“We Are Not the Greatest Country” In this fragment from The Newsroom, Jeff Daniels and his associates are asked to shed light on why, in their opinions, America is the greatest country. His colleagues state that diversity and opportunity, as well as freedom, are reasons why our country stands out as the best. Jeff Daniels has a different opinion. He thinks that we started out great with our constitution and our declaration of independence. But argues that our country is not so great anymore. He asks his colleague, “with a straight face, you’re going to tell students that America is so star-spangled awesome that we’re the only ones in the world with freedom?” (Daniels 1), and points out that several other countries have just as much freedom …show more content…
Sorkin even says that Daniels is practically the nicest guy ever. Which also made Sorkin hesitate to bring Daniels in to play the part in The Newsroom because the character wasn’t nice. The character was dark and brooding and blunt. But Daniels proved to Sorkin that he could be the man he was looking for.
Daniels has been acting since 1976 and played in a variety of movies and television such as Dumb and Dumber, Fly Away Home, Pleasantville, 101 Dalmatians, and Steve Jobs. Rotten Tomatoes says, “Though he has never achieved the high profile or widespread acclaim of a Robert De Niro, Jeff Daniels ranks as one of Hollywood's most versatile leading men and over his career he has played everything from villains and cads to heroes and romantic leads to tragic figures and lovably goofy idiots, in movies of almost every genre.” (Rotten Tomatoes 1). Daniels has inspired so many people with his work. In conclusion, Daniels has strongly and successfully made his argument that the United States is not all that it is cracked up to be. He used pathos, ethos, and logos to further prove his point. He stirs emotions within his audience and sends a tremor through everyone’s cores as he opens up and gives them a hard truth that they did not ask for. Daniels gave an astonishing speech and while this may not have been his plan, he has changed many lives and perspectives with his