Ross Douthat's Argument Analysis

Krakauer admits that Chris McCandless was a rash, but he insists he "wasn't a nutcase, he wasn’t a sociopath, he wasn’t an outcast. McCandless was something else-- although precisely what is hard to say. A pilgrim, perhaps" (85). Many thought McCandless was wise and he knew what he was dong, while others disagree, stating his poor decisions contributed to his own death. In my opinion, Chris was indeed wise- he was a young man who didn’t care about labels, brands, big things, or anything materialistic. Instead, he thrived on more important concepts of life like truth and freedom. He believed he would find his true self and relieved of society once he became one with the wild.

The article by Michael Binyon and the cartoon by Tom Toles make the claim that President Obama did not deserve to win a Nobel Peace Prize at the beginning of his presidency. Toles and Binyon share similar viewpoint, so they approach the subject in similar ways. Both of the speakers describe President Obama’s lack of accomplishments at the time he received the award. They both appear to pose strong arguments about this subject; however, the article by Michael Binyon seems to be stronger than the cartoon. Even though both provide effective arguments about the topic, “Comment: Absurd Decision on Obama Makes a Mockery of the Nobel Peace Prize” seems to pose the strongest argument because Michael Binyon was able to develop his claim and effectively impact his audience using background information, evoking strong emotions, and comparing President Obama to deserving winners of the past.

A strong written argument is supported by several methods that are used to legitimize the author’s position as well as to discredit any counterargument brought forth. The techniques include introducing a counterargument and weakening it’s position with evidence. Providing legitimate academic research such as statistics as well as anecdotes from scholars on the given subject can reinforce the author’s argument. Another important method used is requiring the reader to critically think about a subject brought forth by challenging their preconceived ideas about a topic. This may also include using hidden assumptions that use implicit statements which have a certain opinion such as “If I follow the rules, good things will happen”, this is common

Since the dawn of mankind, clusters of innovations throughout history have allowed for societal progression at an explosive rate. While primarily fostering a centrifugal system of advancements; humans’ interests in expansion is spiraling out of control. Throughout history elements of collapse can be traced through civilizations and natural resources. Wright’s argument posits humans have hyperextended their utilization of resources at a rate that cannot be replenished, therein by setting up the world for the largest ecological collapse in history (Wright, 2004, pg. 130-131). Due to the cyclical process of past collapse and reformation humans have an advantage to rectify our current consumption rates ultimately avoiding a fate similar to past societies (Wright, 2004, pg. 131). As such Wright’s argument should frame larger discussions of responsible citizenship.

Nicholas Carr Claimed that the internet affects our information processing. Carr backed up his argument by speaking with a wide array of educated and reputable people like friends, colleagues, a blogger, GMU and a professor making his argument validity greater. Carr admits that he and his friends also; have the same problem by saying that he was appealing to emotions by using Ethos.

President Lincoln proposed a lenient plan to bring the defeated Confederate states to join the Union, which was known as the Ten Percent Plan. He believed that being more lenient to Confederate states would convince them to surrender sooner, and would speed up the healing process, which he thought was needed for a solid reconstruction of the Union. The plan consisted of forgiving all Southerners, except the high-ranking officers and officials, who would pledge loyalty to the Union, and as soon as 10% of the state’s voters would pledge oath to the Union, the state could call a convention and as a result could form a government and apply for federal recognition.

Americans today are no strangers to stretching every dollar earned in an attempt to live the American dream. Most people work long hours and eat on the fly with very little thought to what, or where, the food they have purchased came from. The reason food is so inexpensive has not been a concern to the average American, but the article written by Michael Pollan “The Food Movement Rising” attempts to convince the people that it is time to remove the blinders and take an accounting of the situation that America finds itself in. With obesity at epic proportions, and preventable diseases like

The civil war did reduce sectional antagonist a huge amount but it also made the United states One Nation. The war was a test for the nation or in this case ANY nation for those dedicated to see if they could endure and a final resting place for those who died and for the nation to live. There was division between the north and the south which eventually brought upon the Brutal Civil War. In president Andrew John’s Amnesty proclamation, the Union forgave the confederate and made them swear on an oath to faithfully support, protect, and defend the constitution of the United States. “The union eventually showed that they had no “antagonist” against the south which made the United States One nation once again. The soldiers that risked their lives

