TOW #6 - Conflicting Viewpoints

Conflicting Viewpoints

     This is a political cartoon that was released in the Pittsburg Post Gazette and created by Melissa Trahin. It addresses the issue of social media's focus on violence that kids are drawn to. In this day in age, many children are exposed to various types of inappropriate material. Social media nurtures short attention spans, as seen in the child'd wide-eyes and hunched body over the game controller. On the other hand, the adults who appear to be against this social media obsession, are staring straight into the TV screen as well. It is a bit ironic, and by illustrating this moment as is helps to emphasize how many people don't even realize an addiction to media. 

     Irony also comes into play with the parents agreeing with the school policy against guns, while allowing their child to be exposed to violent video games. The environment that children grow up in is saturated with media culture, so it is difficult to keep children away from it. However, as her humorous allusion illustrates, without paying attention to and properly confronting their children on this issue, nothing will change. They could be very concerned about guns and violence, but if their son is playing violent video games than the issue will continue to be prevalent in everyday life. 

     Trahin realizes the extent of this issue in the 21st century. As it effects people of all ages, the best way for her to engage a wide audience was by appealing to their emotions. She effectively accomplishes this by making her entire cartoon humorous. The details and sarcastic illustrations also help to convey her message. What she hopes to gain from creating this cartoon is for educators and parents to help understand the need for limitations on media usage to help optimize children's development. 

TOW #5 - "9/11 Speech"

George W. Bush

     The writing that I chose to analyze for this week was George W. Bush's commentary publicly released following 9/11. The hysteria that amassed the United States after the horrendous terrorist attack required the President to address the nation as a whole for two reasons. One, to assure the public that security measures are being taken and two, to prove to the terrorists that this event will not break the US. As the President of the United States discussing about the matters of the country, he has plenty automatic ethos. He establishes a common plight by saying things like "our very freedom came under attack in a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist attacks" and "thousand of lives were suddenly ended by evil, despicable acts." By using the pronoun 'our' in discussing about "our nation saw evil," "our military is powerful," and "our country is strong" President Bush is able to create a sense of unity with his audience to prove his care for his country. 

     His strong empowering diction when describing the US government and military, such as "strong," "powerful," and "prepared" helps in the persuasion of the pubic to believe in their country's capability to ward of evil. Because the last thing the US needs is hysteria and unrest amongst their own people, easing the public mind is an important task. The US revers themselves as the "brightest beacon for freedom and opportunity in the world," and yet a major commercial city fell victim to terrorists. This event proved that the might US may not be as strong as they seem, so the President must assert his power to maintain his reputation. 

TOW #4 - In College, These American Citizens Are Not Created Equal

Lady Liberty stands for equality, not discrimination.

In this essay, author Fabiola Santiago addresses the issue of racial discrimination of the 21st century, and uses allusions and anecdotes to persuade her audience to take a stand against racial discrimination. She begins her essay by alluding to the words of Lady Liberty -- "I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"--then discusses the splendid refurbishing that she will undergo in the upcoming year. Lady Liberty is a monument that symbolized equality freedom and racial equality. However, Santiago states that the current state of society would cause her to "shed mournful tears at the lack of compassion for immigrants." Her comment reveals her opinions on the almost hypocritical actions of the government; they would pay $27 million to renovate a statue, but charge extra tuition to children of undocumented immigrants. 

     Wendy Ruiz is a victim of this social stigma; she must work three part-time jobs while maintaining a 3.7 grade-point-average because her parents are not US citizens. Compared to the $1,266 per term tuition offered to most Floridians, she must pay $4,524 because she is considered a "dependent of nonresidents." Fortunately, Ruiz does not let this obstacle stand in way of her dreams, because she has "never wanted anything so bad in [her] life like [she] wants this." This anecdote allows Santiago to appeal to her audience's emotions and helps to establish a connection between the "face of this story (Wendy)" and the audience. The most powerful way to persuade a person is through the heart, which explains why Santiago chose to tell the story of inspirational Wendy rather than provide statistics and facts. By alluding to United State's symbol of freedom and sharing an anecdote about a daughter of undocumented immigrants, Santiago successfully conveys her opinions on the injustice of the legislative policy in question and makes her audience reconsider the notion of freedom in the United States.