Thomas Edison

People celebrate heroes for their achievements, especially those who are long departed. People like to envision them as their role models, and they want to be like them. They do not think of the obstacles they had to endure during their time. In many cases, people often forget or choose to bypass those among them, who accomplish and achieve big things. They do not recognize or celebrate them as heroes, because they are with them. In most cases, it is only after a person’s death that people consider him or her a hero. People do not realize that their long departed heroes faced rejection and mockery during their time, and they had to overcome big and seemingly impossible obstacles for them to reach their position. People celebrate Thomas Edison today, just as they did during his time. He dared to venture into unknown fields, and he was not concerned with what people said about him. His popularity today, and in years gone stem from the fact that he was willing to pursue his dreams and aspirations despite the obstacles he faced. Although many people celebrated him, and recognized him as an inventor, there were times when some of them thought that his dreams were impossible to reach. Despite this, he dared to dream, and he lived long enough to accomplish many of his dreams. This paper will compare and contrast two historical articles detailing their views concerning the life and times of Thomas Edison.

The articles “Thomas Edison, 73, Will Work all Day: Inventor Intends to Halt Only Long Enough to Lunch with Edison Pioneers at Noon” and “French Fancy Busy on Spirit Machine: Reports of Edison Invention Seized upon by Humorists and Philosophers” were published in 1920 in the New York Times. The first article describes how Edison will spend his birthday. It gives Edison’s sentiments concerning the labor laws at the time, which reduced the number of hours that people worked. The second article describes how Edison intends to pursue his work of advancing the telephone to the spirit world. The articles bear some similarities and difference. Both articles celebrate Edison as an accomplished inventor.

The first article observes how Edison will celebrate his birthday by in an unfashionable manner, by working all day. In addition, the article includes Edison sentiments concerning working long hours. It notes how the mayor of the city, calls upon the people to celebrate and honor Edison on his birthday, for all the things he has accomplished. The second article recognizes the fact that Edison is an accomplished inventor, for his work on the telephone. The article further describes how people consider Edison a wizard, capable of achieving anything possible. Both articles have included the opinions and expressions of various people, familiar with Edison or his work. The first article has included the opinion of the mayor of Orange. The second article has included the reaction and opinions of critics such as the director of the metapsychic institute, and other writers responding to Edison’s ideas.

The articles are however different in the sense that while one article seeks to concentrate on Edison’s successes; the other seeks to make a mockery of his impossible dreams. The second article concentrates on Edison’s impossible undertaking of making any contact with the spirit world. It includes sentiments made by different people who are opposed to Edison’s idea of contacting the spirit world. It notes how people are likely to call the wrong number in the spirit world, and how the people in the spirit world will not reply. The article contains a lot of critic relating to Edison, and to his idea. The writer has sought the most opinionated critics, and has included their opinions in the article. The first article is different in the sense that most of its content is on Edison’s outlook on work.

The articles depict Edison in different ways, and they celebrate his achievements differently. The first article depicts Edison as an accomplished inventor, hard worker, and patriot, who is willing and capable of doing more for his country than he already has. It depicts him as a person who is concerned about his country. He states, “This country would not amount to as much as it does if the young men of fifty years ago had been afraid that they might earn more than they were paid.” [1]It depicts him as a man who puts all his best efforts in whatever he does. It depicts him as a person who is concerned with the employees’ welfare. In the article, he voices his support for changing the working conditions in an attempt to protect the employees from exploitation by their employers. The article depicts him as a man who believes in people’s abilities, and supports reforms. He does not conform to rules blindly, but he expresses his desire to see people leading transformed lives. He states, “It makes me sad to see young Americans shackle their abilities by blindly conforming to rules.”[2] The article depicts Edison as a leader, who is longing for days when the people will use their efforts and hard work to lead better lives. This is in contrast with the second article.

The second article depicts Edison as a man who dreams that he can achieve the impossible. The article states, “Chemists have never been able to create a living substance.”[3] It depicts him as man who has failed in the past, and who is bound to fail again, if he were to continue with his plans. The article states, “It would be best to leave the great peace of the other side undisturbed by wrong number worries.”[4] It depicts him as an ignorant person, who fails to understand all that he intends to do. The director of the metapsychic institute says that Edison shows ignorance in his choice of instruments. The article depicts Edison as someone who does not consider other people’s feelings when making his inventions. One of the critics in the newspapers claims that by making the instrument that will enable people to communicate to the spirit world, Edison seeks to take all illusions from the living. He states, “you seek to prove whether or not we are immortal but that’s just what we don’t want to know…don’t take from us the uncertainty of this fear and this hope.”[5] This assertions present Edison as someone who made inventions that people were not interested in, and that would not benefit them in any way. The article depicts Edison as a person who was disliked, if not hated, for his achievements. Some of the people saw his achievements as some form of black magic. One of the critics states, “In the middle ages Edison would have been burned for black magic…perhaps he should have been burned long ago.” [6]

The second article illustrates some of the challenges that Edison faced from critics. Despite proving that he was capable of doing the impossible by making inventions, some of the critics were skeptical of his abilities, and they even mocked his achievements. The second article does not consider Edison’s achievements as part of his leadership or heroic qualities. They seem to be looking for something more, rather than a person’s achievements. This is clear in the way they have included opinionated critics with strong sentiments concerning their beliefs. The fact that they do not consider any possibilities for success on Edison’s part, even if they are merely being polite about it, shows that they expect him to fail in every respect. To these critics, a leader or a hero is someone who looks for ways to maintain people’s illusions and play by the rules of the society. He is not supposed to deviate from the norm for the sake of the reluctant few. To them, a leader should not try to do something different that will unsettle a few people. He should only lead in the direction that they know, since using another direction to take them where they want to them, will only make them lose their sense of direction.

