Representing America - American Literature AP - Blog

Race and Politics

 I would like to qualify that yes some presidents are using racism and stereotypes to gain votes in the poles. The African Americans of the United States haven’t forgotten the civil rights movement. Most of the baby boomers have lived through it and are relaying the stories to their children and grandchildren. I believe that what President Carter said in the Article was right. The politicians have been using racism for years to appeal to whatever percentage of the population still lives within the confines of black and white. I also can’t believe both Newt Gringrich and Rick Santorum when they say that they were not making comments specifically about black people. I can understand Gringrich’s defense but that does not change the fact that he explicitly used those terms. But Santorum really has no excuse. In fact, his was the worst defense that I have seen him make so far.

 

I understand that a lot of people just term blacks as being too sensitive. But can you really blame us? I think that you would do the same thing after being discriminated against for at least 300 years (I counting years prior to the American Revolution). But I digress; this use of racial stereotypes is applied throughout politics and is open to all races. Even President Obama said during a campaign speech that we should try to get more work so that we don’t rely on the Japanese and Chinese to make everything for us. This is again buying into the stereotypes that we have laid out for everyone. While it is true that right now the most commonly used stereotype is blacks, politicians usually refer to Hispanics when they debate about illegal immigrants and we have even given the politicians certain stereotypes and criteria to meet to fit into that specific stereotype.

 

While we learn about race in class, it’s so different when it’s applied in real life. Politics is known to be a dirty business and you shouldn’t play unless if you don’t want to get a little bit of mud on you. Politics tends to adjust terms and phrases just right so that the  politician can appeal to any audience that they want. I think that the use of stereotypes are used all the time in politics. I mean Chicago is one of the most racially segregated cities in America. The reason for this: politics and the mentality of the general public. I think that politician generally just use stereotypes as a stepping stone to get what they want regardless of what happens to the examples and races that they use.

Why Choose Pro-choice or Pro-life?

One of the most controversial arguments of the day is about abortion, but it really shouldn't be.  The problem is that the argument is set up as a logical fallacy.  The two sides, pro-choice and pro-life, create an either/or statement.

"Either you are for abortion, or you are for government control over women's personal decisions" or "Either you are against abortion or you are for killing babies."  There is absolutely no way to win.  For the most part, every American approves of women's rights and opposes murdering people, but the either/or  statement makes it seem like you have to choose.

The names of the two sides, "Pro-choice" and "Pro-life," completely avoid addressing each other.  To someone unfamiliar with American controvercies, it would appear to be two pro- sides to two different arguments because they have both decided to be in favor of something different.  The way I see it, it's the principle of having to choose between being for two very different things, not our basic beliefs that causes the problems.

In reality, everyone agrees.  It's just a matter of people's priorities,  so why can't we decide as a nation  that we want to stop unwanted pregnancies and focus on that instead?  In the mean time we can let people do what they believe.  That's what democracy is about anyway, right?

Logical Fallacies in the Republican Debate.

Overall the republican debate for presidency was rife with logical fallacies. This is not unique to the Republican party, but this form of debate seems to bring out appeals that are not to logic. Mitt Romney seemed to be using non-sequiturs when the first couple of questions were directed his way, he dodged questions by pulling out information that was not entirely related.

The moderator tried to use guilt by association against John Huntsman when he equated his plan with subsidies for natural gas companies with Obama’s attempts to provide subsidies for renewable energy.  This was damaging to him because the republican base will not support a candidate who is at all similar to Obama in political ideology.

Herman Cain was asked a question about his 999 Plan and how future presidents might use it to raise taxes and he used a non-sequitur to talk about the benefits of his plan without answering the question. Mitt Romney said the current economy was Obama’s economy and was using guilt by association by associating Obama with the current economic climate.

Rick Perry and Mitt Romney used Ad Hominem attacks against each other when Mitt Romney said he flip-flopped in his earlier position that pensions are unconstitutional, and Rick Perry responded that Mitt Romney had flip-flopped in his book over his health care plan in Massachusetts. Rick Perry, Michele Bachman, and Newt Gingrich all used the straw man argument when they contorted Obama’s positions to say that he is a socialist.

Newt Gingrich, and John Huntsman tried to create glory by association when they made references to Ronald Reagan who is largely admired within the Republican Party. 

 

Who are we as Americans?

In the GOP debate,the centralized topics that were supposed to be heavily debated were  quickly put on hold by the accusations of flip-flopping and character credibility. Nowadays, it seems that  political rhetoric is all a presidential debate is. Politics is supposed to be the lesser of two evils; you vote for the male or female that best represents your ideas of what America needs or how America needs to change. No one is perfect and all the plans,budget cuts,etc. that are all promised don't always come to fruition. Unfortunatley,  when these elected officials get into office, things go completely astray, and we wonder what happened to the person  I voted for? Do we put too much of our own faith into a political candidate? Do we really think one male or female can change America as fast as we need it to be changed ? Or are we too impatient to wait for the proper change to come? I guess the broader question we should ponder is, " Are we, as Americans looking for microwave solutions from Presidential Candidates?"

