http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/17/opinion/blow-inconvenient-income-inequality.html?ref=charlesmblow
In Charles M. Blow's column, "Inconvenient Income Inequality" he discusses the gap between the rich and poor in the United States. He starts off by saying that according to Americans, more see themselves as better off than not. However, this is not a true view. According to the Associated Press, the middle class in America is shrinking and 1 in 2 Americans have fallen into poverty. He also reiterates the fact that the gap between the rich and poor in the United States has "reached its highest level in 30 years." All of these points lead up to his biggest one, that this income inequality could be economically awful for the United States. He believes that if the United States continues to believe that this income inequality is normal, that that is living in denial and could be very economically dangerous for this country.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Monday Matters 12
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/10/opinion/blow-the-brutal-side-of-hazing.html?ref=charlesmblow
In this column by Charles M. Blow, "The Brutal Side of Hazing", he discusses the hidden and alarming realities of college hazing, and the recent death of a college student who was a victim of it, Robert Champion. He discusses how college hazing is a common thing in the country at colleges, and that most of it is truly dangerous. Many officials choose to pretend that this stuff isn't happening, and turn their attention away from it even though they know that it is happening. Students put themselves through all of this trauma simply to "fit in", and that mindset needs to change, as the practice of dangerous hazing is ridiculous. Blow believes that we need to end hazing as the prices that people pay for it are not worth the "barbaric physical and psychological trauma" students face to prove they are strong. His main way of communicating this point is through is persona experience with hazing when he was young. Adding in this narrative gives him credibility because he truly does understand the brutality of hazing and the stubborn mindsets of its participants. He starts of the column with an abrupt paragraph "The tragic loss of Robert Champion may be another sad case of a college student literally dying to belong". This grabs attention, because there has recently been a tragic young death, and the reason stated for his death seems very pitiful. In order to show how hidden in the background the harshness of hazing is he says, "And we weren’t Animal House-like alcoholics and louses. We were campus leaders. The fraternity prided itself on receiving the high-G.P.A. award, and I was the freshman class president." He says this to show how when you're young and have the desire to belong, it doesn't really matter how smart or driven you are, you can become a victim. He refers to the 2008 study by researchers at the University of Maine, that stated that 95% of kids involved in hazing don't report it. He then goes on to say "I certainly didn't." This should alarm the reader because he described in such detail just how brutal and unimaginable his experience with hazing was, and how much pain he was in. Yet, he still didn't feel the need to report it, as most college students don't. This sad point aids his call to action that "We must end the “conspiracy of silence.”" Outside help of more enlightened people who have lived on this earth for longer than the youth is needed. These horrible acts of hazing will only be put to a stop if it is no longer allowed, and if its illegality is enforced.
In this column by Charles M. Blow, "The Brutal Side of Hazing", he discusses the hidden and alarming realities of college hazing, and the recent death of a college student who was a victim of it, Robert Champion. He discusses how college hazing is a common thing in the country at colleges, and that most of it is truly dangerous. Many officials choose to pretend that this stuff isn't happening, and turn their attention away from it even though they know that it is happening. Students put themselves through all of this trauma simply to "fit in", and that mindset needs to change, as the practice of dangerous hazing is ridiculous. Blow believes that we need to end hazing as the prices that people pay for it are not worth the "barbaric physical and psychological trauma" students face to prove they are strong. His main way of communicating this point is through is persona experience with hazing when he was young. Adding in this narrative gives him credibility because he truly does understand the brutality of hazing and the stubborn mindsets of its participants. He starts of the column with an abrupt paragraph "The tragic loss of Robert Champion may be another sad case of a college student literally dying to belong". This grabs attention, because there has recently been a tragic young death, and the reason stated for his death seems very pitiful. In order to show how hidden in the background the harshness of hazing is he says, "And we weren’t Animal House-like alcoholics and louses. We were campus leaders. The fraternity prided itself on receiving the high-G.P.A. award, and I was the freshman class president." He says this to show how when you're young and have the desire to belong, it doesn't really matter how smart or driven you are, you can become a victim. He refers to the 2008 study by researchers at the University of Maine, that stated that 95% of kids involved in hazing don't report it. He then goes on to say "I certainly didn't." This should alarm the reader because he described in such detail just how brutal and unimaginable his experience with hazing was, and how much pain he was in. Yet, he still didn't feel the need to report it, as most college students don't. This sad point aids his call to action that "We must end the “conspiracy of silence.”" Outside help of more enlightened people who have lived on this earth for longer than the youth is needed. These horrible acts of hazing will only be put to a stop if it is no longer allowed, and if its illegality is enforced.
