AV Geeks 16mm Lunch 11-4-2024

e e e for sorry I had that set to Loop um hi everybody this is Skip Alzheimer welcome to the a Geeks lunchtime streaming show where we watch old 16 millimeter films and then um ruminate on it talk about it uh so I'm inside because there are people mowing outside um so there you go I'm in the basement remember the basement our good friends the basement um so today I know there's a lot of anxiety because I'm feeling it uh about tomorrow's election today is all about voting but tomorrow we are going to just I don't know maybe I'll just show cartoons I don't know I haven't figured out but it's not going to be anything political just be entertainment and uh one of the things that I was thinking initially I was like yeah if the election doesn't go the way that I hope that it does and if you have followed me I know I lean pretty far to the left um some might say I'm a socialist um but uh if things don't go the way that I had hoped I was like well I'm just not going to do my show anymore and I'm like that's a horrible idea we have a great Community here uh and I know some of you do not agree with my uh position but we still have a community and we should engage and continue to be a community uh so I will continue to do my show even if I'm horribly depressed so there you go um all right so I got quite a a couple films here um two of them are for newly uh basically 18-year-olds for young people who are basically in high school or fresh fresh out of high school and this is voting at 18 enjoy [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] my name is Pat C and this is me just a few months before my 18th birthday on June 30th 1971 11 million Americans between the ages of 18 and 21 suddenly became eligible to vote the 26th amendment to the Constitution joined three others which have broadened the base of our [Music] democracy the 15th [Music] Amendment the 19th Amendment the 24th Amendment and with the 26th amendment youth power became a new political force in America the first thing is to register that's what it's all about I've already called somebody at the registration office to find out how well if he called here he probably talked to me I told him what I tell everyone excuse me registration office well you can register if you'll be 18 honor before the day of the next election no no you don't need your birth certificate but if you were born in another country you do need to bring in your citizenship papers or other evidence of citizenship fine you're welcome registration requirements vary from state to state and often within a state you can find out what they are by calling your local government offic I don't know it all I don't have [Music] money a lot of important things are going on these days and most of them have to do with government when you get right down to it government is voters take the police since the police work for the local government they work for the local voters and that means when you vote you've got some say in the matter like how should they deal with the public during disturbances then there's government at the state level like shouldn't we have lower tuition at the state colleges and universities and there's national government like is space exploration worth what it costs we pass and a lot of things have to do with government on all the levels how are we going to rebuild the city how are we going to solve race problems and how should the drug problem be handled and consumer protection and transportation problems and pollution [Applause] problems and War we talk about these things a lot but now we've got a chance to do something about them but we can vote only if we register states require registration sometime before an election for many states 30 days is the restricted period except for this you can register almost any time in Most states okay fine raise your right hand please do you solemnly swear or affirm that the statements you are making are true I do okay I'll fill this in and then you can sign it registering procedure varies but essentially it's just a matter of filling out forms okay fine will mail you a verification card in a week or 10 days he thank you mhm hi hello I read that in some places they were giving kids a rough time but I haven't heard about anybody having trouble where I live Pat's friends are registering in their home communities using their home addresses but what about students who live away from home at College what is their home address students in some college towns are a large part of the population if they vote there some of the local people are concerned that they might lose control of their own communities well frankly this is our town I doubt very much if they'd like to have us coming into their Town telling them what to do well we don't like it here either I think they ought to vote where they live and not here well we do live here most of the year round and care what does go on in this community so why shouldn't we be able to say what we feel by voting there are other people who live here just a short length of time and not permanently and they're able to vote Yes I think it's all right for students to vote it gives them a better chance to see how the government has run in a few places registration has been difficult for students but most often new voters Like Pat Curtis have no trouble registering there's a primary coming up soon I want to register in time for that that's why we're talking a lot now about who to vote for we're trying to make up our minds a lot of people try to help you make