3,270 Years Of War

The novel Extremely Loud & incredibly Close focuses on the themes of loss, love, hope, and forgiveness. These concepts are exhibited through 9/11, in which the main character's father dies. Oskar deals with his father's death by inventing but he can never bring himself to forgive the person who piloted the plane in the World Trade Center. Oskar's grandfather is also showcased as having a struggle of coming to terms with his own tragedy that is tied to the Dresden bombing. Oskar's grandmother is also a survivor of Dresden. It seems to me that an underlying message in the book is how countries are constantly at war with each other.

Oskar says at one point:

"Did you know that in the last 3,500 years there have only been 230 years of peace throughout the civilized world?" (161).

I really made me sit back and think. How did we put up with it? How do we have alliances and trade with countries when we have both slaughtered members of the opposing country? How do we forgive or even forget about that? The bombing of Pearl Harbor isn't as a famous now as it was in the 1930s. I had never heard of the bombing of Dresden until this year. How many other events and cruelties have the global population just put on a shelf to walk by and acknowledge every once and awhile? When did these events stop resonating so deep in our spirit and pride?

I don't have all of the answers but I think that after awhile countries move on. I don't know when we stopped putting so much emphasis on Pearl Harbor or how the Japanese can even begin to forgive us for what happened with the nuclear bombs. I dod believe that countries find some other struggle to immerse themselves in so that they don't have to think of all the pain that they felt in the latest battle. Maybe they think that if they win one war, all of the lives that were extinguished will be worth something.

Testing the Waters

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, so many music artists shared their opinions about how they viewed the government. Lil Wayne made a song called Georgia…Bush in memory of hurricane Katrina. At a first glance you would think that Lil Wayne is just dissing the president for not caring about the residents of New Orleans. When you look at the lyrics, Lil Wayne questions the fundamentals that the Unites States is said to operate off of. Lil Wayne starts off the song saying:

“This song is dedicated to the one wit the suit, Thick white skin and his eyes bright blue
So called beef wit you know who, F**k it he just let him kill all of our troops
Look at the bulls**t we been through”

He starts to call attention to the war in Iraq. He is challenging the patriotism by saying that he is letting the soldiers get killed needlessly and he does no care about the Americans that are here still here. Americans have been characterized as a community and a country that helps those that are in need. But as Lil Wayne says:

“And no he ain't gonna drop no dollars, but he do drop bombs”

Lil Wayne uses George Bush as a representation of our government, which he is since he was the president at the time. He is saying that while the U.S. government maintains the façade that they care and protect all the countries in need, they neglected a major city in the U.S. when it was in a time of crisis. He also questions the way that our media operates:

“Then they telling y'all lies on the news, The white people smiling like everything cool….They tell you what they want, show you what they want you to see,but they don't let you know what's really going on…."

The song offers the insight of Katrina form a survivor. Lil Wayne also calls attention to our media. We get all of the information about the outside world from the media. Lil Wayne points out that out media is regulated and can be skewed. He points out that there are some facts that the media does not fully acknowledge. This makes causes the audience to think about whether we were told the whole truth. This song questions our ideals.

Although the United States is seen as a country that is willing to help others, fights for freedom, and media that wants to give its people that news that way that the news happens, the song calls all of these ideals in to questions. It challenges these ideas by presenting the U.S. as a country that neglects its citizens and those that fight for it; as well as a country that shades its citizens from little truths in the politics of the world.

Here is the link for the lyrics for the entire song: http://www.metrolyrics.com/georgia-bush-lyrics-lil-wayne.html

 

 

Thoughts on Obama's Address to Congress (9/8/11)

    Obama begins his speech with declaring exigence and his audience very clearly. He declares his audience almost word for word when he addresses congress, the vice president, the speaker of the house, and then his fellow Americans. Notice how he used the word "fellow" to describe the citizens of America, reassuring us that he is one of us therefore improving his ethos appeal to us. Directly after Obama then declares the exigence for the address by clearly stating the poor state America is currently in and then speaks specifics that Washington needs to improve. During his explanation for the urgency Obama also states his purpose which is to promote laws to pass to improve this poor state we are in. 

    Once Obama begins to transition into his persuasion for congress to pass The American's Jobs Act you can pick up that he starts to use techniques like pathos and logos. He clearly begins to state the facts of what he would do and what will happen due to the act which appeals to logos, or factual persuasion. But even before he begins to persuade us by giving us the beneficial facts, he first scares us with the truth of our country now using pathos with the emotion of fear, but then slowly begins to transition into the emotion of hope which is what the American's Jobs Act will provide for the American people. He always uses subjects that apply to the American people and not congress, appealing to ethos that this will help our character and congresses at the same time.

