What I Learned This Semester

I learned how to present my argument efectively using rhetorical appeals and how to use context to sway others toward my oppinion. I learned that i have very strong and complex political views that make chosing a political party very difficult. I learned how to use googledocs, blogger, and a wiki. I learned that just because a tutor says they think my paper would be better one way than another does not mean that I will like my paper better after changing it, and my teacher might not like the change either. I guess using my own judgement worked out after all.
This may not be what an English professor likes to read, but I learned that I do not enjoy writing. Once I actually start writing, I can usually finish the assignment in one go, but I have to force myself to start. I often procrastinate by cleaning, and doing homework in advance for other classes such as math, engineering, or chemistry. I realize that this is not a good character trait in a student and that i have a problem, but I find that I continue to procrastinate anyways. I do the reading assignments ahead of time; why do I procrastinate writing so much? Thankyou Dr.Barrow for setting deadlines. Without your deadlines I may have continued to procrastinate forever. Again, I have a problem.

I am thankful for...

     I am thankful for the right to vote. Voting allows me to express my opinions and support my ideal government.  I celebrated my eighteenth birthday only a few months ago and have not yet expressed this right, but I look forward to making my contribution toward the next leader of America. I have not yet decided which political party best shares my beliefs, but I am still on the search.
      I often have a very complicated view of government and may take my rights for granted sometimes, but every now and then I realize how lucky I am. Many people live in countries where they have little or no say over their own lives. America's economy may be in bad shape, but I still have many rights that others do not. I may own a gun if I choose. I have the right to worship god as I see fit. I can express my opinions publicly. I have a bad habit of loosing track of all the good things I have and focusing only on the bad.

My Political Values

I took the political compass test that was posted on blackboard and it says i am slightly libertarian left. I had a hard time answering some of the questions because i was debating different scenarios in my head. Some questions were easy to answer but others required more thought and a little compromise with myself. I came out fairly close to the middle of the chart and wondered which questions exactly put me where i was on the chart. Was it the questions i could answer right away or the questions that required more debate? Are these questions supposed to be easy to answer? What happens if your dot on the chart is right in the middle? Is there an online quiz that tells me which third party best suits me?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Global Market

One advantage of global market is the increased variety. Before you may have only had the choice between two brands of a certain item, but now, thanks to the internet, you have the option of buying one of hundreds of brands and versions of a product from anywhere in the world. Because we have more options, producers have more competition. This causes prices to fall which seems like a good thing, but it can have many unwanted effects. If prices fall, then profit may fall if sales quantities do not increase. Because companies are not making as much money they do budget cuts often including lay offs. Sometimes, companies may even move factories to other countries where labor is cheaper. This means not as many jobs are available and more Americans are out of work. So over time, advantages may become disadvantages.

Decreasing Poverty and Increasing Wealth

I do not like the idea of defficit spending. It makes me nervous. It sounds like buying a business with a credit card and hoping everything works out. Doesn't sound like the best idea, huh? I don't see how spending money we don't have is going to help us get out of debt as a country. Maybe if we budgeted better then we could work on getting out of debt and improving the economy. Maybe then prices would go back down a little and people could aford to buy what they need. It seems like the price of milk goes up everytime i go to the grocery store. Gas prices are still high. The unemployment rate is constantly increasing. We need to figure out some way to fix the damage we have done.

What I Think About Politics

What are my politics? I don’t agree wholly with any one political party. I suppose that makes me a member of the independent party. Why are Democrats represented by elephants and republicans represented by donkeys? I think I could probably pick a better animal to compare myself to. I do believe that politicians must have struggled in math class because they only tell you what they want to achieve not how they want to get there. I haven’t had a math teacher since the fourth grade who didn’t require that I show my work in order to get any credit for my answer. I am proud to live in a country where I have the right to vote and can take part in government decisions. I really liked the idea of everybody having health care but I would have liked to hear more about how it would happen. I wanted more information. I feel like our government officials leave us in the dark and that they assume that we are ignorant sometimes.