up your mind during election campaigns I really couldn't say you've seen all this before but when it's aimed at you you have to make an effort to study the candidates and the issues [Music] he's in favor of things like busing and it's hard to really know all you want about people who are running for election for instance how they stand on women's lib or welfare or pollution one way is to keep an eye out for the public statements candidates make what do they say about public issues voters affect public issues through the people who hold public office learning the attitudes and programs of candidates makes your vote more effective [Music] [Applause] a you don't have to join a political party to register or vote but you may want to if the party seems to reflect your own ideas and points of view supporting a political party allows your ideas to have more impact get elected see how much they promise and how much they give after they're elected that's what I'm going to be ready to vote when the time comes all of us are voting itself is very easy newspapers radio and television will tell you when to vote and if you don't know where you can find the location of your polling place by calling your local government office [Music] first you identify Yourself by signing your name and address the election judges check the roles to make sure you're eligible I think you miss spell it there it's 2 f can't have Miss now you may vote by paper bowet by voting machine or both if you use a paper ballot be careful to mark it properly put the mark in the box of your choice an improperly marked ballot will be thrown out and your vote will not be counted if you vote by Machine you'll find instructions on it there may also be a demonstration model of the machine in the polling place if you have any questions an election judge will help you can we're going to register and we're going to vote and we're going to have our say in the things that are going on [Music] so I uh I remember the voting machines um there was a couple of times I voted and I almost always voted in Raleigh uh because I um by the time I was 18 I was in Raleigh going to school I was one of those um annoying college students that was populating and Shifting the political Dynamic of Raleigh not really but um anyways yeah I remember being excited to the the junk and then the you know the curtains close and then it's a you know you you slide you do the slides or sometimes there's like a punch there's there's different things that we I think one time I used a punch one time they had pens where I had to connect this time it was cuz I early voted with Katrina is you had to fill in with a pen and I think some of them I rushed through because when I put the ballot in it got kicked back out because I didn't fill in the circles all the way so um but it did not throw out my vote so it just said no you need to go back and do those all right here's another one young vote power politics and participation and all this is of course to say please vote please vote you're I love hearing your voice uh in the comments and I think your voice is important to be heard in the Democratic process all right here we go well all I feel is that like um I'm going to try to influence my friends I I'm running I just went an office here as Treasurer I'm going to go on running for offices I guess and try to talk to my friends about running for an office because I think it's very important that you know they they be involved in in now starting starting it starts right here at the high school with school politics and it goes on and even if you're not a politician if you're elected official here still you know you have you might have some feeling and not feel apathetic toward the outside world can everyone please leave so it's not quite so hectic who's the class officer president vice president secretary tras oh I think some people are afraid that their vote means nothing just because they're one of so many yes I think the voting's done more or less it's a popularity contest even how girls think of them anything but it's not always done according to the guy skill mostly popularity okay let's signature you want it seems to me that well we we've had some intelligent individuals elected in the past and but it seems that generally it doesn't matter who's elected things function the same the vote turns out to be insignificant regardless of who's elected I really don't think you know I know a lot of people who have ran and say what they're going to do and I've never seen anything really materialize out out of what they said they're going to do like they always go in out and they're always reasonably the same thing is the same situation after they're out as when they went in okay did you vote Yes why I voted because I feel that okay it's my duty to make this a better school and if I'm going to be a student here I want to be as good as I can make it and I voted for the people who I think will do what I want them to do what I who will listen to the people and the voice of the student body so how would you well the reason why I don't vote is because of the fact that I just don't feel anything will be done by my one vote there's like a lot of similarities between elections here and elections nationally everyone's trying to present an image and it's like they want you to vote for the image not the [Music] person the next AFP president is David G [Applause] [Applause] well let me just say that we have 11 million people in this country between the ages of 18 and 20 there are another 14 million