Example Of Ethos Pathos Logos

1168 Words3 Pages

“The Misguided Zeal of the Privacy Lobby” was written in 1999 by Alan Ehrenhalt in an attempt to persuade readers that national I.D. cards are necessary to get the job done. Ehrenhalt is a journalist with a master’s degree from Columbia University who worked as a reporter and wrote for The New York Times. Ehrenhalt explains that citizens are too obsessed with the idea of personal privacy to realize that national I.D. cards would protect them from being thrown. In fact, Ehrenhalt thinks “privacy is the single most overrated issue in the entire lexicon of public policy- state, local, federal, or any place else.” Ehrenhalt uses words that are easy to understand, which leads one to believe that this article doesn’t target specific individuals or …show more content…

Perhaps the most effective use of rhetorical appeals in the article is the author’s use of ethos. Ehrenhalt begins the article by providing the reader with his social security number. The author then explains that he is confident readers do not care about his personal information, and he has no secrets to hide when it comes to his social security number. This statement is an effective use of ethos, as it establishes that Ehrenhalt believes in what he is saying. Ehrenhalt goes on to admit that governments have misused citizens’ personal data in the past, but it is not a pattern in a civilized country like the United States. Ehrenhalt also acknowledges that the statistics about the cost of fake identities may have been exaggerated. Statements like these can make the reader feel like Ehrenhalt is fair and reasonable, because he is introducing flaws in his argument rather than hiding them. In contrast, Ehrenhalt fails to establish credibility for Amitai Etzioni, an author referenced in the article. Ehrenhalt claims Etzioni is “a reasonable man,” but provides no background information and causes readers to question the accuracy of Etzioni’s

More about Example Of Ethos Pathos Logos

Open Document