put on him is interesting. I think that people in a position of great power don't really value the hard work that their workers put in. In some cases, the work is dangerous and often bosses do not fully appreciate what workers go through on a daily basis.

Entry #7: Dennis Hart & Tom Kearney

Dennis Hart's story of his reflections on historical events and his feelings on them showed a point of view of someone that grew up in tough circumstances. He discussed the importance of freedom and its role in people's lives as part of America's values. "Freedom is the most important thing in your life. We're facing an enemy today that's gonna annihilate us unless we retaliate in one way or another. We have to face up to it, Bomb or no Bomb. Otherwise, we're a bunch of cowards" (Terkel 238). Dennis Hart states that he felt the importance of making the decision with the bomb wasn't about the potential outcome of it, but what it represented. The bomb represented America's freedom and no matter what in Dennis Hart's opinion, freedom should be defended in anyway that was necessary. When Dennis Hart discussed a protest at a polling place, he discussed his feelings of courage. "It was the greatest experience of my life, in courage. Not only was I going to try to prove to myself that I was going to be a man, but I was doing it for a great person and a great cause" (Terkel 244). I think this idea of being courageous for a great cause is interesting because often people do not really understand the cause that they choose to stand up for. I think that Dennis Hart's feeling of great courage show that he was passionate about something, which lead him to not back down against great opposition. This courage is an important quality to have but I think it is only fully present in someone when they are fully committed to a cause like Dennis Hart was.

Tom Kearney discussed how he struggled with a difference in opinion from what he was taught through religion. He did not have a problem with African Americans and felt he was being taught something he didn't believe with. "I find myself at odds with the Church at various times. I knew the nuns taught me some things that weren't true...The same as going to school with the colored. You're going to have to get along with them. They're here, so you might as well go to school with them and get along with them" (Terkel 265). Tom Kearney was willing to adapt to changing norms in society. As blacks were gaining more freedom, he felt that there shouldn't be a problem getting along with them. He believed that African Americans were no different than people like himself. They wanted the same things in life and Kearney had an optimistic look at the future of integration. "The same as mine, the same as mine. Everything best for him and his family that he can possibly have. I can see where they'd want to move away from a completely colored neighborhood and integrate...I think people are intelligent enough to accept integration" (266-7). Kearney states that both races were similar and shouldn't have a problem integrating. He believed that integration should not be an issue or concern to anybody. He viewed people as people and not separated for their races.

Peter Ota & Betty Hutchinson

Peter Ota's story showed how hard it was for Japanese Americans to be living in the United States during WW2. Since America was fighting Japan, they extended the concept of Japan being the enemy all the way down to Japanese Americans living in the United States. Japanese Americans had to leave everything they knew just because of something they couldn't control, their race. I thought it was interesting what Peter Ota mentioned about freedom. When talking about educating in the camps, he said, "ONe of our basic subjects was American history. They talked about freedom all the time" (207). I thought it was interesting that in a place where the Japanese Americans were being denied their freedom, they were being forced to learn so much about American freedom and its importance in American culture. Peter Ota also expressed his feelings about how necessary it was for them to act like "Americans." When Peter Ota and his family were returned back to society they tried to establish a life for themselves that was very "American." "We became more American than Americans, very conservative. My wife and I, we talk about this. We thought it was the thing we had to do: to blend into the community and become part of white America" (209). Peter Ota and his family felt that after being imprisoned for having a Japanese heritage, they didn't want anything like that to happen to their family. They felt the only way to prevent this was by trying to conform to the white American lifestyle.

I thought Betty Hutchinson's point of view of her life during the war showed what it was like to be a nurse helping all the wounded soldiers. Betty Hutchinson's life was changed after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. She felt that there was no other option but to do her part in helping. "Immediately, I was going to become a nurse. It was the fastest thing I could do to help our boys" (211). This shows how like many other Americans, Betty Hutchinson tried to help as much as she possibly could. I think it shows how much people were influenced when something happened on American territory. In previous years, fighting had never affected the United States on the homefront. The bombing of Pearl Harbor caught the attention of every United States citizen and everyone was willing to help out in anyway possible.