TOW #19 - 9/11 Address to the Nation

George Bush's powerful 9/11 address was perhaps the most important speech in this century. He had to comfort Americans, build their morale, and drive them towards defeating terrorism. He was largely successful in doing so, however time has poked holes in his argument. The gleaming rhetoric of the speech has rotted away and time brings out the fundamental flaws that started here.  The most fundamental problem with the speech was the claim that America would continue to be a beacon of freedom for the world. This is far from true. In our own nation, we have the restrictive Patriot Act that allows the government to spy on it's own citizens, and even an FBI case now calls for the government to have an ability to get a back door into iOS. Overseas, we forcefully broke into Iraq, violating the freedom of it's citizens, to looks for weapons of mass destruction, which we never found, but planted seeds of hatred for America in Middle Easterners. Now, we use drones to take out ISIS targets, and kill many innocents in the process. This is far from freedom, as we decided multiple innocent human lives were not worth the life of one evil person. America is no longer the beacon of freedom stated before, but a beacon of oppression and cruelty, one that actually leads many to extremism. The eloquent simplicity of George Bush's brief address seemed to be in unanimous agreement, but the way in which it's goals were carried out contradicted the very hopeful nature of the speech.

TOW #18 - The Supremely Old, Supremely Sharp, Supreme Court

Ryan Park, author at the Atlantic, explored the ironic nature of ageism in his article, the Supremely Old, Supremely Sharp, Supreme court. The article explores the sharpness of all of the judges on the supreme court, and shows how ironic this is because of their age. In this article, the author uses logical reasoning and expert evidence in order to show the ironic nature of ageism in America. When talking about the supreme court upholding a law in Missouri forcibly retiring Judges after the age of 70, it shows that Justice Ginsberg, age 83, chose to support that law. If she was smart enough to make this decision, then why did she contradict her own position? The supreme court is an obviously able group of people, Scalia was bright and aware until the day he died, and they too are generally quite old. Park quotes a professor at the University of Edinburgh to show that people who are smart as children maintain their intelligence throughout their life, showing why the supreme court justices are still as bright as they are. This article questions why the laws are the way that they are, and shows counterexamples as to why they are wrong. In this way the argument is successful. The author shows the contradictory nature of the court, and wants them to change their policies. By showing the intelligence of the supreme court and their age, the author brings into question the validity of their decision - why do they encourage the ageist policies established in places like Missouri? Nevertheless, the author was successful, and wrote a great article contradicting the decision of the supreme court.

TOW #17 - La Jeune Fille a la Fleur

La Jeune Fille a la Fleur is an utterly beautiful image taken by Marc Riboud, showing a young woman protesting the Vietnam War planting a flower on the bayonet of a solider. This image is incredibly powerful, and went on to represent the flower power movement, showing what a little beauty and peace can really do to positively affect the future. The image accurately portrays the ideals of the flower power music by using a whimsical color scheme, stark juxtaposition, and powerful symbols. The color scheme of the whole image is a bit blurred, but very bright, and has many pastels. It seems hopeful, if a bit sad at the same time. The reality of fighting against war is a somber one that would take a great deal of time to accomplish, and the color schematics of this image truly reflect this. This palette is perpetuated by a unique juxtaposition. Nervous soldiers dressed in all black point their bayonets to a woman not in fear, but dreamily attempting to convert them, and the comparison almost seems startling. This juxtaposition shows what the flower power movement wanted to change, the military and wars in general, and how differently they approached it than a military would. The last piece, perhaps the most powerful, is the flower. It is the focal point of the image, and became a symbol of the flower power movement, change through beauty, peace, and harmony. La Jeune Fille a la Fleur is an incredibly powerful image, and the rhetorical message truly pervades it.