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. 

IRB Intro #3

For my third IRB, I am going to read One Man's Wilderness, a story of a man who journeyed to Alaska and made a life for himself. I chose this book because I think that Alaska is beautiful, and maybe one day I would like to live there, too. I look forward to reading it, and hope to learn a lot about the life he lived in beautiful Alaska.

TOW #16 - IRB

Four Seasons in Rome is one of the most powerful examples of a memoir, a year in the life of Anthony Doerr, an incredibly gifted artist who spends the entire year trying to understand, and failing, the intense complexities of Rome. Anthony Doerr uses vivid imagery and meaningful anecdotes in order to effectively explain his emotions and life when living in Rome. When trying to convey the wonder the city imparts on people, he shows an example of people from Northern Italy who cannot begin to understand the complexities of the city, see: "Far below us is the dark saucer of the Pantheon, the blue tourist balloon at the Villa Borghese, the Vittoriano, the clusters of rooftops: the city... "Ecco Roma!" Here is Rome" (Doerr 195). Again, the power of words are utilized by Doerr. He shows the wonder that the city instills, the beauty of the whole thing, and how in love it makes people feel. Examples like this show how the city imparts itself on it's visitors, how insanely in love it makes them feel. To describe the experiences he feels every day, Doerr says: "At noon Shauna and I sit in the garden eating mozzarella, tomato, and vinegar sandwiches. The breeze is mild. The boys stagger beneath the trees nearby and pick up fallen apricots and occasionally bite into one" (Doerr 191). This little yet beautiful glimpse into the life of Doerr grants the reader an understanding of what he feels, what he does, what he loves. It makes them feel like they are with Doerr, enjoying Rome with him. I would find myself lost in the sea of his description, daydreaming about the beauty aforementioned. Then I knew Doerr was successful, as he truly conveyed how lovely and life altering the experience was to his reader.

TOW #15 - Graphic

This political cartoon displays the massive support that Bernie sanders has from the democratic people. The artist portrays Sanders as someone with a homegrown and people driven campaign, while it shows Hillary on a segway without all the support, more from the corporate interests that she represents. This political cartoon uses a dystopian motif and hyperbolic artwork in order to show to the viewers which presidential hopeful is really following the wishes of the people. The cartoon plays off of the ideas of Mad Max, a violent dystopian film which he feels represents the political race to this point, one that is vicious and filled with barbs. He also shows the support that Bernie has through all of this, the 99% driving him towards the election, with all their humanity, and Clinton riding onward with little to no organic support. The artwork also uses hyperbole. The fact that Bernie is riding with a flaming torch and pitchfork shows how ready he is to reform and hugely change the system that he wishes to become part of. Hillary, on the other hand, seems to be far less ready to reform, and more to continue the current system and not do much to really change it. So yes, this cartoon shows who the people really do support, but also shows what they really stand for Bernie wants to radically change, while Hillary wants to continue, and this cartoon conveys that message excellently.

TOW #14 - Printing Money

To avoid economic stagnation faced by nations like Japan, John Cassidy, who is an esteemed economist journalist, suggests that the US should print money and hand it out to it's citizens. He argues this radical viewpoint with logical reasoning and analogies to convince the reader that his unorthodox idea is the best solution. "helicopter drops, or their electronic equivalent, could provide the Japanese government with a way to lift its economy out of a decade-long slump." (Cassidy 2). Money would be injected into the economy, and activity would explode, leading to a stronger and healthier economy. This idea, at least to many people, would have the opposite effect, but Cassidy uses facts and logic like this to prove them wrong. The economic issue can be solved by printing money, and this story shows the side of one that far too many people neglect. This devil's advocate is not totally out of his mind, and offers the insightful perspective of the opposing design. The author also uses analogies to strike fear into the hearts of the reader. When reading about Japan, the reader will most certainly not want the United States to experience the economic stagnation that they are subject too, so the reader may consider actively trying new and innovative economic methods. The author was overall quite successful. I went in strongly against this idea, not for any good reason that he did not disprove in the text. The convincing nature of the article makes you want to sink in and accept the unique idea instead of utterly rejecting it out of closed minded fear. By opening the perspective of the reader, he has completed his cause. The author never wanted to hand out thousand of dollars, but wanted to find a better medium in between what our current system is. This method can truly revitalize the economy.