between the ages of 21 and 24 that's a block at 25 million people if those young people will register and vote they can literally change the direction of the United States and they they have a moral obligation they have a political obligation to register and vote in this election all right do you swear that everything you stay before me is uh truthful or okay I you're now a registered voter and this is your copy of the registration no matter what type of gimmick is used to try to register people uh such as bringing down presidential candidates and and having register circulate around the crowds or having a rock band down or putting out an organized effort like uh UCLA onee program to Reg of uh student voters and have editorials in the school newspaper about urging people to register in signs and colored balloons it doesn't seem to affect anybody uh either they're going to register or they're not going to register if uh if they don't see a register or if they don't have the time they're not going to stop see what do you mean that uh voting to you just you can't do anything with it it's just a feud attempt in 1964 I BR dog to support Johnson and he lied and uh people thought that McCarthy was going to change the world and uh he came out to be nothing and I registered the Freedom Party last time and uh that fail to uh realistically attract a you know a base have a popular base in other words you think it's just that the politicians or the people who are running or just the people who are voting or what well it's a two- party system uh-huh no well I mean why not register and express your opinion you try something instead of just you know walking away and leaving it behind okay I'll register all right you want to register me yeah over here I realized that people would see the system is moving too slow but all I can say to that is that these people are impatient and I can admit that they that they have a right to be impatient it's just that when a person becomes overly impatient and Dr and then drops out it shows that um he has really you know really no stamina to to keep up with the system and to hope he's showing a sign well he has no hope anymore just about every politician you listen to has something that you can identify with whatever he says something that we need and they tell you what you want to hear but even once he gets in there you know none of this stuff comes true I don't know I choose not to vote because politics just seems like a big big trick we're here just to spread out information to people just so people can make up their own minds cuz they're going to do drugs regardless of what you tell them a lot of problems that people call up with are just uh stem from some sort of relationship and a lot of people then get strung out on drugs and then that becomes a problem and you try and uh counsel them on you know how they might be able to go about kicking a habit they might have or just to find a little peace in themselves like if you feel like you're helping them just a little bit makes you feel good you know yeah even though even though I'm able to vote I I'm I'm not going to vote simply because I can I think I can do other things it'll help people and help the country or the world without just pushing a button letting somebody else do it [Applause] supposedly I've seen that a lot of young people don't trust politics and they definitely don't trust politicians but whenever I go somewhere I tell the young people that I'm just the beginning and that I expect them to do the same thing that I'm doing and hopefully I'm Paving the way for them because there is hope in the Democratic process 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 [Applause] 2 now what is your name once more Ivon Westbrook Westbrook I'm Ivon do you live in the city oh yes I'm Ivon Westbrook I'm R supervisor oh I see okay so vote for me all right you know ion West how you doing sure do good to see you say Sayan and if we're to make that 18-year-old vote thing mean anything and a lot of us you know in here have read registered and a lot of us are going to go out there and vote it's not going to mean a thing unless we can get somebody in office that will relate to us as young people and to us as black people and third world people and that's what I'm going to [Applause] do it's beautiful like I've never had any problems getting the brothers to come on and work right all right all right it's no s lying about it Brothers will come on out but to have some sisters stand up and say we're with you Ivonne and we're going to be there tomorrow when you win or or you lose we're going to be right there with you I won't become a politician that gets an office and says what's going to happen to the city I'll ask the city what has to happen and together you know we begin to change San Francisco and make it become the human community that it should be are you registered to vote pardon are you registered to vote Yes yeah thank [Applause] you are you you registered to vote would you like to register the vote now um yeah register real Qui I got to do it sooner or later okay um uh where were you born in what state Minnesota and I've always has been of the mind that it's the democratic system we have a democratic system and we have rights to vote and I felt that we should use it and I would point out H how uh Stupid violence is how utterly and totally wrong it is and how it never really works how violence always leads to something worse than what is in present or that a revolution leads to something worse than what is in present