An Argumentative Editorial

When I started reading this article, "An Absence of Leadership" in the New York Times, I thought it was going to have a poor argument. The opening sentence is; "It took President Bush until Wednesday night to address the American people about the nation’s financial crisis, and pretty much all he had to offer was fear itself." This is a very opiniated statement, and was not backed up by many facts. For those like me that did not see President Bush address the nation and supposedly offer fear, it would have been very helpful facts to serve as logical evidence. Later in the article, the author does show how Bush offers fear, by saying "our entire economy is at danger (if Congress does not pass his bailout plan.)" It would have been helpful for including evidence at the beginning, to make the reader want to read more.

Personally, I first became interested in the article when the author brought into consideration Barack Obama and John McCain's reactions to the financial crisis. "Given Mr. Bush’s shockingly weak performance, the only ones who could provide that are the two men battling to succeed him. So far, neither John McCain nor Barack Obama is offering that leadership." I have been reading so many articles that are either pro Obama or Pro McCain. I have seen many articles that point out all the things that one of the candidates is doing wrong. It is refreshing to have a unique viewpoint on the well-discussed subject of the upcoming election. I agree with the author's statement that "What makes it especially frustrating is that this crisis should provide each man a chance to explain his economic policies and offer a concrete solution to the current crisis." The article is very strong in logical evidence with direct quotes from Obama and McCain's response to the financial crisis. The article also uses ethical/emotional evidence when it mentions that the increase in taxes are coming out of our pocketbooks, and that Bush's current plan does nothing to improve the taxes for most Americans. People who are taxpayers (everyone) can relate to this and will feel like their taxes should improve and thus want to agree with the article's argument.

Are they really sixteen?

While watching the Olympics this summer, many people (including myself) were shocked at how young the Chinese gymnasts looked. "There's no way those girls are sixteen!" I would hear people comment. An Article in the NY times addresses both sides' arguments about whether or not the gymasts are sixteen. While reading this article, I noticed that some points of either sides' arguments were either strong or weak in logic (logos).

photo: He Kexin in the middle with a gold medal for uneven bars

Bela Karolyi, a coach to both US and Romanian countries argued that the gymnasts are not sixteen. He pointed out that it was easy for the government "of an authoritarian country to alter paperwork," and say that the girls are 16 on their passports. He also used the fact that the girls still have their baby teeth as evidence. I think this is very logical, because people lose most of their baby teeth when they are 16. He also points out that the passports could have been changed, and the passports were the only evidence provided in support that the girls were sixteen. However, Steve Penny, President of the USA gymnastics did not have a logical argument. He pointed out that in email messages and internet chat rooms, gymnast He Kexin was said to be 14. Chat rooms, email messages, and Wikipedia (also mentioned in this argument) are not valid sources, and therefore make the argument seem illogical.

The Chinese officials responded to this argument by providing the New York Times with copies of the passports that say the girls are 16. This is logical evidence, because a passport is an official document. However, the online records and 2007 National registration lists say that He is 14. This is also logical evidence, because the registration for the gymnasts must be correct in order for them to compete.

This argument is a proposal argument, and begs the question "What actions should be taken?" (see pg 27 of Everything is An Argument). I think that the argument plays an emotional concern to many other countries teams. By having younger gymnasts, the Chinese team has an advantage because the younger gymnasts can perform tricks easier and are psychologically less worried. Therefore, I think the argument should be investigated more on both sides, and I would suggest that the arguers strengthen their logical evidence. Right now, there are not enough correct facts to determine one side as the truth.

Pilgrims Close To Home

I have been very interested in the Pilgrims ever since we learned in class that they were the first group to set up a democracy. I came across a news article in the Chicago Tribune about a Pilgrim Baptist Church on the South Side of Chicago being renovated. The Bronzeville Church was built in 1891, and it was destroyed when workers rebuilding the roof accidentally set it on fire. Fortunately, there are many artifacts and photos salvaged from the fire. They will use the artifacts and photos to replicate the church, in addition to building a social services building and a cultural center on the same ground. This Church is also historically significant because it was the home to the African-American gospel movement in Chicago. It continues to play an important role in the community today because of its historical significance.

I think it is great that they are restoring this Church, because both the Pilgrims' journey and the Gospel movement are important historical events. The article also mentions that this Church is an architectural marvel, and rebuilding it will be a window into the past. I am glad that they are also building a cultural center to educate people about the history and culture of the people who used to live in the Church.
I also think it interesting how the Church was first used by the Pilgrims, then used as a synagogue, then used by African Americans. This shows that no matter what race or religion people are, they all want a place to pray, and look to the Church during perilous times. The article mentions that this Church is very significant for families whose ancestors went there, and I think rebuilding it will help connect those people with their past.

Palin's Campaign: Gossip Takes Over

Recently, Sara Palin was featured on the cover of gossip magazine US weekly with an article titled "Babies, Lies, and Scandal." Inside the article, Palin's family life is described as "new, embarrassing surprises." "Within hours of McCain's surprise introduction of the little-known, charismatic mother of five as his running mate, the scandals began to emerge as quickly as flies at a labor day picnic." This statement mentions nothing of relevance to the election or McCain's decision to pick Palin as his running mate. Instead it is focusing on the gossip element, which in my opinion, has no relevance to the actual voting in November. Later in the article is a spread of photos mocking Palin's lack of experience, with pictures of her hunting caribou, participating in the Miss Alaska Pageant, and sitting in her office with furs on the wall. Inexperience is a legitimate concern for the candidates, but there is no need to make fun of her past or personal hobbies, which have absolutely no relevance to her ability to be a good vice president.

In class, we discussed the importance of having multiple perspectives to a story, like in Reservation Blues. This is important, but having a narrow-minded gossip perspective of politics is crossing a line. While I don't doubt that some people may be uneasy with Palin's lack of experience, her personal life should not play a decisive factor in whether or not people vote for her. Personally, I admire Palin's honesty in eventually admitting to the public that her 17 year old daughter Bristol is pregnant. "We're proud of Bristol's decision to have her baby, and even prouder to become grandparents." Palin is doing nothing politically wrong by showing her daughter love and support in this very difficult time, but all the press focuses on in the scandal aspect. This article also uses very unreliable sources for quotes. "as a commenter on yahoo! sniped: "how can Palin help McCain keep America in control when she cant even keep her own daughter in control?"" Using a comment from a website is completely unreliable, because nobody knows who could have made the comment. In addition, this article uses quotes from Levi Johnson (Bristol's Baby's father's) myspace page. There is no way of knowing whether or not these facts are true, because people can claim to be anyone they want to on the internet.

first post

HAYYYYY welcome to my blog!!!
American Studies is the tightest class eva!


Links:
Google
YouTube
Wikipedia