Samantha Stapleton Blog 4

This blog post is my response to Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s “Declaration of Sentiments and Resolutions.” Four women are specifically named in this text to be supporters of women’s rights (Stanton 206 and 208). While one woman, Mary Ann McClintock, is named along with a man, Thomas McClintock, others are not listed with the names of men. Since men were, at this time, considered to be the “master” (Stanton 205) of women, were the women who were specifically named punished or prosecuted by their husbands or relatives? Is this why other individuals at the Seneca Falls Convention were referred to as “and others” (Stanton 206)? Members of both genders opposed as well as supported women’s rights, so what if many individuals decided to remain anonymous out of fear? What could a woman do if her husband or male relative was abusive? If men were supposed to “master” (Stanton 205) women, were abused men ridiculed when abused by wives? What could they do to escape abusive relationships? Did Elizabeth Cady Stanton’s husband strike out at her for advocating women’s rights? Was spouse abuse even reported by the police in eighteen forty eight? I have found this on Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Anyone who is still unsure which text to write about may or may not find this useful in decision making. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/stantonelizabeth/a/stanton.htm

Samantha Stapleton blog on the "Genocide Project"

The “Genocide Project” on the pedestrian walkway ineffectively uses pathos, ethos, and logos. The project uses pathos by presenting images of aborted fetuses in an attempt to make the audience, the student body of the University of Tennessee, feel sad and angry because of the deaths of these unborn children. However, the student body of the University of Tennessee responded in anger because such graphic photos were displayed in public along the pedestrian walkway. Some students even made signs in protest with explicit comments aimed at the “Genocide Project”. The “Genocide Project” supporters were present in an attempt to establish the project’s ethos, or good character, by handing out informational pamphlets, but because the audience was already angered by the graphic nature of the images provided, the ethos also failed because students were unwilling to accept the pamphlets. The project tried to win over the audience with logos by displaying a picture of an abused boy next to a picture of an aborted fetus and asking the audience why there are no laws against abusing unborn children like there are laws against aborting born children, but again the failed pathos caused the logos to fail because the audience was angry and unwilling to consider the logical argument presented by the project. The project may have succeeded in swaying a few people to support their cause but angered many more. The angered individuals were unwilling to consider the project’s argument, so because pathos failed, logos and ethos failed as well. If you are interested in more information regarding the “Genocide Project”, you can click here.

http://abortionno.org/index.php/the_genocide_awareness_project_gap

Response to Machiavelli and Lao-tzu

I do not agree with the ideas of Machiavelli or Lao-Tzu completely but rather believe in a combination of the two. Machiavelli and Lao-Tzu both wrote about what a how leaders should interact with their followers. Leaders come in many forms from royalty to elected officials to even parents. Machiavelli writes that "a prince must consider it of little importance if  he incurs the name of miser" and that "men are a sorry lot". This would lead one to the conclusion that Machiavelli believes leaders should determine boundaries for their followers, man is incapable of caring for itself, and that its opinions are of little importance. These beliefs agree with an authoritarian style of parenting. Authoritarian parenting is shown to lead to anxious, withdrawn, and unhappy children according to proffessor Kinzling of the University of Delaware. Lau-Tzu writes "practice not-doing, and everything will fall into place". This would lead one to the conclusion that Lao-Tzu believes leaders should not set boundaries for their followers or get involved in the affairs of followers in any way. These beliefs agree with an uninvolved style of parenting. Uninvolved parenting is shown to lead to incompetent children with low self esteem according to Diana Baumrind and other researchers. Both Machiavelli and Lao-Tzu stress the importance of the happiness of followers, but parents who follow their ideals tend to have unhappy children. However, studies done by both Baumrind and Kinzling show that authoritative parenting produces happy, competent children. Authoritative parents set boundaries for their children but let the children take part in the decision making process. This is a combinations of the ideals of both Machiavelli and Lao-Tzu.

Rhetorical Analysis of an Advertisement

Click here to see the advertisement that I have selected. I ran into a few problems while trying to copy the picture to this post and appologize for any inconvenience.

Exigence: Second hand smoke is hurting children.

Purpose: The purpose is to stop or prevent second hand smoke or possibly smoking altogether.

Audience: The intended audience is the general public, particularly smokers.

Rhetorical Appeals: Logos- This advertisement uses logos by providing facts and statistics such as the number of UK children hospitalized annually due to the effects of second hand smoke and by causing the readers to come to the logical conclusion that if they did not smoke, then their second hand smoke would not harm children.

                                     Ethos- This advertisement shows its credibility by providing the foundation logo on the advertisement. Many people believe that foundations and organizations can only print factual statistics and are unable to print fictional statistics.

                                     Pathos- This advertisement appeals to the guilt of smokers for causing harm to children. It also appeals to the pity of the public toward children harmed by second hand smoke.

I feel that this advertisement is very effective. I feel pity towards the thousands of children hurt by second hand smoke each year and am led to believe that the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is a credible source of information.

My First Post

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