form uh the French have a great statement for it and I think it's the plum the more they change the more the same and uh that's how I feel okay that's all you just uh do you swear that everything you say before me is true true okay come on they're just about as Diversified as their parents there's no solid youth block and no matter how hard schools might emphasize with through their civic courses the need to be responsible the need to vote the need to exercise these rights it's what what how their parents worked what their parents did uh that will affect what they'll do there there is no magical formula that occurs between the ages of 15 and 18 that brings a kid to awareness it's just how how what type of awareness he was brought to in his family from his since the time of his birth what I do just pull the this you pull this when I open the button for you and then you have your ballot and then you go vote you pull these down over the names you want for who you going to vote for not all those yeah just whoever you going to vote for then after then you say okay I'll lift the but you bring it back over here okay so pull this all the way over bring it all the way over push it in now you got it okay this is kdia olon with Louis Freeman anchoring from kdia election Central now is your strength also going to be in that age bracket of 18 to 20 not only the 18 to 20s but also the senior citizens have really been pulling for me actively throughout the entire campaign while I'm talking with Miss Westbrook can somebody give me the very latest upto-date figures that she has oh that you're an 18-year-old and uh you're on a rather flamboyant campaign two years from now you'll be 20 you going to try it again yeah I think it's something that black people young people and women have got to do if we're going to make the Democratic process work for the people you definitely are hoping for a career in politics is that it definitely I will be in the political Arena I uh I don't vote the reason why I don't vote is because I just don't have any faith in politics or politicians okay hi are you married uh no you have to develop some sort of program that you want put into effect and then work towards it through some form of education and now what we're going out doing is to educate these people uh the youth to take this right the right to vote and to use it all right you swear everything you stay before me is true okay um all that youthful idealism I love it um it's a great great film uh lots of uh afro actually too um both uh people of color and uh some white dudes uh all right uh this is a newsreel or clip from a newsreel uh it it right off the bat it's a spoiler but um it's still kind of great to see what it was like to vote uh in the 60s enjoy [Music] a record number of Americans upwards of 67 million go to the polls to elect the 35th President of the United States citizens from Maine to Hawaii record their choices as the attention of the entire Globe focuses on the contest for the leadership of the most powerful nation of the Free World the Democratic nominee is an early favorite and first returns bear out predictions in Mr Kennedy's favor but GOP standard Bearer Richard Nixon is staunchly supported not least by President Eisenhower who was up early arriving at 6:18 a.m. at Cumberland Township Pennsylvania near his Gettysburg Farm to cast his [Music] ballot not with standing Ike support Pennsylvania's crucial 32 electoral votes were carried by Kennedy Mrs Eisenhower follow of the president late in the day and left no doubt as to her preference as she cast her vote in the tiny Pennsylvania [Music] Firehouse eager crowds gathered outside the West End branch of the Boston Public Library as Senator Kennedy and his pretty wife arrived at the polling place early on Election Day Before flying on the Cape Cod to await the [Music] outcome Vice President Nixon and his wife Pat vote in the playroom of a private home in in whiter California the Los Angeles suburb where Mr Nixon grew [Music] up Mr Nixon's running mate on the GOP ticket Ambassador Henry cat Lodge was almost totally overshadowed on Election Day by the popular concentration on the principles in one of the most strenuously contested election battles in the nation's history Senator Lyndon Johnson Mr kenedy's running mate shared his counterparts plight this election day as the vagaries of the popular ballot resulted in one of the closest national elections since 1916 an early lead established by Kennedy dwindled as Western and Rural reports came in although a favorable Trend was established in the early hours as the Democratic party nationally won 15 governorships and maintained its leadership in congress and the Senate the early Kennedy Drive bogged down through the long hours of the night as local districts talled their results the Kennedy column recorded an electoral vote frustratingly short of the 269 necessary to [Music] win at his hyanis Port Massachusetts residents the Democratic candidate and his wife stoically waited out the returns as did Vice President Nixon on the other side of the country who even made a quick trip across the border for an election day lunch that night Mr Nixon appeared at local GOP headquarters with his wife to the cheers of campaign workers at almost 4:00 a.m. he virtually acknowledged defeat as I look at the board here uh while the there are still some results still to come in uh if the present Trend continues uh if Mr Kennedy Senator Kennedy will be the next president of the United States I want I want Senator Kennedy to