Tow #13 Visual Text

For this Text of the Week, the Timberland shoe company has created a poster to persuade their audience into purchasing their running shoes by using pathos and juxtaposition. Usually Timberland is known for their working boots, not their running shoes, so this is very interesting that they’re producing running shoes. To start off, the poster has a brown bear, a wolf, and a human being, all of which are showing their teeth in an aggressive manner. With humans, wolves, and bears being different, mainly because they’re all different species, it’s hard to see the similarities. Somehow Timberland was able to capture a moment when all three species are displaying the same facial expression. By using juxtaposition, the human is being compared to a strong independent wolf and a big muscular and fast brown bear. By having the three species together in this order and reserve, the positive and courageous characteristics of each are being applied to the other species. Now by Timberland having their audience, mainly runners and other individuals looking for popular footwear, they can provide this confident and individualistic persona for their target market to flaunt with pride. Another interesting and effective text that is incorporated into this poster, is the quote, “If you’re not fast, you’re food”, this being directly under a picture of a brown bear and wolf. Now that you don’t have the Timberland running shoes, you’ll be hiking or jogging and a bear/wolf will eat you because you can’t run outrun the ultimate predators of the woods. Now this is directly towards the viewer's feelings, since no one wants to be eaten by an animal, it makes a person feel inferior. As some humans now feel inferior because of the text, they will have to purchase these shoes due to the fact that they want to be better than a four legged animal. Which is another reason why they were so successful in their running shoes sales. As a runner myself, I found this poster to be very convincing and would definitely consider purchasing the shoe.

Tow #12 IRB

For this Text Of The Week, I am going to go into detail about the boring yet somehow and somewhat interesting book, How To Be Alone by Jonathan Franzen. Before you raise an eyebrow or two and question why an oxymoron describes this fiction book, let me give you a taste of the book. In the beginning, Jonathan brings the reader along the hard times during in adulthood life, zooming in on his father in particular. His father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and it was tremendously affecting Jon's mother and the rest of his family. With the sad details of how his father’s last days were spent as he aged back down to a baby, I had been pulled into the book and was gripping onto the edge of my seat with the plot building slowly and the details only getting denser. That was the first chapter. The next chapter consisted of nothing but Jonathan contemplating whether or not to write another book while he was laying down on a couch surrounded by food and television Not only was this chapter boring, it lacked the small details that he had presented in the previous chapter. Where was the motivation? Why wasn't he describing how his pen glided across the paper as his creative mind exploded with ideas? These questions flew through my mind as I read page after page, the content just not improving after each flip. The content had its ups and downs, at some points being so boring to me that it eventually became a hassle to read. Pushing through those hard-to-read-chapters, I began to notice the author's purpose. With the sophisticated diction, dense detail, and his anecdotes, I realize how the book highlighted the struggles of the author, his successes, and the times where he questioned himself. Although not fully done the book, the boringness of the content is going away and my interest is being pulled back in.

Tow #11 Visual Texts

“No More Landmines" by Columbian designer Viktor Manuel Barrera captures the eyes and hearts of many as his visual text shows the long-term effects on victims of landmines through pathos and allusions. Viktor’s design, one of one-hundred-twenty-two other designs on Graphic Advocacy Posters exhibition, depicts the cruel some effects of war and explains the purpose, “I wanted to highlight a problem that lingers long after countries have been at war. Planted like seeds of death and mutilation, landmines are indiscriminate, making victims of soldiers and civilians, children and adults. Most people who activate these mines will die, and those who survive often require amputations, leaving an imprint of indelible pain in their minds and bodies.” This poster is a result of the wars that America was involved in between the years of 2001 - 2012. In the design, whether an illusion or not, it seems as though there is a hand with missing parts of the finger. Viktor uses this allusion to draw attention to amputees. Yes, many people are affected physically by wars, but why does drawing a leg onto a finger add any significance? What if veterans who have lost limbs tell you that it’s not just a physical pain, but an emotional and mental pain? Not being able to run as fast, kick a soccer ball with as much force, it changes lives for everyone. For some families it doesn’t affect tremendously, others it’s a hard struggle to deal with on a daily basis. If only drawing a leg in the place of where a human limb used to be was that easy to help them. Veterans are still in wheelchairs, innocent civilians are affected by this too. Often happening in people’s backyards, it’s something that now prevents children from going outside and playing without a fear of dying. This design created pathos and an allusion that addressed victims of war. Viktor has truly and successfully captured the eyes and hearts of many through his design as it was put into the Top 10 Effective Designs in Graphic Advocacy Posters.

