Sarah Chadwick, a Parkland shooting survivor, recently made a video titled “Students Have Had Enough”, mimicking Dana Loesch’s “NRA Has Had Enough” video, a commercial for NRA TV. The two draw obvious parallels in format, but their rhetoric offers plenty of comparisons. Loesch, a spokeswoman for the NRA, represents conservatives “fed up with [the leftist] agenda” Chadwick advocates for progressive Americans who wish to see gun reform. Both speakers have large fallacies regarding context and evidence, but extremely effective emotional appeals. Even though their lack of evidence might not be appropriate for an academic audience, their personas and approaches were successful for their specific audiences. Loesch’s video was all about power, patriotism, …show more content…
She also kept with an us versus them mentality. Like Loesch she was speaking literally to one person, but implicitly to another. She spoke literally to the NRA and its members and implicitly to those in favor of gun reform. She did not look as powerful or polished as Loesch, but one could perceive her plain, unpolished appearance as relatable. In contrast to Loesch, it’s clear that not a lot of money went into shooting Chadwick’s video. Most people don’t have the money to make commercials or look like Dana Loesch. Chadwick’s video makes people feel like they are right there with her. Also, her very humble and unpolished appearance made her harsh words even more impactful. She views the NRA, and everyone associated with them as corrupt and assumes her audience feels the same. She claimed that the NRA has an “agenda to undermine the safety of our nation’s youth and the individual voices of the American people.” Her audience would find it admirable that she picked a fight with the NRA spokeswoman whereas conservatives might write her off as easily offended and a snowflake. Like Loesch, Chadwick’s rhetoric came off as supporting and strong to her audience. She used what could be interpreted as an attack to draw attention to the parkland shooting and the need for gun reform while calling out the NRA and its
In 102 Minutes, Chapter 7, authors Dwyer and Flynn use ethos, logos, and pathos to appeal to the readers’ consciences, minds and hearts regarding what happened to the people inside the Twin Towers on 9/11. Of particular interest are the following uses of the three appeals.
In the article “Gun Control Can Prevent School Shootings,” Bennett shares the effects of gun violence in the past, present, and future. The Sandy Hook shooting occurred on December 14, 2012 when twenty children and six adult staff members were killed. Barely a month after the shooting, eleven of the families affected by the shooting went to meet privately with Joe Biden, and members from the Congress and cabinet. Bennett stated, “They were preparing to wade into some of the roughest waters in American politics: the gun debate.” President Obama gave a speech in Connecticut vowing to fight for change. And as Bennett put it, “Members of Congress started acting as parents instead of politicians.” Bennett explained to the families that they couldn't get rid of assault weapons or high capacity ammunition magazines, no matter how bad the shooting was. The families got angry and stated they did not want to know what they couldn't do, but what they could do to honor their children.
Michael Moore’s documentary, “Bowling for Columbine,” attempts to expose the truth of gun violence in the United States of America. While his argument is persuasive, its impact is lessened with his use of logical fallacies, such as hasty generalization, post hoc, and appeal to doubtful authority. Moore’s film is thrillingly entertaining, but it is hard to look past the gaping holes in some of his logic.
Throughout the course of this novel, Ishmael Beah keeps the readers on the edge of their seat by incorporating interchanging tones. At the beginning of the novel, the tone can be depicted as naïve, for Beah was unaware to what was actually occurring with the rebels. Eventually, the tone shifts to being very cynical and dark when he depicts the fighting he has endured both physically and mentally. However, the most game changing tone is towards the end of the novel in chapters nineteen and twenty. His tone can be understood as independent or prevailing. It can be portrayed as independent because Beah learns how to survive on his own and to take care of himself. At the same time, it is perceived as prevailing and uplifting because Beah was able to demonstrate that there is hope. Later in the novel, Beah travels to
Chase Mielke’s spoken word piece, “What Students Really Need to Hear”, shines many lights on the purpose of school and how students contribute to said purpose. There are a myriad of important points, although the central idea stands out above all. More specifically, the idea that the point of school is not to memorize facts, but to learn how to deal with difficult times properly. He writes, “It is your resilience in conquering the main event- adversity- that truly prepares you for life after school.” Mielke illustrates this concept using rhetorical devices such as pathos, or emotions. Simply, the author’s use of pathos emphasizes the idea that school’s ‘main event’ is to instruct students on how to keep moving in the face of seemly insurmountable harshness.
In “Confessions of a Liberal Gun Owner”, Justin Cronin identifies himself and his political beliefs as “devoutly liberal” (203). However, Cronin’s ideals transcend political affiliation when it comes to the issue of gun ownership. Among the reasons Cronin gives for his pro-gun stance – generally reserved for conservatives - is “the seductive psychological power” (204) of a gun as well as the safety and welfare of his family. It is those desires – rooted deep in Cronin’s psyche – that drive an otherwise steadfast liberal to support the basis of a conservative agenda.