Lastly, on the subject of discrimination are the viewpoints that come from Fredrick Douglass author of the essay Reconstruction (1866). Unfortunately, Douglass was an individual that endured the abuse of slavery, until managing to flee (Van Camp, 2014). It was through Douglass’s experiences of slavery and beyond, that lead him down a journey to seek fairness for all, including slaves and the rights of women (Van Camp, 2014). Although the Civil War had ended and slavery was supposed to be eliminated, Douglass moved forward by writing the essay, Reconstruction (Van Camp, 2014). It is a piece of literature that seemed to illuminate Douglass’s views on the possibility that although the Civil War ended and slavery was no longer acceptable, there was still reason to believe that the country

An Arizona Rep. named Matt Salmon made what seemed like an ordinary visit to a local elementary school to explain to the kids how a bill becomes a law, when a couple of comments got him in some trouble with parents. Salmon made comments about Iran's nuclear deal and young suicide bombers to a bunch of second- and third-grade students at San Tan Charter School. While the comments were cut short by both the principle and a teacher, it didn't change the effect it had one some kids. The principle sent out an email to the forty-five students who attended the session and encouraged upset families to reach out to the office. So far, three families have done just that. To correct his mistake, he not only personally called a few of the upset parents

A strong point in Jim DeMint’s argument was, that the larger the government the gets the larger the national debt increases. A weak point in his argument was that “Almost everything our federal government attempts to do becomes a disaster”. It is very ironic for a person who served in the federal government to say it's terrible, it is also a very vague statement. I disagree with Jim DeMint for multiple reasons. The first being that he says that the government should stop spending but, then goes on to say we should spend more money on an already large military. Also he says that the government is using global warming as an excuse to expand its power but, there are many people (especially environmentalists) that would argue that it is not doing

Mr Campbell Newman was a popular lord mayor as a member of the Liberal Party, who served the Queensland government for three years from 2012 – 2015 (Lewis, 2015). In the recent 2015 Queensland state election, Newman was heavily punished by the public voters of Queensland as a result of treating the public servants unfairly by cutting jobs in contrast to his promises. He also claimed that there would be no forced redundancies and that he would try to lower the unemployment rate, yet these promises were never met. In support of this, the following essay argues that Campbell Newman didn’t interfere with the free market economy of Queensland, which can be beneficial for consumers in many ways because there is no government intervention. Instead,

Donald Trump recently gave a speech discussing rising Radical Islamic Terrorism, immigration from the Middle East, and a need for a rise in national security while Manchester, New Hampshire on June 13th 2016. He centers his whole speech around discussing how bad a President his opponent, Hillary Clinton, would be in difficult times. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of Finance in 1968 with a bachelor 's degree in economics, and has become a very successful businessman. He’s the Republican nominee for this upcoming presidential election, and is a very controversial candidate and person. He has come under fire for many of his views that he discusses in his June 13th speech. While Trump does make some agreeably points, he renders his speech ineffective because of his heavy reliance on Clinton’s opinion to form his own. If Trump were to become President, his stance on important issues would need to be reached with careful consideration, and not just based on doing the opposite of his opponents.

Confessing one 's political identity in 2016 truly embodies the phrase “walking on eggshells”. Whether you’re a liberal or conservative, owning up to your political resolutions sometimes comes with some intense backlash. In this years’ presidential election we have an intense candidate with very radical views, and if you don 't know who I’m talking about you should probably move from the rock you are living under. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has gained a immense popularity amongst not only the American public but Internationally as well. His chauvinist rhetoric, egotistical outlook, and how he continuously fabricates lies upon lies has truly brought him into the public eye. Hearing Trumps incredibly horrifying agenda makes me proud to admit that I am a Democrat, a solid liberal to be exact. As a solid liberal I believe in the power of the people and that means all people.Whether you are rich, poor, black, white, gay, or straight building and creating a nation that caters to people inherently means doing right by the economy and when we do well for the economy we do well for everyone.

Donald Trump was elected president of the United States of America on November 8th, 2016, and now has been running our country for over a year. As Trump’s first year in office slowly began, his reputation seems to be creating different outside views of our nation and arguments started producing everywhere. After competing with Hillary Clinton for the presidential term in office, Trump defeated her along with her democratic supporters causing one of the most shocking elections in U.S. history. Using public media web pages, we are reviewing both sides of the argument regarding Trump’s election and we are going to decipher why each arguer supports their side, and why each side is reasonable for the benefit of our country.