Ignorance is not bliss, its annoying.

Just because you say you are something, or have experienced it does not make you an expert.  I know that I personally get frustrated with people who use this expected authority to try to make certain things go their way.  The book uses the example “Well, I’m a Catholic and so I ought to know that Catholic position on abortion.”  When people make statements like this, is usually makes them look ignorant.

                This is not the case 100 percent of the time, however.  If the pope were to say this, I would be much more willing to accept it as the truth.  He has earned his authority and his word is much more believable than a 15 year old who just wants to seem intelligent.  Arguments like these have to have a good amount of kairos and come from the right person to be believable.  I, personally, do not put too much weight on arguments based off a person's experiences unless the person is a trustworthy source that has proven them self repeatedly.

                Most of the time shallow arguments made by people that do not know what they are talking about are easily refuted.  A little bit of evidence, opposite of what they are arguing usually is enough to quiet them.

ANGRY!

An appeal to anger:

You did everything right.  You asked relevant questions, you met with your professor for help, you studied for 4 hours every night for two weeks.  When you went to take that test you were confident in your ability to do well and you were sure that you secured that A.  You answered every question carefully and paid much attention to detail.

When you get your test back, it is not what you expected.  There are red pen marks everywhere.  A large “C” is written in the right hand corner.  You feel your face getting hot and sweaty.  It is not fair, not at all.  You did everything that you possibly could yet you still did not achieve the grade you deserved.  It is almost if the professor gets joy in her students’ misfortunes.  Teachers like this must be stopped.

An appeal to shame would be effective when talking about going green.  “Think about what your children are going to be dealing with because you have not made an effort to protect the environment.”

An appeal to compassion would work when talking about those who are considered less fortunate.  The long advertisements on television promoting Americans to support children in third world countries use an appeal to compassion.

Many who practice religion and want others to join them use an appeal to hopelessness.  “You are hurting and don’t know the way…  Come to religion xyz so that you may become found and you will not be hopeless anymore.”

BAD ethos....

OMG!

So the other day I was at work when whats her name started started talking and she would not shut up.  She was talking about her love of the environment and how much the office sucks about recycling and all that crap.  She was like criticizing us for not being like her.  How fair is that? Like seriously?  It’s not cool for her to judge us just because she has a stupid belief that no one else cares about.  Why should we be lectured when its her fault in the first place that she has to judge.  I don’t even know that much about going green or whatever but it seems stupid.  There is no way that I will ever do that so she better just shut up.

-Angry Co worker

Remember when...

I remember when I was first asked the definition of the word “rhetoric”.  I was only a freshman in Composition 102 and I had no idea what it meant.  The best I could come up with was that it was the “fluff” that politicians used to make people vote for them. 

As I went on in that class, and eventually onto other higher level classes, I have learned what rhetoric is and what it takes to be a rhetorician.  Though I cannot use one line or even many more to describe the true meaning of rhetoric, I would say that it is the art of speaking, writing, and arguing.  Rhetoric is used in every aspect of life.  From winning an argument against your spouse/parent to backing up a point in a master’s thesis, the art of rhetoric is essential to master.

It is a beautiful thing as well.  Have you ever been taken back by a speech given by a true rhetorician?  I know that in my life there have been times when I am truly amazed by the power of one’s words.  Whether the words are used to hurt, to help, or to praise, they are most definitely powerful. 
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Common-Place Cheating

PROLOGUE:   Cheating in not accepted in an academic setting.  This holds true from kindergarten all the way through college.  In college, though, students receive much harsher punishment if they are found cheating.

CONTRARY:  Rules about cheating are present in academic communities because the act of cheating does not benefit anyone.   Students who show that they can complete their assigned work without having to take from outside sources are the ones that really succeed in school.

EXPOSITION:  However, it is those that feel the need to take the works of others and pass it off as their own work that do not succeed.  By “cheating the system”, they are really just cheating themselves.

COMPARISON:  When a student cheats on a test or paper, it is as if they are showing their professor that they have not ethics and morals, and that they do not respect authority.

INTENTION:  Most people who cheat in an academic environment do so because they feel that it will be easier than doing the work, and they believe that there is not possibility of being caught.

DIGRESSION:  A person that cheats is not learning the things required to make it through their course of study.   There future, in that sense, is not bright, because they will struggle through life trying to cheat off others rather than accomplishing anything by themselves.  No one likes a person like this.

REJECTION OF PITY:  It seems easy to try to justify the reasons that a person cheated.  Maybe the cheater lacked a sound code of ethics because of his or her upbringing, or the stress of college and just life in general FORCED them to want to do well and eventually cheat.  These reasons, and the many others that come to mind, are not reason to cheat.  Leaders in institutions cannot condone the act of cheating, because in the end, it just leads to and understanding by students that it is ok to cheat.

LEGALITY:  If praise is given to those who are honest and do good work, then, along those lines, criticism should be given to those that are not honest and turn to cheating.

JUSTICE:  It is therefore just that those who are found cheating be dealt with according to university rules and not overlooked.

ADVANTAGE:  Catching and punishing those who cheat will cause other students to realize that cheating rules should not be overlooked. 

POSSIBILITY:  New technology is making it easier to catch those who cheat.  It is the duty of each professor to punish those guilty of this.

Chapter 3, Rhetorical Activity

I chose a recent editorial in the Pueblo Chieftain.  There were not many to pick one so I settled on one that was about the El Centro del Quinto Sol on Pueblo’s east side.  Recently, this center has lost its director and the city is unsure about what to do with the center.  The person who wrote the article argues that La Gente, a program that runs youth events, should get to manage the center.  

This argument rests at Conjecture, and needs detailed information about the history of La Gente programs in order to further the argument.The writer is attacking the others who think that the center should be handled by the city’s parks and recreation department or some other organization other than La Gente.  Also, the author says that just because the director of La Gente has some familial ties with the Council President, some are not approving of La Gente, even though, in the author’s opinion, it would be the best choice to take over the center.  The writer can achieve stasis with his opponents given the way he has stated his issue and the ground on which he has taken his stand.


Link to Editorial

Chapter 2, Rhetorical Activity

Gun control is a very pertinent issue in America today. It is more important at times, like when there is a mass killing like Columbine or the Virginia Tech Shootings, but it has definitely not fizzled out. The kairos has changed as many new state laws come into play. In 2008, when the elections were going on, gun control was an issue that had importance to the voters. Below are a few articles that show that Gun control is still a controversial subject in America.

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=9628490

http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/hunting/news/story?id=4845612

http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/01/19/obama-gets-failing-grades-from-gun-control-group/

http://www.wtkr.com/news/dp-va--xgr-virginia-guns0118jan18,0,7556256.story

http://www.salem-news.com/articles/january202010/2nd_amd_dj.php

One of the ways to see if an issue is relevant to modern culture is to look at different forms of communication. At this time, a very popular way to express ones opinions is to do what I’m doing right now – blog. There are a considerable number of bloggers that are mentioning about gun control. I have listed those links below.

http://onemansthoughts.wordpress.com/2010/01/21/vermonts-answer-to-gun-control/

http://www.createdebate.com/debate/show/Gun_Control_7

http://rightwingnews.com/2010/01/dc-proves-gun-control-laws-work-for-criminals/

http://www.americablog.com/2010/01/gun-control-groups-give-obama-f-im-not.html

http://www.covenantnews.com/ronpaul/archives/065303.html