know and I want all of you to know that uh certainly if this trend does continue and uh he does become our next president that he will have my wholehearted support on [Applause] your the allers that followed were frustrating and baffling as the key returns hung in the balance not till the middle of the next day was the victory reclined by one of the closest margins recorded a plurality of barely over 300,000 [Music] the unexpectedly delayed climax saw Senator Kennedy the Victor with a clear margin of electoral votes at 43 years of age he is the youngest man ever voted into the White House and the first Catholic chief executive in the history of the nation with victories in the Southern Bible Bel as well as the industrial centers of the north to attest the shattering of a longstanding political Taboo in Mr Kennedy's first public appearance after his election accompanied by his wife Jack his father financier Joseph Kennedy makes his first appearance since the campaign began and the weary president-elect makes his first address in his new capacity reading aloud his answer to Mr Nixon's message of [Music] congratulations in reply to the vice president I sent him the following wire Vice President Nixon in Los Angeles California your sincere good wishes are gratefully accepted you are to be congratulated on a fine race I know that the nation can continue to count on your unswerving loyalty in whatever effort you Undertake and that you and I can maintain our longstanding cordal relations in the years ahead sincerely John Kennedy to all Americans I say that the next four years are going to be difficult and challenging years for us all the election may have been a close one but I think that there is General agreement by all of our citizens that a supreme National effort will be needed in the years ahead to move this country safely through the 1960s I ask your help in this effort and I can assure you that uh every degree of Mind and Spirit that I possess will be devoted to the long range interests of the United States and and to the cause of Freedom around the world so now uh my wife and I prepare for a new Administration and for a new baby thank you that's graceful right graceful that's what we want graceful politics I'll take that thank you uh enough said uh all right here's uh another film about voting are you sick of it yet yes you are already I can tell even before we started there was a comment saying uh I'm very anxious about the election so we're going to do this today then tomorrow I promise it's going to be uh light entertainment distracting fun it it'll be something it'll be something that you it'll get your mind completely off of what's Happening um that's what we do here at avgeeks is we bury our heads deep in the sand I want you to vote uh if you haven't already I want you to vote tomorrow but then I want you to pull back sit back and watch some old 16 mimer films uh from our past that's what I'm interested in so here's Tuesday in November enjoy [Music] [Music] it is early morning of the first Tuesday in November this is an American city a city that is not very large not very rich not very old it is situated in the western part of the United States in California its name is [Music] Riverton the woman in the car is Mrs Dawson one of riverton's 15,000 residents she is principal of public school number two but today there will be no classes held here for this is election day [Music] [Applause] [Music] this classroom is one of the 130,000 places the country over in which American citizens are going to cast their votes today this is the table where the voters names will be checked the locked Ballot Box box and the polling Booth here it is in the privacy of this curtain space that the American voters every 4 years on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November choose their national [Music] government here come Mrs Dawson's colleagues on the election board of riverton's 7th precinct each representing one of the major political parties Mr Schwarz is a republican who works for the street car company Mrs abath is a housewife and a Democrat Mrs Dawson is Chairman they've all known one another for Years first they remove the last traces of their campaign activities their party buttons then they take the oath you swear to defend the Constitution of the United States of America and perform your duties as members of the election for the best of your ability so help you go I do I do this makes them responsible for seeing that the voting here today takes place according to the laws of the land and now the poles are [Music] open here comes the first voter no wonder he's first he's been up since 4:00 delivering milk morning everybody Top Line you're the very first one right on the dock always like to vote early here the Republicans ATT temporary lead here's your ballot though thanks didn't [Music] there that's as far as we can go remember this is a secret vote no one ever sees another person mark his ballot however if we did have miraculous powers and if we were able just this once to follow Bill Johnson this is what we'd see he votes first for the the chief Executives the President and Vice President of the United States next he votes for a senator from his State then a representative from his district this man is casting his vote for a government of his own choosing under the Constitution of the United [Music] States this is the way it's set up there are three branches of the United States government the executive branch or president the legislative branch or Congress and the