Url: http://graphicadvocacyposters.org/posters/

Tow #10 The Story of My First and Favorite 'No'

In Shonda Rhimes's "The Story of My First and Favorite 'No'", she uses descriptive details and references to historical events that use the word 'no', to portray her support for the weaponary word 'no' and that it is a very tough weapon to deploy. Many teenagers are excited to receive their licenses, some say the process of driving with an instructor is the most nerve-wrecking of the whole experience. Rhimes captures these nerve-wrecking experiences with descriptive details that help the reader image the event. "Butterflies zipping around my stomach, I looked at the instructor. Patient and kind, a little balding, he was known as a nice man. He smiled at me, reassuring. I smiled back and asked what he wanted me to do" (para. 4), without even having a conversation, the reader can sense the nervous atmosphere. Now that the stage is set, Rhimes uses her descriptive details to help move the scene along. Now moving to when she is actually driving. Once driving, Rhimes explains when she drove on the freeway for the first time as "I [she] had been scared literally out of my [her] mind" (para 5). Later on questioning her actions, "When the driver's ed instructor told me to turn onto the ramp that led to the freeway, why didn't I put my foot on the brake and put the car in park and look at him and say that one word that would have changed everything?" (para 5). It is not until she mentions Rosa Park's historical actions, during the Civil Rrights Movement when she said 'no' to a white man demanding to sit in her seat, that Rhimes reminds herself how important and impactful this word ‘no’ is as that it eventually lead to equal rights for people of color and women. Shonda Rhimes is the head runner, creator and executive producer of Grey's Anatomy and other tv shows (Scandal), her audience is from all ages. With her descriptive details and historical background, she was successful in letting people know the true power of the word 'no'.


Url used: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shonda-rhimes/the-story-of-my-first-and-favorite-no_b_8591188.html

Tow #9 Attacks on Paris, France

For this week’s Text of the Week, it will cover the horrible terrorists attacks that happened in Paris, France. Oscar Lopez is the writer of this Newsweek’s update on Paris. Lopez  is also known for writing ten other articles dealing with struggles and events that occurred around the world. On late Friday night around 9:30, Guilluame Bonnet and Tristan Lebleu, both in early and late twenties, heard and witnessed the shootings and bombings of extremists groups towards innocent Parisian. Guilluame Bonnet had dinner with his parents then nearly a block away it was the sounds of guns going off, what many people guessed were fireworks instead. Fireworks quickly turned into people running, screaming, and hiding in nearby buildings, this then made Builluame fearful.  "That's when I started to feel really afraid” (Lopez 2), this fear building as later in the attacks he heard the terrorists opening fire on a restaurant that was extremely close to his home. That same time, Tristan Lebleu was exiting the soccer stadium, the location of two suicide terrorist bomber attacks and the death of four other individuals, with lots chaos and anxiety within the Parisians. The sense of reality hit Tristan when “Lebleu walked with a friend to the train station to take the train home, but none of the trains were running. Fielding dozens of calls and messages from worried relatives, Lebleu began the three-hour walk home,” (Lopez 8) hearing nothing but gun fire, explosions, and screaming as he traveled home. By having the experiences and thoughts from Gilluame and Tristan, readers were able to imagine the situation and the nightmare that they both were living. With the President Obama releasing a statement about the event, Snapchat creating a filter, and others showing their support for France in this hard time, it is obvious that something will be done to find the individuals who directed this act of cruel some killings and they will be prosecuted appropriately. Watching this event occur on this news brought sadness, confusion, anger, and most importantly sympathy for those who are there running to save their lives.


Link used: http://www.newsweek.com/survivors-paris-attacks-recount-tales-horror-394373

IRB Intro Post #2 How To Be Alone by Jonathan Franzen

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For this marking period, I will be reading How To Be Alone by Jonathan Franzen. This book is about John experiencing noisy and distracting mass cultures and events that would want someone to, or at least think about, being alone. I have decided to read this book because I'm interested in how an individual can separate themselves from the extraordinary or devastating events that are in their lives. Throughout this book I hope to gain a better understanding of how to appreciate the company of myself and learn to separate myself from a hectic environment.

