English: The Language of Unity

As the people of Nimrod showed when defying God as a population, the most unifying thing a race can hold together is language. When God cursed the people and made them unable to communicate, he provided the ultimate barrier—the inability for a man to understand his fellow beings. Because of this, the wars and disputes of the past 10,000 years have sprung up and resulted in the death of billions of human beings. It seems that the first step in World Peace is not to accept diversity, but instead to create unity by standardizing the language of the human race.

IP (Yes, that is the official acronym for this paper)

English: The Global Language
Should we, as the human race, adopt a uniform language?
Would this uniformity among all peoples create a better world with less war and contention?
If an international language is adopted, should that language be English?

Solving the issue of no child left behind (possible satire)
Realizing that it is impossible to have a society where every child is above average--or even average for that matter--stop expending resources on the "duds." There is a place in this world for everyone, and while for some this may be a university, for others it is not. Tier schools and have an exam to determine which school a student will attend. Then, the real stars will shine because they are not held back and the others will be able to have a job suited to them

Appropriate response to Iran's nuclear weapon development program
Iran wants the bomb—atomic bomb that is—and the rest of the world doesn't know what to do. While the Israeli's are threatening with air raids, the French (who, coincidentally, are a lot further away from Iran than Israel)  are supplying Iran with gaseous diffusion chambers for uranium enrichment. While something must be done, the real question is what, exactly?

The Intolerances of a Tolerant Society: An In-Depth Analysis of Mark Steyn's "Komen Has its Awareness Raised"

When relating about the non-profit organizations of today that are supposed to epitomize the postmodern tolerant society we live in, Mark Steyn’s "Komen Has its Awareness Raised" makes use of rhetorical devices such as humor, tone, and irony to show how the diversity and tolerance movement are just an illusion to mask increasing intolerance and uniform ideals of organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Steyn cites evidence and makes assertions to increase his credibility and repeatability to the reader.

To begin, Steyn presents two occurrences, one that takes place in Sweden and one in Canada, to draw an emotional reaction from the reader. In Sweden, as Steyn states, it is illegal—even in a church setting—to “express a moral objection to homosexuality. Steyn also states an incident in Canada where a Catholic high school attempted to refuse a homosexual couple attendance to prom. The school was taken to court, however, and the court ruled in favor of the couple. While it is popular in today’s society to be tolerant, Steyn reverses the situation and calls into question the injustice of being unable to be a homophobe. While this is a bold move, it is done quite well because the reader realizes that the freedom, not to be homosexual, but to be homophobic is taken away. Realizing his audience consists mostly of conservative Americans, Steyn draws out angry feelings when he shows people’s rights are being infringed.

Steyn also shows how humorous this awareness ribbon business has become when he talks about the “periwinkle ribbon for acid reflux.” While acid reflux may plague many Americans today, making ribbons to support its awareness seems almost comical. In essence, Steyn argues that the only awareness being raised at this point is the awareness for colored magnetic ribbons.

Steyn then attempts to appeal to the reader’s own logic by stating inconsistencies in the practices of these supposed pro-feminist organizations. While not openly sharing his own opinion, Steyn shows what he believes by the information he presents. He contrasts two organizations, Planned Parenthood and the Susan G. Komen Foundation, and shows the inconsistencies, even borderline fraud, that occurs in such organizations. The fact that Cecile Richards, the president of Planned Parenthood, a non-profit organization, makes over $580,000 per year and that the top eight executives of the same organization make over $270,000 per year, is outrageous. The reader doesn’t need Steyn to tell him that. While Steyn appeals to the emotions of the reader, it is still an obvious use of logos because of the facts Steyn presents to the reader.

The next incident described is one where, under testimony, Cecile Richards claimed that her organization provided the “life saving mammogram” while on the contrary, the organization does not. Because of this lie, the Komen Foundation stopped donating money to Planned Parenthood. An attack on the Komen website occurred shortly thereafter. In preparation for a marathon, the slogan “Help us get 26.2 or 13.1 miles closer to a world without breast cancer” had decorated the website. This was replaced with “help is run over poor women on our way to the bank” by some Planned Parenthood workers. This is another instance where Steyn, while not clearly sharing his own opinion, causes the reader to come to one logical conclusion that these pro-feminist organizations are not as honest and non-profit as they would like one to think. Instead, each organization has its own agenda and motives that may not always be what is best for the people that the organization is intended to serve.

Steyn also uses jargon and vocabulary that appeals to the reader. His writing style may be somewhat pompous and over the top, however, he captures the essence of the postmodern tolerant movement. When referring to the salaries of the top eight executives at Planned Parenthood he says “$270,000 . . . makes them officially part of what the Obama administration calls ‘the one percent’.” Because jobs and salaries are a big part of the upcoming Presidential Election, this type of phrasing is common to many Americans. Also, when speaking of the “Obamacare” policy, he states that the requirement for Catholic institutions to provide contraceptives and sexual education is “more to do with the liberal muscle of Big Tolerance enforcing one-size-fits-all diversity.” This captures the idea as a whole that in all, our tolerant society is becoming increasingly intolerant towards intolerance—ironic, right?

