Death Penalty Articles

The death penalty is a controversial issue in our society. There are many differing opinions on this subject, as we have seen in the articles by Mencken and Kroll. Kroll's article is more effective because it is full of pathos appeals, which, when used on such an opinionated and moral subject as the death penalty, really get to the audience. He neglects what his friend actually did to get sentenced to death and just describes to us how he died and the process of the death penalty, which makes the reader feel very bad for Robert Harris and have a negative view towards the death penalty. He also describes the death penalty very negatively such as when he says, "We were in the middle of something indescribably ugly. Not just the cold-blooded killing of a human being, and not even the fact that we happened to love him - but the ritual of it, the participation of us, the witnesses, the witnessing itself of this most private and personal act. It was nakedly barbaric. Nobody could say this had anything to do with justice, I thought." This really gets to the reader because of its pathos (emotional) appeal. The strong emotional appeal in this article is much for effective than the argument of katharsis, or using the death penalty to get revenge, in the Mencken article.

Sixteen Military Wives by The Decemberists

This song is about America and unfortunate things that occur here. The theme is that things that seem really great on the outside aren't so great on the inside. This is because the song talks about bad things happening such us husbands dying in the military, but America still brags and says it can do anything like it is such a great place.

Race for the Prize by The Flaming Lips

The theme is that humans are limited in what they can accomplish. This song is about two scientists trying to do or invent something to benefit mankind. However, the song says, "But it's so dangerous, but they're determined." The scientists don't know just how dangerous what they're doing is, but they're determined to do it. The song also says, "Theirs in to win, if it kills them, they're just humans with wives and children." The scientists are blind to the fact that what they're trying to do is very dangerous could kill them. It is very risky and they might not be able to do it, because they're just humans. This song implies that humans cannot do all things and cannot achieve all advancements, since we're just humans and things are dangerous to us.

Fallacy in Patrick Henry's Speech

In Patrick Henry's speech, he states, "If we wish to be free -- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending -- if we mean not basely abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it sir, we must fight!" This quote commits the fallacy 'excluded middle'. This commits excluded middle because he is not considering any option but the extremes: being free or not being free. Logically, there are options in between being completely free or not being completely free, but in this speech they are not considered.
A speech that commits many fallacies can still be really effective because normally when people are listening to a speech, they aren't searching for fallacies in it. What they hear sounds good to them. They also may be effective because the fallacies are used very well in order to make it sound like they have a better argument.

Duck and Cover

The overt message is to duck and cover to protect yourself from an atomic bomb.

The covert message is that an atomic bomb threat was expected.

This is mostly propaganda. They were trying to get children to see that civil service workers and adults know how to protect them. They were also trying to casually imply that an atomic bomb would happen by saying things like "when the bomb comes" instead of "if the bomb comes."

Destination Earth

The overt message is that we use lots of oil to make our lives better. This is seen in the video because it shows all the things we make out of petroleum.

The covert message is that you should support oil companies. This is seen in the video because it supports oil.

They use transfer to clump oil and Americans together. They use bandwagon because the martians start looking for oil because the people of Earth did.

Clampdown by The Clash

This song is about government control and how people come to be okay with it. "Kick over the wall 'cause government's to fall. How can you refuse it?" "You grow up and you calm down and you're working for the clampdown."

The voice of the singer is not completely clear and sort of muffled, which shows that he is being controlled and is beneath or lesser than something (the government). This supports the idea of government control in this song.

This song shows that society uses rhetoric, persuasion, and propaganda to get people to be content with government control and the environment of the society.

Propaganda, Persuasion, and Rhetoric

I chose quotes 23, 53, 68, and 76.

76. Journalists say a thing that they know isn’t true, in the hope that if they keep on saying it enough it will be true. ARNOLD BENNET (1867-1931), The Title, 1918.

Journalists use a lot of repetition and persuasion in what they do. They can basically say anything and get people to believe it. Once a story is published somewhere, whether it's true or not, the next thing you know it's everywhere. This manipulation stated in this quote is true in the real world. For example, Dan Rather, former CBS anchor, was fired for making up lies about George Bush. 
This relates to what we have talked about in class because repetition is a strong form of rhetoric, and by using this rhetoric the journalists persuade their audiences. I agree with the statement in this quote. Journalists and reporters are constantly using and abusing the techniques of rhetoric, propaganda, and persuasion. They don't tell the whole truth, and they try to get their audiences to think what they want them to think. In general, I think of rhetoric, persuasion, and propaganda as ways of changing or manipulating a person's views, and that is definitely was journalists try to do.