Tow #8 Independent Reading book

For this week’s Text of the Week, Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals (my independent reading book), has come to an end. From the beginning of the book it tells stories of uncertain days, one being when she almost got raped. The deeply detailed anecdote was horrifying in how real it felt, the diction, attention to small details along with every emotion she felt during that time, created a first person view for the reader. As the pages kept turning, Melba’s life only got worse. While entering the school she applied to pathos and ethos. By all of the tension building up, it was only a matter of time before she cracked and would leave Little Rock high, so a reader thought.  Because of her turning her cheek towards the harsh remarks and commentary, it allowed us as the reader to see how brave she had been, how strong she had been, and how powerful she is as a person. Without these harsh times of segregation during Little Rock’s integration period that she went through, it would be harder to believe her by just talking about it, rather than writing it down in detail. In the book there is photographs that capture some of these cruelsome times, elaborating a whole lot more than words could ever. One picture in particular meant a thousand words, when Elizabeth Eckford went into the face of a mob right in front of Little Rock, her looking helpless and vulnerable, but nowhere near giving up. In the background there were caucasian people hollering at her, her face staying forward, not looking back or making comments. This allowed us as readers to visually see what being hollered, harassed, and segregated was like (if we hadn’t already experienced that). Although to me it was very hard to finish the book due to its high attention to detail and slowly progressing plot, it was a book that I recommend for other individuals who are also interested in the events that occurred to the Little Rock nine during this time.

Tow #7 Grading Sacramento

For this week’s Text of the Week, the critical times for California is mentioned as it struggles to build a stable economic model for the future while also addressing the immediate issues like the drought, transportation, and the expiration of temporary taxes that were approved in  the Proposition 30. There are three people who help govern and apply their input into the solutions  of these issues; the Los Angeles Times is now questioning and grading the leadership, effectiveness, vision, transparency, political courage, and integrity of those three democrats, Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins, Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León and Gov. Jerry Brown. Overall Assembly Speaker Toni Atkins has received a C+, Senate President Tem Kevin de Leon received a B, and Gov. Jerry Brown has not received a grade yet, this grading process (#gradeyourgov) is a new project that Los Angeles Times has presented. The #gradeyourgov helps the citizens of California see where their government stands as they face these hardships like taxation, droughts and difficulties in transportation. While reading this editorial on the issues in California, the democrats seemed to addresses the problems very successfully, apart from Kevin de Leon laying off approximately forty employees which didn’t necessarily make him most favorable. Leon, Atkins, and Brown have introduced and passed very crucial bills that will leave long lasting positive effects on California. Leon showing the most amount of leadership (according to Los Angeles Times #gradeyourgov) is one of the reasons for his success, he is credited with a lot of meaningful, a few controversial, but the majority powerful impacts on the state. Atkins is described as a swing of the pendulum, the last Assembly speaker being very particularly strict who kept a tight rein on everything. Atkins is more approachable, kind, and intelligent. Because of the success of Leon, Atkins and Brown, it is fairly reasonable to say that they will continue to be successful in the future for the state of California.


Url: http://graphics.latimes.com/grading-sacramento-2015/

Tow #6 Lamar Odom Hospitalized

For this week’s Text of the Week, the recently hospitalization of Lamar Odom will be brought to light. Lamar Odom being an NBA star athlete, every part of his life is public regardless if he wants it to be or not. Starting from his divorce with Khloe Kardashian to when his infant passing away, his life is always being broadcasted over and over again. On Tuesday afternoon, Lamar Odom was found in a hotel room on the ground unresponsive. He was in the hospital fighting for his life, the next 48 hours being critical. Lamar Odom fans and basketball fans in general are supporting him and his ongoing struggles in his life. With tweets, Facebook messages, and text messages overwhelming with love and support, Lamar’s generous personality is being missed as he is in the hospital. The support shows how genuine the athletic community is towards their star players once they fall and are unable to get up at first. Now five days later, Lamar is able to speak in complete sentences (although they are slow and soft spoken it is still showing positive progress,) and breathe on his own without a breathing tube, while also being able to move his muscles and respond to questions that he is being asked. Without the updates from the social media and his family and friends, not many people would know of Lamar’s condition. We also wouldn’t know that his divorce with his wife (Khloe Kardashian) has been put on hold, because of the recent turn of events. While in the hospital, it truly caught the audience’s hearts when the reason for Lamar waking up was because he heard his wife Khloe say I love you, and wanted to respond back. With the multiple facts and hooks which are presented, besides those, and the recent hospital event, it has presented it’s validity and is a candid story.