Lastly, Steyn connects with the reader well. Though he is a Canadian-born Brit who was educated at a prep school in London, he seems to speak the mind of a die hard, true blue American. While few Americans can connect to him in biography, it is not difficult to connect to him in ideology. Although he does not state his opinion openly, he presents facts that are concise and well picked to bring the reader to a similar conclusion as his own with only an incompetent person seeing a view dissimilar to his. While many persuasive writers attempt to argue based on superior logic, Steyn picks his facts well enough that the reader believes he is drawing his own conclusion, not that they are playing right into Steyn’s hands.

In essence, Steyn does a thorough job bringing the reader to a view similar to his own. Through his reasoning and evidence, Steyn makes a convincing argument that the liberal ideals that non-profit organizations such as Planned Parenthood stand for are really quite nonexistent; likewise, instead of really being concerned about the issue, the leaders of such organizations only have their own personal interests at heart.

Steyn's Article:
http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/komen-338772-planned-parenthood.html

RA Process

I highly disagree with the concept of a Rhetorical Analysis. Though rhetoric is an underlying factor to logic and reasoning, to simplify something so complex as a persuasive analysis into three different types of reasoning is almost offensive. When writing a Rhetorical Analysis, almost all creativity and skill is taken away from the author as he must follow stringent guidelines to fulfill the flawed rubric of the Rhetorical Analysis process. Likewise, I believe it near impossible to write a quality Rhetorical Analysis because it is in such an equation-like format. Since, our instructor has also showed his dislike of the assignment, it is discouraging to be required to complete it.

Review Processes

I like the RA review process more than the Opinion Editorial review process because there was more time to analyze the paper before seeing the author. However, I believe a shortcoming in the RA review was that it was a one way flow of information. The reviewer told the author what he thought and there was little discussion. Sometimes, the author has a good idea, but is not conveying it properly, so a situation arises where the reviewer does not know what the author is trying to say. In all, however, reading a paper aloud, to yourself or to others, helps both the author and reviewer to see mistakes or awkward phrasing.

Another Figure of Literature: Jonathon Swift?

Irony, coincidence, or satire?

I know the answer; but do you?

Figures of Literature: Hemmingway, Twain, and Shakespeare

Hyperbole: Mark Steyn takes the most ridiculous of situations (though yes, it happened) and uses that as an example of what our world is coming to. When he describes the illegality of anti-gay sentiment in Sweden and the incidence of a Catholic school being required to allow a same-sex date at prom, he portrays an idea of commonality, not obscure events.
Irony: Steyn first talks of the "tolerance" of today but then highlights how intolerant the tolerant people are towards those who disagree with them. Later, he makes a joke about getting beat up because of not jumping on the "band-wagon" of diversity which shows how increasingly ironic the concept of acceptance and freedom has become.
Rhetorical question: Though not explicitly stated, Steyn seems to encourage the reader to ask several questions along the lines of "How diverse are we as a society, really?" "What is the real goal of the people running 'non-profit' organizations?" and really, "What is our world coming to?"

http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/komen-338772-planned-parenthood.html

RA Thesis Number 1

In his article "Komen Has its Awareness Raised," Mark Steyn makes use of rhetorical devices such as humor, tone, and irony to show how the post modern diversity and tolerance movement are just an illusion to mask an increasingly intolerant and uniform ideals of organizations such as Planned Parenthood and the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Steyn cites evidence and makes assertions to increase his credibility and repeatability to the reader.

Possibilities

http://www.ocregister.com/opinion/komen-338772-planned-parenthood.html

This is an interesting article written by Mark Steyn regarding breast cancer and the feminist movement. In his own way, he sums up what many social conservatives (who are not anti-women) feel about how it is "cool" to "support the cause" and how the whole breast cancer thing is more about clothes and ribbons than actually being useful.

http://universe.byu.edu/index.php/2011/12/01/viewpoint-hows-it-hangin/ 

This article amused me because of how relate-able it was and wasn't simultaneously. I was also born in 1991, but I remember the shows and fads spoken of only as reruns and out of style. When I first read this article, I wanted to look up actual air dates, but couldn't justify wasting the time. Well now I can...

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/03/opinion/why-we-shouldnt-attack-syria-yet.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss 

Lastly, this article strikes me as interesting because it shows two sides of America: the compassionate and the mind-your-own-business side. In Syria, there is much wondering of how the political situation will turn out. While some foreign policy such as Jefferson's invasion of Tripoli during the First Barbary War to stop pirates attacking civilian US ships, other instances such as the Bay of Pigs and the Vietnam Conflict have turned into fiascoes. We are at a crossroads now when we decide what the UN (or rather, the US in disguise, be it fiscally or physically) will do in Syria.

OpEd in Review

Though i like the idea of an opinion editorial, the most frustrating thing for me was going to the writing center. Though some viable suggestions were made, I feel that some suggestions were not applicable to my paper. Frankly, I didn't want to change how I wrote my OpEd because it was just that--my OpEd. I acknowledge that the mentor at the writing center had an outside opinion on my paper, but I disagree with a few of his suggestions and politely ignored them. Other than that incident, I felt the OpEd was an assignment worth doing. Though I come from a Ford family, my favorite car and pride and joy is a Porsche 924. It amused me to talk down on other manufacturers and I think, as a future attorney, that this skill is something I need to develop. All in all, I had fun and am looking forward to the next assignment.