"Letter from a Birmingham Jail" is a letter written on April 16, 1963 by Martin Luther King Jr. He writes the letter while he is in jail for his nonviolent protests. He feels compelled to write this letter because he and other blacks are tired of waiting for justice. He knows that direct action is needed to make a difference. His letter is written to his "fellow clergymen" but it is also for any mediocre white person who remains lukewarm about the issue of segregation.
During this time, black men and women keep getting their hopes up only to be let down again. Martin Luther King Jr. knows that their only choice is to take direct action. He knows that nonviolent direct action will create tension and force people to face the fact that segregation is a serious issue. This will make negotiation possible. He knows that justice will not be served to them on a silver platter. Instead, they will have to demand justice and fight for it. He makes an excellent point that we all have a moral responsibility to obey just laws and disobey unjust laws. Segregation laws degrade people who are black and make it look like white people are on some higher level. This is unjust because it degrades human personality. We should be willing to break unjust laws, but we must accept the consequences. He is mainly disappointed with the mediocre white person who is all about structure and not justice. These people like the cause, but not the act. They do not want to disrupt the peace, even if it would bring justice. The church leadership also disappoints him as they look the other way as their brothers in Christ are abused. He mainly uses ethos to make his point because he wants justice and morality for everyone. He did an excellent job at making his point because the whole letter was very passionate, yet he remained reasonable and nonviolent at the same time. He backed up every point he made with biblical examples and personal experiences.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Friday, September 23, 2011
NLC 1302; Blog 3; 9/23/11
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/justice-though-delayed-for-beaten-student/2011/09/21/gIQAWohVnK_story.html
This article is about the beating of John L. McKenna by three police officers. McKenna did nothing to provoke the officers and he was not aggressive in any way. The riot officers beat him so badly that staples were needed to close the gash in McKenna's head. Nobody really responded to the case until weeks later, when a video of the beating was released. The officers had wrongly accused McKenna of attacking the offers and their horses. They also said the horses were at fault for the injuries. The author's claim was that major changes need to be made for the Prince George's police department. The grounds and reasons for this is that police brutality should not be tolerated, and we need to enforce justice. The warrant is that new rules are being enforced on the officers. Officers must now wear helmets with visible ID numbers. Officers are now under stronger supervision and investigators must be on the scene if a disturbances is expected. The rebuttal is that McKenna had attacked the officers and their horses first, and that he provoked the incident.
The writer's argument was very effective because it brought up the issue of police brutality, which people are aware of, but can't really do much about it. It is wrong for officers abuse their power and authority over citizens. It is reassuring to know that people are taking action to prevent future atrocities similar to this one. Now that they actually are making changes in the police department, we are moving closer to justice.
This article is about the beating of John L. McKenna by three police officers. McKenna did nothing to provoke the officers and he was not aggressive in any way. The riot officers beat him so badly that staples were needed to close the gash in McKenna's head. Nobody really responded to the case until weeks later, when a video of the beating was released. The officers had wrongly accused McKenna of attacking the offers and their horses. They also said the horses were at fault for the injuries. The author's claim was that major changes need to be made for the Prince George's police department. The grounds and reasons for this is that police brutality should not be tolerated, and we need to enforce justice. The warrant is that new rules are being enforced on the officers. Officers must now wear helmets with visible ID numbers. Officers are now under stronger supervision and investigators must be on the scene if a disturbances is expected. The rebuttal is that McKenna had attacked the officers and their horses first, and that he provoked the incident.
The writer's argument was very effective because it brought up the issue of police brutality, which people are aware of, but can't really do much about it. It is wrong for officers abuse their power and authority over citizens. It is reassuring to know that people are taking action to prevent future atrocities similar to this one. Now that they actually are making changes in the police department, we are moving closer to justice.