Tow #5 Visual Text Analysis: Words Kill Wars

In this week's TOW, I chose a Japan based advertisement agency, Oglivy and Mather, who made a new campaign for ADOT along with other advertisements to present the same idea, against the conflict between Ukraine and Russia. Some of the most complex and powerful messages, are most effectively captured in simple words. Words kill wars, a message that has been used for centuries to try to stop, even reason, a war. During this time when this advertise was made, Ukraine and Russia were in a major conflict. How Ukraine was involved in this conflict is because their government decided not the sign the agreement with the European Union in fall of the year 2013. This agreement was not solely a trade agreement, but also a political agreement that committed Ukraine to certain European values and principles. Not long after there was a regime change, from then on, the opportunity to fight corrupted. The west Ukraine region has closer knit ties with Europe, and the East region, larger than the west, is closer with Russia because of their wide industrialization and expanding urbanization. Russia shares a broad history with Ukraine, at one point, banning trade and imports with Ukraine. Ukraine shares the fact that five out of every six people speak Russian, showing how the cultures have mixed together throughout the years. With the two countries being so close and their cultural and social ways of living collide, it was inevitable that the two would be caught in a conflict. The conflict itself has become a world-wide concern, mainly because of how many people had protested and threatened the president. With protests, riots, sounds of weapons constantly going off, the citizens who are caught in between are scared and helpless. While constantly being terrified to leave their homes, people don't want to add more to the violence than adding more fuel to the flame. Oglivy and Mather understand that those individuals who are in terror and are under a lot of economical pressure, and create a solution to how they can extend their voices and be heard. Words are heard, sometimes more than violence. After talking and constantly arguing back an worth, the Ukrainian president had decided to look further into the European Union, allowing for the violence to simmer down. With this image portraying pathos, I believe it is an effective advertisement.

Tow #4 Taliban Shootings and U.S. Airstrike

“This city is no longer for living,” says Sayed Mukhtar, a public health officer in Kunduz, Afghanistan. For this week’s Text Of the Week, I will be discussing the past weekend’s air strike which was led by the United States that concluded to the nineteen deaths, thirty seven wounded individuals, and the destruction of Médecins Sans Frontières hospital.

This event first started when the United States had intel that Taliban shooters were firing at NATO (National Atlantic Treaty Organization), forces. The United State’s air strike was to take out the Taliban shooters (Islamic insurgents) out of the Afghan city. Prior to this air strike the Taliban had captured the city of Afghan, although not for an extensive period of time, but it was just enough to cause chaos and fear among citizens. The Taliban controlled the city for approximately three days, eventually falling back, only to return and create havoc on the people of Kunduz. The Kunduz security forces are trying to recapture the city. It has taken them time yet within four days of the recapturing mission, the Kunduz security forces had regained the city but were still experiencing a battle against the Taliban to hold their ground. The shooters had made their way into a hospital using it as their “human shield”, as the Afghan Ministry of Defense had stated.

Many members of the Doctors Without Borders, humanitarian organization, are stating that this attack is a war crime. Since it is now considered a war crime, there are many investigations taking place at this time. The reasons for why the U.S. forces led an air strike are still murky. The United States military is conducting an investigation of their own, seeking deeper information on the attack and as to why the Taliban were firing at the National Atlantic Treaty Organization. The airstrikes were precisely and repeatedly hit where medical personnel and patients, the main hospital building, were located. The rest of the hospital, not missing any of the attack, had smaller bombings, leaving fires still going on after the strike was over. After telling the U.S forces to stop the airstrike due to their innocent patients being killed, the attack continued for approximately 30 minutes before slowly coming to a stop. The Kunduz people are confused to as how the terrorist got into the hospital, their interior minister stating that the terrorist might have been taken as hostages. After hearing this comment, Jason Cone expressed his opinion on that comment, stating, “We do not run hospitals around the world allowing combatants to enter our facilities and militarize them," he tells NPR. "That would be a red line for us. It puts both our patients and our staff at risk and we would never accept that under any circumstances”. Overall there is a lot of confusion, fear, and hope cycling around.