    The way Obama organizes the speech also effects the way he comes across. He pauses at many moments where he tells our state of being now, to allow it to soak in, and then offers a solution to the problem, creating a sense of relief after the pause of agony. He also repeats the urgency of passing the law using the words "right away" multiple times within his address. When he talks of mistakes in the pass he becomes firm and serious, leading to pauses and smacks on the podium after they are stated. This creates a sense that he is saying we are finished and through and are now improving our methods. 

    Obama used many well known persuasive techniques in his address. These techniques seemed to be very beneficial for him, due to the positive outcome of the crowd. 

Obama's Appeal to Emotion

Obama's recurring statement, "Pass this job act right away" bothered some people, but  I found it extremely effective in getting his point across.  Besides urging congress, with every "right away" and "now," Obama is reminding the Americans that this past summer, congress delayed the passing of an increased debt limit.  The bill was not passed until a day before our government was going to run out of money which frustrated many Americans.  The  president was appealing to that very powerful emotion in order to hit home with his ideas.  He also appeals to frustration when he mentions the next election near the end of his speech. Obama reminded Congress that they can't afford to wait until the day before running for reelection while reminding the Americans that they shouldn't have to wait.

Obama's final words, "These are difficult years for our country.  But we are Americans.  We are tougher than the times that we live in, and we are bigger than our politics have been.  So let's meet the moment.  Let's get to work, and show the world once again why the United States of America remains the greatest nation on Earth," appeal strongly to pathos and ethos.  He recalls the frustrations and struggles of our past, calls out to patriotism, reminds us of our past successes, and ends with positive energy about working toward the future and a better America.

Create Jobs, Save the Children, Save Small Businesses, Save America

When President Obama starts his speech to promote the new American Jobs Act bill, he gets right to the point of his speech. The exigence is that theres an economic crisis that has left people jobless and a political crisis that is keeping it from being fixed. The President claims the bill will save the education of american children and put people back in the workplace. He talks about keeping America ahead of other countries and appeals to the Congressmen to keep our country from falling into ruin.

The President goes out of his way to connect with the citizens watching. He went out of his way to tell the congressmen straight up, that the American people, don't care about the politics of it, they just want jobs. 

He then spoke about how people used to view america as a place where anyone could succeed. Obama uses pathos to make the congressmen feel guilty that they would be depriving people of the things that could make them successful and taking away the things that made this country great.

He tries to win support from both sides of the argument by looking at it from everyone's perspective. Obama repeatedly reminds the assembled group of people, of the benefits this bill would bring to this country.

The President uses logos to provide statistics about the savings in taxes fro small business owners and the amounts of money that America will save by cutting down on government spending.

He also compares the United States to China and the Koreas, giving off a kind of competitive spirit. This is pathos to appeal to the congressmen to strive to be better than other countries. 

He also uses pathos to make congressmen feel guilty about the state of American schools. Obama spoke about how some buildings are literally falling apart, and that Americans deserve to grow up in good schools. Schools that the government has the ability to provide. 

Finally toward the end of the speech, Obama adresses the idea that some people have regarding another way to cut spending. Others want to cut out a large portion of governement regulations. Obama agrees and then uses pathos to make them feel guilty about the idea of cutting some of the regulations. He does not want to "make americans choose between safety and money." The President points out that while some regulations are unnecessary, others keep the American people safe.

Finally, Obama pulls in the Pledge of Allegiance to really give it an American feeling.

This speech was aimed at crossing party lines to make a difference in America. Obama repeatedly shows how both republicans and democrats have supported similar bills and ideas, and that they need to give up some of theyre political ideas for the benefit of the American people.

Obama Getting Angry

What seemed to be a logos appeal, as he outlined all of the programs in his new bill, shifts into more of a pathos appeal, as he repeats, "Pass this bill!" in more strident and strident tones.  He seems angry at those who he is presuming won't pass the bill.  Anger in advance, so to speak.

Live Blogging the Presidential Address

President Obama is really laying on the exigence thick here.  If we don't listen to him and pass his job plan, America will be in the dumps.

Helpful Links

Most major television networks and cable news stations will be carrying President Obama's speech tonight.  Remember, extra credit if you "live blog" the speech, leaving shorter but continually updated commentary as the speech is actually happening.

If you miss the speech, you will be able to replay it on C-SPAN and probably through the President's official streaming channel.

Remember, your assignment is to analyze the speech in terms of at least one part of the rhetorical web (exigence/audience/purpose – logos/ethos/pathos – organization/whole structure - or specific uses of language, such as diction, syntax, imagery or figures of speech).  See the rhetorical web here.