In 1729, Jonathan Swift published a pamphlet called “A Modest Proposal”. It is a satirical piece that described a radical and humorous proposal to a very serious problem. The problem Swift was attacking was the poverty and state of destitution that Ireland was in at the time. Swift wanted to bring attention to the seriousness of the problem and does so by satirically proposing to eat the babies of poor families in order to rid Ireland of poverty. Clearly, this proposal is not to be taken seriously, but merely to prompt others to work to better the state of the nation. Swift hoped to reach not only the people of Ireland who he was calling to action, but the British, who were oppressing the poor. He writes with contempt for those who are oppressing the Irish and also dissatisfaction with the people in Ireland themselves to be oppressed.
The Techniques of Michael Moore in Bowling For Columbine to Present the Message on Gun Control
In this article the author Fawn Johnson gives us a brief look of what goes on during the great gun control debate. This article gives us a look at the gun control proposals, from American’s not bein...
And you would be absolutely right to be distressed over something like that. During a television episode of The Daily Show in 2013, John Oliver interviews Philip Van Cleave of the Virginia Citizens Defence League. Oliver ands Van Cleave a small paper stop sign that reads “2nd Amendment” and instructs Van Cleave to “hold it up whenever I make a suggestion you think is an infringement upon your second amendment rights.” Oliver goes on to list three things: assault weapons ban, increased background checks, and a mandatory one hour waiting period if you buy a gun. Van Cleave raises the sign after every suggestion claiming, “at the end of the day, none of it works.” Oliver then goes on to cite the time in 1996 when Australia’s conservative Prime Minister, John Howard implemented a mandatory gun buyback across the country. The former Prime Minister also reports that in the eighteen years before the gun ban, there were a total of thirteen massacres, but in all the years since there has not been a single occurrence. He later goes on to report that gun related homicides have gone down by 50-60% and that youth suicides involving guns has decreased dramatically. When Oliver relays this information to Van Cleave, he seems to have lost his ability to argue with him and keeps
A man by the name of Sean Faircloth, who is an author, an attorney, and a five-term state legislator from Maine; went against Sam Harris to give his own beliefs on the ordeal. Faircloth also wrote an article for The Week in response to Harris titled, “Why more guns won’t make us safer” in which he claims that Harris neglected the two largest problems involving gun-violence. Faircloth believes that Harris failed to acknowledge the substantial issue of gun-related domestic violence against women, and the success of gun-control legislation in foreign countries. Utilizing statistics, real world examples, and his own logic; Faircloth goes in depth with his core arguments. He wrote his article to dissuade the readers of Sam Harris’s article that “Why I own guns” lacks
"How the Gun-Rights Lobby Won After Newtown." PBS. PBS, 10 Dec. 2013. Web. 12 Dec. 2013.
Although my voting patterns have become somewhat more conservative in recent years, I remain in my heart of hearts a 1960s Humphrey Democrat concerned with the plight of those most vulnerable in American society-minorities, the poor, the elderly, and single women-groups whose day-to-day realities are often overlooked in our public policy debates, people whose lives too often go unnoticed by our intellectually timid chattering classes. This is happening in the public debate over the right to bear arms. For the nation’s elites, the Second Amendment has become the Rodney Dangerfield of the Bill of Rights, constantly attacked by editorial writers, police chiefs seeking scapegoats, demagoging politicians, and most recently even by Rosie O’Donnell, no less. It is threatened by opportunistic legislative efforts, even when sponsors acknowledge their proposed legislation would have little impact on crime and violence.
Rostron, Allen, and Brian Siebel. "No Gun Left Behind: The Gun Lobby's Campaign to Push Guns into Colleges and Schools." Www.bradycampaign.org. N.p.: Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, 2007. 9-11. Rpt. in Juvenile Crime. Ed. Louise I. Gerdes. Detroit: Greenhaven, 2012. Opposing Viewpoints. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 31 Mar. 2014.
I believe that the purpose of education is to produce the next generation of leaders who are intelligent and have great character. This idea is supported in the article “The Purpose of Education” by Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King Jr. was a civil rights activist who fought for black and white people to have equal rights in America. He writes about the true purpose, and meaning of education in the article by saying, “Education must enable one to sift and weigh evidence, to discern the true from the false, the real from the unreal, and the facts from the fiction (MLK1).” This quote from the article explains that being academically educated is very important. It will help people stand up, be a leader, and take charge to make the world a better place for everyone. That gallant leader will argue against the fallacy, lies,