judicial branch or Supreme Court the duties of each branch are established in the Constitution let's see how they work the president is the executive head of the nation he initiates all important policies such as treaties with other governments and the conduct of national Affairs he is the commander-in-chief of the Army and the Navy an important consideration in a wartime election the vice president is the president's legal successor the president keeps him informed on matters of state and policy the vice president by custom sits as a member of the president's cabinet the cabinet members are the heads of the executive departments of the government such as the state department war department Treasury Department Department of the interior of Labor Commerce and so on the cabinet advises the president on matters of policy the powers of the president and his helpers are limited for this is a government not of men but of laws based upon the Constitution congress makes the laws it is a parliament which unlike many Democratic parliaments has no direct connection with the executive branch this branch of the government is made up of two houses the Senate and the House of Representatives a law May originate in either house but must be approved by both of them when a bill is passed by both houses it is sent to the president if the president also approves the bill he signs it it then becomes law president May veto a bill passed by the Congress but Congress may still by a 2/3 majority make the bill law although the chief responsibility of Congress is that of making laws certain other responsibilities are delegated to the two houses in the senate or upper house as it is called each of the 48 states in the nation is represented by two elected members making a total membership of 96 small states and large have equal representation in the Senate the Senate has two important functions aside from its lawmaking duties to pass on important president IAL appointments and to approve or reject all treaties with other nations initiated by the president when a treaty is under consideration the members of the Senate Express their opinions either of approval or of disapproval and then a vote is taken if 2/3 of the Senate approves of the treaty it is in effect in the House of Representatives or lower house each of the 48 states is represented in proportion to its population the more populous of the states have the greater number of members in the House of Representatives all measures dealing with the appropriation of money for the nation's use originate and are controlled in the lower house the money appropriated is turned over to the president for expenditure and the president with the aid of the cabinet spends the money in the manner decided upon by the Congress whether it be for purposes of peace or of War although the Congress of the United States makes the laws of the land its powers are also limited by the Constitution as a check on both executive and legislative branches of the government there is a third branch the judicial the Supreme Court whose members are appointed for Life by the president the Supreme Court protects the Constitution from violation by congressional laws or executive orders the three branches executive legislative and judicial each with some power none with all the power check and balance each other in the manner intended by the framers of the Constitution so that the ultimate power rests always in the hands of the voter Bill [Music] Johnson having voted for a federal government he must also choose a governor for State members of the State Assembly County judges all the minor offices and various legislative amendments when Bill Johnson is finished he has elected an entire government from top to bottom that is if a majority of the voters think the way he does about it it's not only here in rivon that the Voting is heavy today all over the country people are conscious of the momentous issues facing their nation and the [Music] world this is their way of expressing their conviction of how and by whom these issues should be [Music] met the two major presidential candidates vote like all the other citizens one of them in New York City describes himself as a lawyer the other up in the country where his home is gives his occupation as Farmer for those who cannot come to the polls an absentee ballot is provided and the Voting is supervised by the local notary this is the same kind of ballot that in this wartime election is sent to members of the Armed Forces at home and [Music] abroad these ballots are returned to be counted in their respective [Music] States here in Riverton the line grows longer the citizens are following the Constitutional provision that elections are held on schedule rain or shine Panic or Prosperity peace or war that chalk on his sleeve is part of yesterday's history lesson when Mrs Dawson reminded her pupils of two other memorable elections in 1864 with a nation in the throws of a civil war Abraham Lincoln one of America's greatest presidents was opposed in a bitter campaign by one of his own generals the people chose to elect Mr Lincoln in 1916 during the first world war an election was held and now again in 1944 early in the summer nominating conventions are held at these traditionally noisy political jamborees The Chosen delegates of each major party meet to select a candidate for the presidency and the vice presidency of the United [Music] States now the candidates have been chosen [Music] and the campaign is on from president to local [Music] sheriff for 3 months all