Many procaustionaries are being taken to help the citizens seem more at ease. For the past couple of days, the security forces of Kunduz had been increased along with many news reporters advising people to stay in their homes after certain times. It is not unusual for the people to hear guns being shot in the morning, afternoon, evening and at night. The ministry stating, ” If you see abandoned military vehicles or equipment anywhere turn them over to security forces . . “ doing the best that they can do to help save innocent people’s lives. This is not a safe or healthy environment to be living in. As the dead poll numbers increase, it is creating a hazard. "Some of the bodies are decomposing." says, Gulboddin. With it being a small city, many of the hospitals are being overwhelmed with patients. Some of the hospitals are running low and running out of needed medical supplies and medicine. They are struggling to treat the number of patients as it starts to increase.

    In any case, bombing a fully functional hospital can never be justified, the patients, workers, and civilians receive an experience that no one should have to go through. These bombings and shootings are horrible and are not proper nor suitable conditions that anyone should be put under. Knowing that the Taliban could have used the hospital as a human shield is frightening, it comes across as if they could care less for people’s safety, which could be the case. Afghanistan is a country that is under constant battles, whether they be against other nations or their own people, their is something that leads to death. With all of these battles going on, I can only imagine how their economic, social and politics are constantly being changed and diminished.

Video: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/at-least-16-killed-at-afghan-hospital-after-us-airstrike_560fed96e4b0dd85030c43ea?cps=gravity_5020_8474280998236361130

Urls:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2015/10/04/445773358/doctors-without-borders-kunduz-airstrike-was-war-crime

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/doctors-without-borders-says-hospital-was-not-a-human-shield-for-taliban_561107e6e4b0af3706e11968

Tow #3 Non-Fiction: Hillary Clinton Email Turn Up

For this week’s TOW, it presents a question that most politicians are asking themselves nowadays, what privacy do they really have? This question is being asked upon numerous occasions and many people. One reason for that being that as a politician, your privacy is very limited and every action and or word that is spoken by you, can be turned against and used against you. This was fairly and recently shown by the actions that Hillary Clinton’s old personal email are being accounted for. Her old email turned up along with some unknown emails that were sent just two months before she became secretary of state, making people suspicious of her intents because she had mentioned that she had never used this email before obtaining her job. Unknown emails were sent off of this old account to other people, such as the Commander Of the United States Central Command, Gen. David H. Petraeus with information that cannot be shared with the press. Hillary explains to the press that the discrepancies were beyond her technical understanding, even though at the time she had hired individuals to help her with her technological concerns. Her Husband, Bill Clinton the 42nd President, placed blame on the email turn ups on the Republicans who wanted to weaken Hillary Clinton’s political position and press political issues onto her policies as a secretary. When asked about the subject she stated that it was  “fair game . . .” and that “ I take responsibility. It was my choice. It was a mistake back when I did it”. With President Barack Obama’s presidency days slowly coming to an end and Hillary’s email mix up, Hillary is becoming less favorable to her once supportive voters. The press has come to their own conclusion that Hillary Clinton had used this private personal server account because she planned to run for president in 2016 and wanted to hide potential evidence that would cause investigations or Information Act requests. Her supporters are still with her but now to a certain extent rather than before. Hillary Clinton has shifted her position on many topics and issues, all ranging from the same-sex marriage to the recent wars, all presenting her as a reasonable candidate for president. She may not be creating pathos within her explanations, but she is creating logos and ethos by being the Secretary of State and having evidence that she did employ someone to assist with her technological concerns. In my perspective, Hillary Clinton seems to still be a reliable and reasonable candidate to run for presidency. Supporting the current issues and actively getting involved in the political and giving her opinions on the economical issues, she is very active in appropriately approaching her audience. Compared to other politicians such as Donald Trump, who comes off as offensive and skeptical, she knows what the American people want and is willing to do whatever she can to the best of her ability to do so. Having a woman actively representing herself along with not letting the political drama get to her head and tear her down is very admirable. It’s not often that a woman has the potential and confidence to go against other male competitors to run for senate and possibly for president. With being a woman, the political drama is more drawn to her to see how she would handles such situations, all of which she is very professional and not impulsive when handling. Regardless of  the emails turning up after her obtaining the job of the Secretary of the United States (2009 - 2013), the email scandal is slowly dying out and isn’t holding a large pressure on her anymore. Since the technology is constantly expanding and changing all across the world, I do not blame Hillary for her innocent mistakes, they were incidences that people are nowadays more likely to do than ever before. The press needs to stop finding ways to apply pressure onto Hillary, for she is looking towards the brighter and better United States for everyone. And to the other people who’re either against women’s rights in the political field or are against the Democratic party, they should not present any unjust and or unnecessary stress and pressure onto her. Dealing with real world issues is one thing, dealing with people who have nothing better to do than to find old emails that contain information that cannot be shared with the press, shouldn’t find them in the first place. The political field is a very difficult field to be represented in, especially as a women, all the best luck in her future endeavors.


