TOW #3 - Political Cartoon

Cartoon by Jack Ohman/Tribune Content Agency

Source: US News

Jack Ohman, the cartoonist for The Sacramento Bee, is the artist of this political cartoon that highlights the issues in America concerning gun control.  While no one is necessarily new to this issue, Ohman has found a way to be shocking, familiar and persuasive while using barely any words.  In his political cartoon, Ohman uses a simple "multiple choice" question to make the point that America always seems to find a new issue with the country, other than guns, after a mass shooting has occurred.  The context of the cartoon comes after a shooting occurred at an African American church in Charleston, South Carolina.  National outrage ensued after people blamed the shooting on the fact that the Confederate flag still flies in many places in the South, and it promotes violence against minorities.  In the cartoon, Ohman is making the point that after a shooting, no one blames the violence on the gun, but rather on something that seems to be only partially responsible for the issue.  Another example would be that after most shootings, mental illness is used as an excuse for the violence.  Ohman wants to highlight the fact that people always find a way to defend gun use, and gun violence, and that this is not okay in America.  In his cartoon, Ohman uses a couple of rhetorical devices.  First, he establishes ethos by using an event that people are familiar with, such as the Charleston shooting.  He also establishes ethos by being slightly sarcastic in his work.  By using the words, "completely and totally unacceptable", Ohman is exaggerating the idea of people being completely dismayed by the Confederate flag.  His sarcasm helps Ohman to connect to the reader and establish his credibility.  Another rhetorical device he uses is allusion.  Ohman doesn't just make up a random mass shooting scenario, he uses one that people are familiar with.  He doesn't explain what the Charleston shooting was, he just alludes to the fact that this is what he is talking about.  The audience that the cartoon was made for would likely be a liberal audience that favors gun control.  Although Ohman is arguing for a serious point, the cartoon itself is not very serious, and likely conservative people, or people in favor of lesser gun control, would not take seriously the cartoon.  As someone who is in favor of more gun control, I would say that Ohman does a very good job of making his point.  The sarcasm hits hard and makes the viewer understand and agree with the point the artist is trying to make.   

TOW #2 - The Second Republican Presidential Debate

The second Republican Presidential debate took place on Wednesday, September 16, 2015 and was broadcasted by CNN to an audience of over twenty-three million people.  The participants in the debate were Donald Trump (billionaire and party front runner), Ben Carson (retired Neurosurgeon, Jeb Bush (former Florida governor), Chris Christie (New Jersey governor), Marco Rubio (Florida senator), Ted Cruz (Texas senator), Mike Huckabee (former Arkansas governor), Carly Fiorina (former Hewlett-Packard CEO), John Kasich (Ohio governor), Rand Paul (Kentucky senator), and Scott Walker (Wisconsin governor).  Each participant is credible due to their position in society or the government as well as the fact that they were invited to participate in the debate by CNN, based on their positions in the current presidential race polls.  While each candidate approached the debate differently, each one appealed to pathos, ethos and logos within their answers to the prompts and questions that they were given.  One of the best examples of pathos being used during the debate was from Carly Fiorina on the topic of the legalization of marijuana and drug treatment funds.  She said, "I very much hope that I am the only person on this stage who can say this, but I know there are millions of Americans out there who will say the same thing: My husband, Frank, and I buried a child to drug addiction."  Although the question given to Fiorina was factual, her answer allowed the audience to sympathize with her and the tragic experience that she had to endure.  Fiorina's answer also established her ethos by giving her the credibility to have experienced an event related to the topic.  Examples of logos were prevalent all night as well, especially when candidates would attempt to outshine other candidates with facts about their ratings and/or success with previous ventures.  The entire purpose of the event was to pit each candidate against the others in an attempt for the candidates to reach a greater audience of potential voters, highlight their political beliefs, and make themselves appear the best possible nomination for President.  While the debate was certainly entertaining, only some candidates truly achieved their purpose.  Others appeared misinformed, nervous, and unable to handle the pressure of the three-hour long event.  Those who came out on top were the ones who most appealed to ethos and pathos, and could relate directly to their audience.  

Debate participants

TOW #1 - Who's Responsible for the Refugees?

The article is from The New York Times and is written by former advisor to the British prime minister and Crowdpac co-founder, Steve Hilton.  Crowdpac is an organization that makes politics easier for citizens from all over the world to access and understand.  The op-ed piece was written to inform and persuade readers that America needs to take responsibility for the current refugee crisis, as well as put into action a better, and more permanent, plan.  The essay was written for American politicians as well as, on a wider scale, all Americans, to whom Hilton refers to as "we" and "you".  From the beginning, Hilton makes use of ethos, pathos and logos.  He writes, "As the son of immigrants welcomed into Britain from Communist Hungary, I feel a strong moral instinct to extend a similar welcome to others fleeing their homelands in even worse circumstances."  Not only does his personal experience extend his credibility, it allows the reader to feel the same emotions Hilton does towards the topic.  Hilton also uses questions directed at the reader such as, "How would you feel if your daily life was being made intolerable while the authorities, thanks to European Union rules about registering refugees, seemed unable to restore order?"  In addition to questions, Hilton also makes use of humor by using phrases like, "Yes, America, I'm talking to you" and "So it's a bit rich..."  Hilton uses his essay to "call out" the United States by saying that we don't take nearly enough credit when it comes to our place in this refugee crisis.  He uses examples such as our reluctance to get involved in Syria before the situation got worse, and how we haven't pledged to take in the amount of refugees we need to.  To support his point, Hilton makes use of logos and quotes Oxford economist Paul Collier, as well as economist Hernando de Soto from the United States Agency for International Development.  By supporting his claims with trustworthy sources, the reader is even more inclined to listen to Hilton's message.  In the end, Hilton makes a call to action.  He writes, "Today's crisis will worsen in the years ahead unless we deal with the causes, not just the symptoms."  Later when referring to countries with informal economies Hilton writes, "We should put pressure on their rulers to implement the necessary legal reforms by cutting aid payments until they do it."  These call to actions tie together everything Hilton has discussed in his essay, and make his message extremely successful.  The reader feels empathy towards Hilton, trusts his credibility, and understands his message through the rhetorical devices used.  

IRB Intro #1

I have chosen to read Cash: The Autobiography by Johnny Cash.  I decided to read this book because my family and I have always been interested in Johnny Cash and his music.  I know that his life was hard, and I think it will be interesting to see how he describes the hardships that he endured.