through the late summer and fall wherever people come together issues and men are discussed and argued about some feel that this isn't altogether a good thing that a lot of time and energy are wasted this way it may be but that's the way Americans like to do it they like to feel everybody has a right to speak and is interested enough to do it even the small fry every attempt is made by all parties to influence the people's thinking all over the country week after week 140 million citizens take part in the great debate [Music] [Applause] [Music] business professional and Civic groups endorse one candidate or the other for the first time in American history organized labor takes an active part in the [Music] [Applause] campaign radio plays a greater role than ever time on the air is paid for by all parties and distributed evenly among them giving the party in office no advantage over its opponents it is estimated that in the last days of the 1944 campaign 70 million Americans has heard the speeches of the various [Music] candidates now all that is over the Heat and excitement the votes are cast and Americans have agreed to accept the will of the majority whatever it may be apparently even the younger generation has declared peace now the election board begins its last Duty the counting of the votes the figures are checked and double [Music] checked then they are telephone to headquarters hello this is Mrs Dawson 7eventh Precinct ready to report from coast to coast Precinct by Precinct City by city state by state the results are recorded [Music] All Over America tonight the people are waiting to learn whom they have chosen to govern them for the next 4 [Music] years towards midnight the final results are announced [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] a nation of 140 million has elected a government [Music] the war department uh they put that out that's great um all right what what do we got uh three more minutes uh let's go ahead and just show this this is a cornet film uh are you a good citizen and uh I I watched some of this and I was like huh besides voting and paying taxes I'm not necessarily the best citizen so let's see how we uh we Stack Up um I'm not going to grade anybody but yeah I was like H okay maybe yeah all right um plus no baseball outside [Music] no one was more surprised than Mr heinan when he heard the news his young friend Jim Foster happened to be with him when he heard it Jim was surprised too but here were the representatives of the committee with the news that Mr heinan had been chosen to preside over the town celebration of citizenship day they had brought along an advanced copy of the day's paper in making their selection the committee had followed a checklist which was published in the paper a good citizen will perform basic Civic duties take part in group activities know and obey the law keep informed on public affairs be a good neighbor when the committee left Jim began to think about those qualifications and as he went on to study more about citizenship and think back over the events of the past year he came to understand what a good citizen really is a good citizen will perform basic Civic duties what are they you know one pay taxes it's your duty to pay and know why you pay you pay for federal courts of justice state universities Municipal Waterworks you pay for thousands of other services which the voters have elected to receive before you complain about taxes think how much it would cost if each of us had to buy these Services separately ask yourself which of these benefits you'd care to sacrifice would you close the local light let the state highways go to ruin forget about National Defense there is a second basic civic duty your duty to serve on the jury goes with your right to try by jury it's also your opportunity to learn your own rights and privileges under law along with these basic duties comes the duty and privilege of voting and voting intelligently this meant a great deal to Jim when I'm old enough to vote I'll use my ballot for all its worth I'll listen to the claims of all parties and all candidates then I'll try to get behind the vague promises and the aliis and get the facts so I can judge the real issues and the real candidates and I'll be willing to get out and work for good candidates that brings us to our second point a good citizen will take part in group activities there are all sorts of groups associations to Foster better government wealth organizations labor unions religious groups fraternal orders Men's Clubs women's clubs political parties when you work with any such group you benefit and the community benefits through combined effort for the common good a good citizen will know and obey the law that may sound easy but well it's against the law to break a window but Jim broke one that's how he happened to meet Mr heinan you know a piece of glass isn't very important what matters is that it happened because you were breaking the law what law we weren't doing anything wrong anest it's against the law of this town to play ball in the street I didn't know it nobody ever told me about it look ignorance of the law is no excuse whether you break a law through ignorance or carelessness or wickedness it's all lawbreaking you make me sound like a criminal sometimes it's hard to draw the line breaking a window pane breaking into a bank vault cheating in a school examination forging a check having a parking ticket fixed bribing a jury the only way to be sure of where you stand is to get into the habit of obeying all the