An Uprising from Oregon to Tennessee

Bruce Vanwyngarden, an opinion writer for the Memphis Flyer, in his article "Making Tennessee Great Again!"(Jan. 7th, 2016), claims that he will holdup the Big Hill Pond State Park in response to his disgust with the Tennessee Politicians. He supports this assertion by satirically setting up parallels between his holdup and the Oregon Militia Standoff. His main goal is to create a fictional situation of him holding up a state park in order to shed light on how absurd the Oregon Militia Standoff is. He creates an entertaining relationship with audience who are probably just as outraged and amused at his actions and the actions of the Oregon Militia.

The Oregon Militia Standoff at first comes off as amusing. Here we have a bunch of cattle ranchers holding up a bird watching house, screaming for justice and freedom. Do they actually think they can make a difference? Does anyone care that a bird watching center is being occupied? In truth, their motives are important. They are standing up for the injustice felt by the Hammond family. Two of their family members are being charged for terrorism, but in fact, they only set crops on fire to stop a massive wildfire. The US Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Land Management have been after this family for a while. On top of that, they have harmed many ranchers in the area as well. Ammon Bundy, the leader of the militia, deemed the incitement of the Hammond family as the last straw. Although his methods look radical, he is receiving attention, which is the main goal. It doesn't really matter where he occupies, as long as he is getting media coverage. The government and people need to be aware of the unfair treatment. These ranchers have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars to the FWS and BLM. They have every right to rebel, and I don't think this situation should be taken lightly. 

SRC on Resilience

Summary: In her article, "The Profound Emptiness of Resilience," Parul Sehgal ascertains that people tend to blame real social problems on lack of resilience and character. She discussed how nowadays government agencies and universities include in their mission goals the idea of resilience. However, people tend to think that college students are weak and need parents, which is pretty much saying that they lack resilience. Sehgal said that the use of guidance counselors at schools has almost doubled. Students are simply more emotional and let things get to them. However, we can't let this fact cloud our judgement regarding racial issues in school settings. Just because the students are more emotionally weak, does not mean that racial harassment isn't occurring as often. There is now a new form of resilience were these students have started to speak up against racial discrimination. They are being resilient by continually making a stand and growing as a result of their grit.

Response: Many of Parul Sehgal's points resounded with me because after all, this city of Memphis has been built on grit and grind. We strive to get better each day and go through trials and tribulations to reach success. However, Memphis still faces issues of racism as well. There is a large amount of division between different classes and races. Therefore, I think that we shouldn't look at college student's stands for racism as emotional weakness, but rather as resilience to push for a better and equal country. In Facing History and Ourselves, we strive to speak out, break down barriers, and remain resilient in these dark times. There have been countless police shootings against black civilians, which shows how out of touch two races can be. The powers of grit and grind have to be put to work to ensure an end of discrimination.

Citation:
Sehgal, Parul. "The Profound Emptiness of ‘Resilience’." The New York Times. The New York Times        Company, 1 Dec. 2015. Web. 7 Dec. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/magazine/the-        profound-emptiness-of-resilience.html?_r=1>.

Last Lincoln Blog

Abraham Lincoln, the 16th President of the United States, in his Second Inaugural Address, claims that the South caused the war, and due to differences on both sides, the war was simply unavoidable. Lincoln supports this assertion by first summarizing the causes of the war, and then discussing his hope for reconstruction of the South. His main goal is to show the South as the producer of the war and depict how their future will look like, whether with vengeance or rebuilding. He uses a strong voice to address the whole country, but specifically calls out the South. 

Upon reading Lincoln’s speech, I found a few points that resounded with me. Lincoln points to the South as the perpetrators and calls for the blood of slavery to be redeemed. This was a strong statement, and at first glance, it seems that the South has two options: win and live or lose and die. Luckily, Lincoln doesn’t leave them out in the dry because he offers a solution to their troubles, which is “to bind up the nation’s wounds.” One of the most important traits in a leader is to fix the enemy and not neutralize them. This task is not an easy one because as we have seen in history, sometimes a nuclear bomb gets the job done. However, sometimes coming to an even ground with the enemy allows a chance to reach peace. Lincoln wants to “win the peace,” and this characteristic defines him as a good leader.

The Power of Drones

Gail Collins, an Op- Ed columnist for the New York Times, in her article “Dreading those Drones”(October 30, 2015), asserts that although drones can be used for recreational activities, they have the capability to put safety at risk. Collins supports this claim by first differentiating between toy airplanes and drones in accordance with the Federal Aviation Administration and discussing examples of drones harming safety in sports complexes, airports, and jails. Her main goal is to prove that drones need to be regulated in order to ensure security. She creates a relationship between her and anyone who might have or might want a drone by sharing the dangers of a simple flying device and urging the government to make regulations.