The first article has a different perspective on the qualities and characters of a leader. It portrays Edison as a leader in every way, and it uses his accomplishment as an illustration of the qualities of a leader. It sees the leadership position as one of a reformer. Through Edison’s statements, it is clear that he advocates for reforms. A leader is one who leads by example. A leader does not only tell the people what to do, but he illustrates by example. This is clear in the way Edison supports the idea of hard work. A leader is concerned with the development of the people that he leads. He does not want them to stay in the same position they were when they were beginning, but he wants them to progress. A leader is cares about what happens outside his comfort zone, and outside his specific areas of concern. He understands that many areas in life interconnect in many ways. A weakness in one area will lead to a weakness in the other areas. Edison is not only concerned with his own progress, but he is also concerned with the progress of the nation. He understands that he alone cannot change the nation. A leader accepts constructive criticism. Edison supports the labor union, and their efforts to lead to improve the employees working conditions.

The two models advocate different models of leadership. The model in the second article is not applicable, because it does not consider an all rounded leader. Over time, people seem to have accepted and advanced the model in the first article. They are able to see the positive results of the model. The model in the first article has led to the success of many organizations. The two articles present different ideas about leadership and heroism. They have a different opinion concerning the character and the qualities of a person who had proved his worth through his accomplishments. The first article took the chance to celebrate a leader and a hero while he was alive. The second article was different. It chose to criticize an inventor in a non-constructive way. It pointed out his failures and noted how he was bound to fail again, if he proceeded with his plans. The debate among these sources is significant because it portrays that people do not have to celebrate a hero when he is dead. It is significant because it portrays that one does not have to give up, just because other people are criticizing him, and that they do not believe in his dreams. One does not need to have the support of everyone, so that he or she can succeed in life. One does not have to conform to norms and rules so that he or she can please those who are around him. Instead, one should believe in himself, and in his abilities.

America has progressed with great trends as a nation. It has made many accomplishments, and has grown to being the most recognized nation in the world. It has suffered economic disasters over time, but the diligence of those who choose to work hard has seen it rise from the ashes. America is a nation founded on the principles of hard work and innovation. People who have dared to dream and overcome obstacles to achieve their dreams have changed this country for the better. America has had many critics in the past, and this continues today. Despite the challenges that the nation faces, there is still hope if the country does not forget to work hard.

Bibliography

The New York Times. “Thomas Edison, 73, Will Work all Day: Inventor Intends to Halt Only Long Enough to Lunch with Edison Pioneers at Noon.” The New York Times, Feb 11, 1920. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0712FE3B5F1B728DDDA80994DA405B808EF1D3

“French Fancy Busy on Spirit Machine: Reports of Edison Invention Seized upon by Humorists and Philosophers.” The New York Times, Oct 7, 1920. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C15FE3D5411738DDDAE0894D8415B808EF1D3

[1] The New York Times, “Thomas Edison, 73, Will Work all Day: Inventor Intends to Halt Only Long Enough to Lunch with Edison Pioneers at Noon,” The New York Times, Feb 11, 1920, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0712FE3B5F1B728DDDA80994DA405B808EF1D3

[2] The New York Times, “Thomas Edison, 73, Will Work all Day: Inventor Intends to Halt Only Long Enough to Lunch with Edison Pioneers at Noon,” The New York Times, Feb 11, 1920, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0712FE3B5F1B728DDDA80994DA405B808EF1D3

[3] The New York Times, “French Fancy Busy on Spirit Machine: Reports of Edison Invention Seized upon by Humorists and Philosophers,” The New York Times, Oct 7, 1920, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C15FE3D5411738DDDAE0894D8415B808EF1D3

[4] The New York Times, “French Fancy Busy on Spirit Machine: Reports of Edison Invention Seized upon by Humorists and Philosophers,” The New York Times, Oct 7, 1920, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C15FE3D5411738DDDAE0894D8415B808EF1D3

[5] The New York Times, “French Fancy Busy on Spirit Machine: Reports of Edison Invention Seized upon by Humorists and Philosophers,” The New York Times, Oct 7, 1920, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C15FE3D5411738DDDAE0894D8415B808EF1D3

[6] The New York Times, “French Fancy Busy on Spirit Machine: Reports of Edison Invention Seized upon by Humorists and Philosophers,” The New York Times, Oct 7, 1920, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20C15FE3D5411738DDDAE0894D8415B808EF1D3