Url: (http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/09/27/hillary-clinton-says-she-cannot-explain-why-previously-undisclosed-emails-turned-up/?ref=politics&_r=0)

Tow #2 Analyzing/Dicussing IRB: Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals

For this week's TOW, the most powerful and gruesome experiences of Melba Pattillo Beals are shared in her book Warriors Don't Cry. During the late 1950's, Melba expresses her days wanting to attend the same school as the white people and to also be treated respectfully by them. This story goes through the harsh times when she was taunted with verbal assault which she responded with courage and bravery while being integrated into Little Rock's Central High School. It all started when Melba innocently decided to sign a paper that would possibly volunteer her for the integration. After signing the paper, within the span of two years, the Brown vs Board of Education court case was set in stone, allowing integration to begin in all white high schools and declared Melba to be volunteered with eight other individuals to start integrating. What Melba believed to be the best school, Little Rock Central High did not turn out to her as she thought it would be. After trying to attend the school, was relentlessly mobbed, grabbed, slapped, punched, and almost raped, it isn't until September 20, 1957 when Melba and the other eight other students begin their classes. It is now September 20, 2015 as I am writing this TOW. To be able to read this book during the same time period, me also being a minority, it creates an inside to a life that I truly never experience. Knowing Melba's friends, that hadn't volunteered, just watched at a distance as she was beaten and cursed at, made me realize how helpless she had felt. This was all done by her first person perspective in her writing. The historical significance of all of the events with the detailed descriptions of everything she went through is something that is unforgettable. Knowing that she was helpless and by herself at some points, it's important that she shared her story to others who were not aware of the situation she was in.

IRB Intro Post #1: Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Pattilo Beals

(Url: http://civilrightsteaching.org/resource/warriors-dont-cry-a-searing-memoir-of-the-battle-to-integrate-little-rocks-senior-high/)

         For this week’s IRB Intro I have chosen to read Warriors Don’t Cry by Melba Pattillo Beals. This book discusses the hardships that 9 African American students went through as they were the first minorities to integrate Little Rock’s Central High School. I have chosen this book because in the past years I have heard of the historical event but not truly understood the historical context behind it. I hope to gain a better understanding of the major event that occurred in Little Rock’s Central High School.

Tow #1 Visual Text: Star Tribune Cartoon "The Talk" by Steve Sack

For this week's TOW I chose a cartoon which shows "The Talk" that White Americans give their children, and "The Talk" African American's give their children. This cartoon is by Steve Sack, a liberal leaning American cartoonist who won a 2013 Pulitzer Prize for editorial cartooning. Although the award was not for this specific piece of art, it was won for the messages that he portrayed in them. This cartoon displays the justice issues that minorities have and justice issues that White Americans don’t have. A common topic that is discussed to children is "The Talk", often referring to the explanation of sexual intercourse. In this case, an African American parent is teaching their child about how minorities are wrongly treated in the justice system. The reason why the African American father is explaining this to his child is because of cases like Trayvon Martin, Freddie Gray, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, where police force and/or justice systems have wrongly sentenced the perpetrator within the years of 2012 - 2015 and left the minority to fend for themselves. “The Talk” that the White Americans are having is one that is supposed to resemble innocence and learning of a natural process. The ‘birds and the bees’ being a talk that has nothing to do with justice. With that being said, it comes across that Sacks intended audience is African Americans and other minorities in the United States. With minorities having to face an issue like so, it creates no reason for White Americans to receive this message. By myself being a minority, I have learned the harsh history that has occurred along with how the White Americans were the ones applying it. Learning about the unfair justice that occurred has lead me to believe that Sack has successfully and clearly presented his view on the unjust actions that occur in the United States justice system.

                                                      Hidden Religion

 

                 

                         Stand up for what is right, even if you stand up alone.