After reading Gail Collins’s response to drones, I discovered that although she may have made some good points, her overall logic is flawed. She claimed that drones are dangerous because they have gotten in the way of fires, have attempted to give weapons to prisoners, and have the ability to take pictures of anything from the air. Her points are valid, but she never mentioned the good that drones can do as well. They can be used to help intelligence organizations put bad people behind bars and can fight wars without having to send any troops to another country. It could help by sending medical supplies to hospitals, not just sending knives to a prison. In my opinion, the drawbacks of the drone do not outweigh the potential it has for success. Do the cons really outweigh the pros?

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/31/opinion/dreading-those-drones.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

Lincoln Blog: Possible Uprising

     The American government and how people react to its decisions have not changed from the times of its creation. People tend to lose patience with the direction the government is taking, and lose faith in what it stands for. Lincoln in his speech discussed how overtime the lack of faith in a government can push people “who love tranquility” to “become tired of… a Government that offers no protection.” The start of this process is when laws are disregarded and people don’t have the energy to fight for justice anymore. Right now in America, the situation is at a point where people are losing hope in their government as well. There have been a few government shutdowns in the past few years due to issues with the budget. The end of the fiscal year came and went without a set budget. This resulted with a government shutdown, and certain programs were put in limbo. The current Americans today are on a similar path to that of the people in the angry mob that killed Elijah Lovejoy in 1838, due to impatience with government procedures.
     Lincoln stated a step by step in which normal people change into people that are “unrestrained.” Slowly as laws slide and crumble, people who would “spill their own blood in defense of their country” find themselves in dangerous situations. Their protection is forgotten, and their property is laid to waste. Once this occurs, these good citizens give up and feel no debt towards their country. These people lost sight of how special it is to be an American. They forgot about how much sacrifice has gone into its creation. They chose to mob, rather than to fight for change and liberty.
     The situation that current Americans are facing seems almost identical to what Lincoln was discussing. Many people have lost hope due to an increasing debt and an inactive government. The government is divided with the House controlled by Republicans and the Executive Branch controlled by Democrats. They have different goals, which lead to inconsistent budgets and turmoil. Before long, we will probably start to forget about tranquility and “pray for nothing so much, as its total annihilation.” Luckily, we are only in the early states of a revolt. Hopefully with time the government will be able to fix the issues, make every citizen feel important, and ensure protection.

Charles M. Blow: Thoughts on Terrorism

Charles M. Blow, an Op- Ed columnist for the New York Times, in his article “Police Abuse Is a Form of Terrorism”(August 12, 2015), claims that terrorism in the setting of Jihadists and extremists is no different than police officers attacking black citizens for no reason. He supports this by discussing the difference between state and community violence in regards to blacks fighting blacks and cops fighting blacks, depicting the feeling of nakedness due to lack of protection, and calling on the black community to respond to the violence like America responded to terrorism. His purpose of discussing the different types of violence is in order to explain how terrorism is synonymous with unfair black treatment. His logical approach to end the police attacks reach out to the black community giving them the right to protect themselves.

Charles M. Blow made many points about how similar terrorism is to black injustice, but I disagree with his solution to the problem. He seems to be suggesting that just like we as a country fought against the terrorists of 9/11, blacks should be able to defend against the police. This idea seems to be fighting violence with violence, which results in more violence. His answer to Americans killing Americans is simply unrealistic and irrational. Peaceful lobbying and other forms of peaceful government participation are better options. Cops are still in the fault for assuming that people of a certain race are guilty without attempting a crime. They have to be put in their place, but not with violence. The problem of police attacking blacks has to be stopped, but there are better ways of going about this.

Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/opinion/police-abuse-is-a-form-of-terror.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Fcharles-m-blow&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=collection&_r=0

Mac vs PC Rhetorical Analysis of Commercial

Apple, a computer software company, in its commercial “Choose a Vista” (2007), argues that Apple’s software package encompasses everything you need in one computer, while Windows has many different options, none of which combine product and price like Apple. They develop this claim by comparing the different Windows options to a spin wheel, in which there is no perfect option, while the Apple representative sits content with the software he has. The purpose of the author is to put down Windows in order to highlight the flawless Apple package, with the ultimate purpose of selling Apple computers. The audience is all consumers, and Apple tries to establish a trust relationship by using humor which appeals to pathos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Yt30wrbl4

(commercial starts at 1:30 and ends at 2:00)