Article of the Week 20: The Unchanged Look of Current Politics

The Unchanged Look of Current Politics criticizes the attire of the GOP candidates in recent debates. So, what's the big deal? Well, the author claims that since the candidates are promoting change, they should dress the part. Ties are actually important as the color and style are proven to provoke a certain emotional response in viewers. The red tie evokes an attention to detail and a sense of victory. It also can have negative connotations such as caution, so candidates need to be precise when choosing the color of their ties. As a whole, however, the red tie is being extremely overused and the article suggests that the candidates should try a different color or style in order to stand out from the crowd.


This article is unclear as to who the author is, but be assured that he or she is a "fashion expert" as stated in the title. It does gain credibility from a person who regularly sells ties. It states that in general, red ties do not sell well because they are so commonly associated with politicians. This is why a different color tie would be beneficial. It would make the candidate seem more a person of the people.

This article was especially intriguing because it took a look at the candidates and the current political atmosphere through the lens of clothing. The people are not satisfied because they do not pick the "political" ties and candidates who promote change do not show their values because they are all the same. The author makes a joke at their expense, saying that the candidates seem that they are dressing up for a cheesy family photo. This humor rings true and it was a sound rhetorical choice to make the joke. This makes the article seem less a position on the politics of the candidates than a position on the atmosphere of the country as a whole. These candidates are so afraid of being different that they are almost clones down to their tie color.

Article of the Week 19: SOPA Blackout Campaign

So, on January 18th I took some screenshots and such and uploaded this as a video to YouTube. Below is the video I made. I am rhetorically analyzing the multi-website internet campaign against SOPA and PIPA.

The blackout on January 18th was organized the SOPA and PIPA bills, currently being voted on in congress. SOPA's stated purpose is to decrease the amount of piracy online however; this does not translate in action. Without getting into too many specifics, this law would allow individuals with claims of illegal actions to shut down websites that facilitate online piracy. If ordered to shut down without actually having violated any laws, a website could lose thousands of dollars without compensation.

This campaign was brilliant as the internet sites knew their audience. The sites, such as Wikipedia seen in the video below, told their audience when and what they were protesting. They blocked their content for one day in order to simulate their absence. Personally, as it was the day before the APUSH Midterm, I downloaded all of the notes on the chapters we were covering in case our wiki page went down. It was quite frustrating, and everyone had similar experiences like this throughout the 24hours. As these favorite sites stated that they were threatened, their loyal millions of viewers were outraged. These sites then linked to information and online petitions. Thousands protested this bill(as the last part of the video shows) and this eventually led to the death of these two bills.

Unit 3 Reflection: Synthesis Essay

It is the duty of the people to change the government when it no longer reflects the interests of the people. A good citizen follows the laws, but following laws blindly is not a characteristic of a responsible citizen. There is a fine line between disobeying laws illegally and doing so illegally for righteous causes. In fact, it is the responsibility of a citizen to protest a law with which they disagree, providing they accept the consequences. Conversely, it is the right and the responsibility of the government to enforce laws, whether broken for moral reasons or not.

It is the responsibility of every citizen to protest laws they feel unjust. As Martin Luther King outlines in his Letter from Birmingham Jail, one must always try to protest via the law, through proper means as a first strategy. Stanton tries thus to protest passionately and vocally at her conference for women at Seneca Falls. Although looked down upon by men at the time, this action was completely legal. She states her cause to be the equality of women, because they, “…being invested by the Creator with the same capabilities, and the same consciousness of responsibility for their exercise, it is demonstrably the right and duty of woman, equally with man, to promote every righteous cause, by every righteous means…” (Stanton). Stanton, as a respected white woman in well-off household was more likely to be heard than King as her position in society was much higher. This unjust climate in the country made it necessary for demonstrators who were not being heard, such as King, to take action in addition to speaking on the faults of the government.

MLK was willing to take on the consequences of his demonstrations because he truly believed that “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” (Letter from Birmingham Jail, King). He saw his demonstrations as an alternative to speaking that, though it may have been illegal, was preferable to waiting for equal rights. He made sure to state, however, that one must take the consequences of a broken law. Similar to Socrates, King accepted his incarceration because he believed so strongly in his cause and believed it was his duty to disobey laws that were not morally correct. King accepted his punishment because he believed in society’s right to punish criminals as well. King put his faith in the country by disobeying its laws. 

It is the right of any government to enforce laws created legally. So, did the south have the right to secede in the case of the civil war? As there was armed conflict and no acceptance of punishments, the south did not have the right to nullify their participation in the union. In this way, Lincoln’s position was correct in his Gettysburg Address. Lincoln states, “...that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom --and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth,” (Lincoln). Their participation in the Civil War makes their disobedience wrong, no matter the purpose of their cause. The government in this case, even though it may have been infringing on the southerner’s freedom, was correct in punishing the proliferation on violence. It is the foremost duty of the government to keep its citizens safe, while it is the duty of the citizens to shape the government to their design.

Article of the Week 18: Our Concern Over 'Indecency' Is Misguided

Our Concern Over 'Indecency' Is Misguided spoke to an increasing indifference to sex and violence as a nation. It talked about how many parents made an uproar over a naked dead woman in the TV show "NYPD Blue" and the lack of appropriate television broadcasted during prime time. As a society we have become blind to the extreme violence to which we are exposed. It criticizes the people who are promoting legislature on the subject to protect children when parents are really the ones to blame because they let their children watch these shows. Written by a husband and wife pair, both of which are Harvard professors, for Time magazine, the article was well researched in order to back up their opinions. The piece was written to criticize the people who would make laws to stop the proliferation of inappropriate content when it is really the fault of the culture. If people want change, legislation will not make people act differently. The people have to believe in the cause themselves. The article was written for an American audience and also one that would rather write than take action. This article in particular used a point-counterpoint method of argumentation. It stated the opposing viewpoint in quotations the other side were likely to say, such as the “government can insist on a certain modicum of decency.” The article replies to this claim that the government cannot and should not need to govern such matters. This article was set up in more of a Toulman argument structure than classical. This allowed the authors to better be able to refute the points made by the opposing side, reminiscent to Socrates' method of argumentation. These authors were convincing as they aptly assessed the opposing arguments and dismissed them with facts and analysis of their own.

As the Zeitoun was incredible, I read my independent reading book fairly quickly. I wrote the post for it a few weeks ago. Here is the link to that post.

Article of the Week 17: In a Fledgling Country, Perils for the Press

This piece focuses on a printing press in the fledgling country of South Sudan. They have to overcome many obstacles as they do not have constant availability to fuel for their computers and have few other resources. The staff of the newspaper has to even fold all 2,000 copies of their newspaper every day. Somehow, this paper has not missed a day of publication since it started. There are other problems, however. Although the constitution of their country allows for freedom of press, this rule is mainly ignored. The government often arrests reporters who criticize the government. The author of this work, Benno Muchler, is a German reporter who writes for many international newspapers and often focuses on politics.

This article in particular is interesting because it gives insight into the workings and struggles of a completely new country. The struggle of these newspapers could very well sum up one of the major struggles of the country, whether these people can make their new country more open than their last and whether they can truly change their circumstances. This country in particular is interesting because it is one of few countries in that region that chose its borders and is not forced to live with European blundering. This article was written for the New York Times, but can speak to readers around the world. The author uses a personal approach to make the readers care about the people who run this daily newspaper. It speaks to the troubles of their environment, while including information with which all people can relate.

Unit 3 Presentation

King - Letter From Birmingham Jail
 Emily Ostrow, Nkosi Jones, Laura Frankenfield, Dylan Doskicz