                         Image by: http://www.alphingtonstmichaels.org/Groups/226593/Services.aspx

 

In the Military, Army, Navy, and Air Force, every individual has the same purpose, to serve and protect their country. What makes them different is what the meaning behind every single soldier is. Mary McCarty, a soldier, is surrounded by men everyday. She is used to the sly stupid comments that are incorporated in the everyday conversations. One day that all changes when Mary overhears the Colonel talking and his conversation leads to discrimination against McCarty’s people. People that her acquaintances have no idea about. Mary is half Jew. In a bar with her fellow acquaintances, the talk of the evening consists of spiritual, moral and historical backgrounds dealing with Jews and Communists. Besides hating on communists and mentioning that there happens to be a Communist professor who is working at Harvard, one way or another, Jews get brought into the conversation. Mary regards this as a disrespectful conversation and leaves to find comfort in her own space. This then leads to questioning herself and her background. It is not something that she should be ashamed of, nor is it anyone else’s business. She takes a stand and approaches the Colonel in a civil way; by refusing to go to lunch with him until he decides to hear her out. She is determined to take his hurtful words into words of respect and understanding. While going back and forth in conversation, Mary makes sure to keep her religion hidden, playing smart with her spiritual and moral supportive examples. She out wits the Colonel with his own tongue, making him pay the check for lunch and admitting that he was wrong. Mary McCarty later reveals her last name, identifying her Jewish background to him. This created a mutual respect between the two. It also created a respect between the reader and Mary, for her description in words let us see her harsh perspective and the spiritual and moral background let us believe her credibility.

                                                A Beautiful Crooked Line

 

             

             A poet is unsuccessful when they’re trying to be something that they’re not.

             Image by: David Hayward

Roses are red, violets are blue, Robert Frost reached his goal, and his poetry has a nice tune. All poems need to be different but not different with their words or sounds, they have to be different with their meaning. A poem with deeper meaning to the reader rather than a deeper meaning to the writer is a true art. Poems have to be different, also they do not have to be wild. Poems are tunes that create their names as the words of the story carry you along a wild yet calm adventure. Every single poem has a beginning, a middle, and an end. In what order that poem is in, that is up to the writer, but every poem has that standard. Having a different order in the standard is what creates a different mood. The reader may perceive a completely different mood in the beginning than in the end of the poem. Regardless of the mood, a poem still holds the same purpose. It is to entertain the audience, to bring up a memory that the audience has once forgotten about. Individuals will try to be a Walt Whitman, a Edgar Allan Poe, or an Emily Dickinson, yet they never truly allow the name to be created by themselves through the story. It is best for someone to love a good crooked line’s straightness rather than adore a mechanically straight line. Musicians and poets both have a similar tune, even with their different techniques. Both incorporate a free handed solo that can uplift a sad heart or do the complete opposite. That is what creates such a full and effective tone in writing. Two different audiences with similar characteristics is what makes a successful prompt. Robert Frost accomplished his purpose that it should be the pleasure of a poem itself to tell how it can. With lacking credibility, it is his passion for both arts, poetry and music, that helped portray the ideas of his personified words in a corresponding way.

 

Fighting Without A Purpose

Fighting Without a Purpose

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by

Image by: https://skyyton.wordpress.com/2011/10/27/two-roads-diverged/

           

War starts with blood shed and ends with blood shed. The only difference between modern war and past wars is that now there are more weapons and more people who are narrow minded towards alternate ideas; alternative ideas that could have saved millions of innocents lives. When Athenians went against other tribal groups, centuries ago, it was considered brave and victorious. Keep in mind, land was never given freely, native tribes were killed by neighboring tribes who wanted more than what they possessed at that time. Lords would tell knights that if they wanted more money, they had to take this land and protect it. When a land was picked out, knights weren’t told of previous owners, they were warned of ‘enemies’. Wars to this day consist of no purpose; wars are merely to hold pride, authority and honor. Although militarism has been successful, it is surely not the only tactic that could be successful. War is sometimes needed because a country doesn’t have any positive or stable tactics to fall on. This doesn’t mean that it always has to be taken to such cruel some ways of warfare. A large quantity, out of millions and millions of military personnel, do strongly believe that if the government didn’t take militaristic actions, the country would be weaker than it is now. Many will agree, but that is simply because no other way has truly been tested. Military is what gives authority and power over most countries; it sets high standards, limits towards enemies, and friendly allies too. It’s a president’s best friend in a time of suffering. William James has failed at achieving his goal of making people aware of the necessity of war along with an optimistic mind of other options. By solely mentioning tribal wars that occurred centuries ago, and authors who supported the idea of war, it lacked in credibility towards his purpose. Finding soldiers who are passionate about fighting wars is wonderful; finding groups of people with that same passion towards another strategy would be spectacular.