Monday Matters 11
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/03/opinion/blow-newts-war-on-poor-children.html?ref=charlesmblow
This column of Charles M. Blow was entitled "Newt's War on Poor Children" and was a criticism of some statements the former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, has made. He basically said that poor children do illegal things, and have no working habits whatsoever. Blow was quick to come to the defense of "America's most vulnerable" - the poor. His main point was that many of the nation's poor, are in fact, employed. 3 out of 4 poor working aged adults have jobs, and therefore most poor kids have at least one working parent. He argues that Gingrich's statements aren't backed up by any facts at all, and that the true facts contradict everything that he's said. And the last point he touches on is that people who are in lack of money do not necessarily lack morals. Just because someone is poor doesn't mean they will steal and fall into other illegal activities, and he backs this up by in recent years America's overall crime rate, especially among juveniles, has dropped even though the poverty rates have gone up. After shooting down all of Gingrich's claims with facts, he criticizes the current status of the Republican party as it is becoming increasingly less compassionate and accurate in the information it preaches.
This column of Charles M. Blow was entitled "Newt's War on Poor Children" and was a criticism of some statements the former House speaker, Newt Gingrich, has made. He basically said that poor children do illegal things, and have no working habits whatsoever. Blow was quick to come to the defense of "America's most vulnerable" - the poor. His main point was that many of the nation's poor, are in fact, employed. 3 out of 4 poor working aged adults have jobs, and therefore most poor kids have at least one working parent. He argues that Gingrich's statements aren't backed up by any facts at all, and that the true facts contradict everything that he's said. And the last point he touches on is that people who are in lack of money do not necessarily lack morals. Just because someone is poor doesn't mean they will steal and fall into other illegal activities, and he backs this up by in recent years America's overall crime rate, especially among juveniles, has dropped even though the poverty rates have gone up. After shooting down all of Gingrich's claims with facts, he criticizes the current status of the Republican party as it is becoming increasingly less compassionate and accurate in the information it preaches.
Monday Matters 10
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/opinion/blow-decline-of-american-exceptionalism.html?ref=charlesmblow
I choose to follow the New York Time’s OP-ED columnist, Charles M. Blow. This particular column was entitled “Decline of American Exceptionalism” and was about how U.S. citizens have developed a pessimistic attitude about the status of America in comparison to other countries. He stresses that we once believed this country was superior while we now no longer have faith in the United States being a leading world power. He notes how the young people of the United States are growing up to not have faith in their country. He believes this nation wise pessimism is faltering away from what once was a great country and that this negativity is dangerous, and must be put to an immediate end. In order to communicate his point, he uses a few rhetorical strategies. The article starts off with historical allusions, “Are we, indeed, the “shining city upon a hill” that Ronald Reagan described? Are we “chosen by God and commissioned by history to be a model to the world” as George W. Bush said?” Using these allusions helps him to start the article off by hopefully re lighting past emotions of strong unity and nationalism as a country. Remembering the positive times adds a contrast to the current negative situation he believes us to be in, and greater allows his readers to want to evoke change. He also raises the question of how God plays into American Exceptionalism, “Was our nation’s greatness about having God or having grit? Is exceptionalism an anointing or an ethos?” He goes on to say that if ethos and grit are the answers, then we need to recapture them. This is an appeal to logic, because many people now a days believes in separation of church and state. So by appealing to “ethos” and “grit” he is more prone to uniting people who read this article. He is very clear on his position that we need to change, and that the only way to is through very hard work and decision making. He uses many statistics to support his point such as only 49 percent of the United States believes their culture is superior to others.He also makes many calls to action, “And that means that we must invest in our future. We must invest in our crumbling infrastructure. We must invest in the industries of the future. We must invest in a generation of foundering and forgotten children. We must invest in education.” This makes him more credible because he isn’t just complaining, but proposing solutions to what he believes are major concerns for this country. And he ends the essay again with the historical reference he started off with, “That’s how a city shines upon a hill”, once again bringing the reader back to a feeling of hope that America can shine as a major world power.
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