Friday, September 16, 2011
NLC 1302; Blog 2; 9/16/11
Choose Wisely by Ashley Yuill
Yuill's purpose in this essay was to persuade people to do what they think is right instead of acting on their desires. The essay was directed towards young people in high school in college who have big decisions ahead of them. She sees how so many young people with so much potential throw it all away because they make poor choices while they are young and curious. Her thesis is "By making my own choices, I learned to be accountable for myself." She explains how making choices based on what is fun or easy now comes with consequences This responsibility influenced my behavior with my friends, my work ethic, and my future.
She argues using narration by telling stories of how her father let her make her own choices based on what she thought was right. She also uses cause and efect by explaining that each decision you make comes with a consequence. This makes the reader think about how making the right or wrong choices has affected their own life. These strategies definitiely appeal to ethos because she is clearly a person of good morals. She holds herself accountable by making the right choices, even when she doesn't want to. I definitely agree with her thesis. Every choice we make affects the way we act in every aspect of our life. I like how she gave examples and told her personal experiences to help get her point accross. She would tell a story, then tell the lesson it taught her.
Yuill's purpose in this essay was to persuade people to do what they think is right instead of acting on their desires. The essay was directed towards young people in high school in college who have big decisions ahead of them. She sees how so many young people with so much potential throw it all away because they make poor choices while they are young and curious. Her thesis is "By making my own choices, I learned to be accountable for myself." She explains how making choices based on what is fun or easy now comes with consequences This responsibility influenced my behavior with my friends, my work ethic, and my future.
She argues using narration by telling stories of how her father let her make her own choices based on what she thought was right. She also uses cause and efect by explaining that each decision you make comes with a consequence. This makes the reader think about how making the right or wrong choices has affected their own life. These strategies definitiely appeal to ethos because she is clearly a person of good morals. She holds herself accountable by making the right choices, even when she doesn't want to. I definitely agree with her thesis. Every choice we make affects the way we act in every aspect of our life. I like how she gave examples and told her personal experiences to help get her point accross. She would tell a story, then tell the lesson it taught her.
Friday, September 9, 2011
NLC 1302, Blog 8; 9/9/11
http://salvoblue.homestead.com/judgmental.html
Tina Blue starts out with a story of an 18 year old boy, Jeremy Strohmeyer, raping and strangling a seven year old girl while his best friend, David Cash, witnessed the incident and walked away as if nothing happened. People lashed out and protested against Cash for a while, but eventually this died down, and Cash was able to go about his life as usual. This should not be acceptable. Everybody knows that crime has always existed and always will, butcriminals these days often get away with the terrible things they do. Sometimes they attract so much attention they become famous. In today's society, fame and infamy are pretty much the same thing. Marla Maples had an affair with a married man and broke up a family with several children. Marla's hometown had a "Marla Maples Day" with a parade and even a street named after her.
This post uses ethos and pathos to get the point across. The stories of criminals-turned-celebrities stir up anger. The behaviour of these people is awful and should be shunned by society. Instead, we give them fame, tv interviews, and way too much media attention. The post really makes the reader wonder what happened to morals. The behavior of these people deserves punishment, but instead they gain fame. Any person with morals would agree that such behavior is intolerable.
Tina Blue starts out with a story of an 18 year old boy, Jeremy Strohmeyer, raping and strangling a seven year old girl while his best friend, David Cash, witnessed the incident and walked away as if nothing happened. People lashed out and protested against Cash for a while, but eventually this died down, and Cash was able to go about his life as usual. This should not be acceptable. Everybody knows that crime has always existed and always will, butcriminals these days often get away with the terrible things they do. Sometimes they attract so much attention they become famous. In today's society, fame and infamy are pretty much the same thing. Marla Maples had an affair with a married man and broke up a family with several children. Marla's hometown had a "Marla Maples Day" with a parade and even a street named after her.
This post uses ethos and pathos to get the point across. The stories of criminals-turned-celebrities stir up anger. The behaviour of these people is awful and should be shunned by society. Instead, we give them fame, tv interviews, and way too much media attention. The post really makes the reader wonder what happened to morals. The behavior of these people deserves punishment, but instead they gain fame. Any person with morals would agree that such behavior is intolerable.
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