laws I don't don't think much of that law about not playing ball in the streets nobody asked you but wouldn't things be a mess if each of us decided which laws to obey and which to ignore yes I guess so but there's no place else for us to play in the neighborhood what about the playground down the street well it's not very big and it's always full of little kids and they might get hurt we've been playing on that Big Empty lot down at the corner of 12 and Grove the somebody put up a no trespassing sign and the cop chased us off so what are we going to do I don't know y you keep the fellows off the streets I'll look into this come back Saturday morning maybe I'll have some news for you all right I'll do that Goodbye Mr hman goodbye say that's a neat job you're doing all the fellas chipped in to buy the glass that's good but as I was saying I had a talk with Mr Carpenter who owns that property where you fellas used to play ball trouble was the neighbors were complaining that you ran all over their property tearing up their lawns and breaking shrubs and flowers did you well yes I guess so well I'm afraid they had every right to do as they did call upon the law to protect their property there how's that very good say you're quite the handyman but where does that leave us with a place to play I've been looking into that come on in I've talked it over with some people con officers school officials members of the cboard look here here's the playground where the little kids play originally the town owned all this property which was to be made into a big playground what happened oh some shrewd operator moved in and bought the property because the citizens weren't alert to what was going on he persuaded the town that it needed his money more than it needed land and now everything else is built up that's right all but the carpenter property and that's where they won't let us play no but if the town were to buy the land and build a good high fence around yeah sure that ought to do it but the town doesn't have any money thought it sounded too good you know you're like a lot of other citizens in this town and everywhere you haven't taken the trouble to inform yourself about how democratic government operates what's that got to do with it the way is wide open for citizens to get what they want from their government all we want is a place to play it's a good thing you want good for you and good for the community so I think we can get it for you you can I said we can if we're willing to work for it I'll work for it what do I do so we can have our playing field see this petition we have to get signatures so they can hold a referendum at the next town election gee that's great therefore be it resolved that this organization go on record as favoring the proposal to float a bond issue to provide a playground and for a few more Pennies on your tax bill your children will have a safe place to play you will vote on our side won't you Mrs Stein well yes I will well what I don't understand is why you're going to all this trouble you don't have any children why should you worry you might say that I want to get the kids off the street so that I don't have any broken windows or you might say that I'm just a busy body with nothing better to do than work for the good of our community either way we're going to get that playing field well Jim and his friends got their playground they got it mainly because Mr hunman knew how to go about it and went to work to help them get it that's what it means to keep informed on public affairs and be a good neighbor so it's really not surprising after all that Mr heinan was named first citizen of the town he meets every test of good citizenship as outlined in the checklist how about you are you a good citizen [Music] you see Jim citizenship carries with it many rights and many duties the rights of the duties and are dependent upon them don't be a part-time citizen thinking only of your rights if you neglect your duty you may forfeit your right thinkk [Music] over all right all right I'll pay for your window just stop lecturing me real estate person swooped in and bought up all that land and you know they uh have to figure out a way to buy it back uh so it's it's funny even back then evil land developers we hate them not a fan not a fan they they they changed the landscape of uh of our towns and often don't even live in our towns and don't even care all right there we go so box um so vote tomorrow and we will uh see you uh and we will show you films that have nothing to do with politics uh so um guaranteed um now what will we watch it'll be probably light entertainment it might be very silly might be very goofy um but it'll be fun um very much appreciate you guys tuning in you are the reason that we love collecting and showing films um so thank you for for that if you like what you saw hit the thumbs up hit the like button you can subscribe we are adding an inordinate amount of um films to YouTube from our collection and from The prelinger Collection stuff that we hadn't put up before so uh you can watch that stuff and we get a little bit of AD Revenue pennies but it all adds up to helping us pay for our um rentals we have probably close to $2,000 in uh rentals uh storage units right now as films are offsite and this is why we're offsite is because um they're doing renovation work at the archive and uh so hopefully we'll be back there by the end of spring of next year knock on uh this fake wood but uh anyways um join us tomorrow love you guys and uh we will see you very soon bye e