Arguments & Scholarly Conversation (after reading peer's papers)
- I found that the most clear arguments that used scholarly evidence was when a scholar was directly quoted or his/her point of view was shared, analyzed, then discussed.
- Other methods my peers used were to include facts... this got me thinking to do the same, but possibly to also use history to support my argument for the prompt
- As I was typing my comments, I became aware of things I would need to do/fix in my own paper -- such as really outlining beforehand and tying each paragraph back to my thesis
- Having a strong thesis will help me in my argument, and I can then use scholarly evidence as my supports for each detailed point I bring up
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Monday, March 23, 2015
English Symposium ~ Fiction & Christianity
Last Friday I attended the 12:00 session of Fiction and Christianity, featuring two amazing writers, Emma Natter and Madeline Dresden.
Emma's work was titled "Ruth", and was about a young woman, who was a Christian pilgrim in the Renaissance era. The woman, Ruth, was traveling along a pilgrimage route from Spain to Germany, and passed through France -- this Catholic pilgrimage is called Copistella, or "The way of St. James". Ruth was a character that was portrayed as being naïve, yet bold in questioning the way the church ruled over its people during this time. I loved Emma's diction and the way she phrased simple things to describe everything Ruth would encounter -- at least in the small passage that was read to us. One such example was a phrase Emma used to describe Ruth on her walk home -- she used a simile to describe the feeling of taking in a gulp of cold air to relate to Ruth's chilly inside feeling, and also commented on the sheep's hooves that passed by. These small descriptions did wonders to her audience's imagery -- I was able to envision the very specific visual detail in this scene. Another example from this work that I loved was the way emma described the music bouncing off the large stone walls in a chapel. She related this back to what she experienced in her own personal journey in Europe, and how she used her own experiences with hearing music in a medieval chapel to describe what Ruth might have heard. Lastly, I enjoyed her open-ended and thoughtful ending to the specific passage, or perhaps it was the first chapter. She ended with a personal thought from Ruth, saying, "Could [God] be lying to one of us?" By "us", Ruth meant herself and the priest -- as she had conflicting views with the way the catholic church promoted relationships with God. I found this to be an interesting way to leave the reader thinking - it makes us want to know the answer, or to get to know Ruth more, get to know what will happen on her spiritual journey - and for this reason, I believe all of Emma's readers will read on.
Madeline's work was entitled "His Waxen Wings". Even before I attended this symposium session, I decided that I absolutely fell in love with her title. Little did I know that her genre would actually be more leaning towards a religious science fiction -- which surprised me even more, but I was intrigued. She described to us that her title was actually taken from Doctor Faustus, which was based on the German story of Faust, in which a man sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for worldly happiness and temporal full knowledge of the world. In Madeline's story, she describes the protagonist as a dead, resurrected sinner who is currently being tried on earth by angels to work against the demons. Madeline thought up a fictional theology for her work, that although also had an almighty god, did not comprise of the views of her own LDS faith. She described how this has been a therapeutic way of answering some of her own gospel-related questions, and made her realize the importance and central necessity of our loving Heavenly Father, and just how beautifully structured our religion is in this way. Her protagonist cannot speak due to his state and circumstance, and for that reason dialogue is limited on his behalf with gestures and facial expressions. Madeline's writing style was beautiful, and as I was taking notes, I found it also hard to describe. She would often use quick sentences and use repetition. She used beautiful descriptive metaphorical verbs, such as the following example I wrote down: "The smile was well-ironed on her paper-pale face..." Overall, Madeline's storyline was in and of itself very interesting, and would keep her listeners and readers hooked, and her writing style elaborates it in a way that is hauntingly memorable.
Emma's work was titled "Ruth", and was about a young woman, who was a Christian pilgrim in the Renaissance era. The woman, Ruth, was traveling along a pilgrimage route from Spain to Germany, and passed through France -- this Catholic pilgrimage is called Copistella, or "The way of St. James". Ruth was a character that was portrayed as being naïve, yet bold in questioning the way the church ruled over its people during this time. I loved Emma's diction and the way she phrased simple things to describe everything Ruth would encounter -- at least in the small passage that was read to us. One such example was a phrase Emma used to describe Ruth on her walk home -- she used a simile to describe the feeling of taking in a gulp of cold air to relate to Ruth's chilly inside feeling, and also commented on the sheep's hooves that passed by. These small descriptions did wonders to her audience's imagery -- I was able to envision the very specific visual detail in this scene. Another example from this work that I loved was the way emma described the music bouncing off the large stone walls in a chapel. She related this back to what she experienced in her own personal journey in Europe, and how she used her own experiences with hearing music in a medieval chapel to describe what Ruth might have heard. Lastly, I enjoyed her open-ended and thoughtful ending to the specific passage, or perhaps it was the first chapter. She ended with a personal thought from Ruth, saying, "Could [God] be lying to one of us?" By "us", Ruth meant herself and the priest -- as she had conflicting views with the way the catholic church promoted relationships with God. I found this to be an interesting way to leave the reader thinking - it makes us want to know the answer, or to get to know Ruth more, get to know what will happen on her spiritual journey - and for this reason, I believe all of Emma's readers will read on.
Madeline's work was entitled "His Waxen Wings". Even before I attended this symposium session, I decided that I absolutely fell in love with her title. Little did I know that her genre would actually be more leaning towards a religious science fiction -- which surprised me even more, but I was intrigued. She described to us that her title was actually taken from Doctor Faustus, which was based on the German story of Faust, in which a man sells his soul to the Devil in exchange for worldly happiness and temporal full knowledge of the world. In Madeline's story, she describes the protagonist as a dead, resurrected sinner who is currently being tried on earth by angels to work against the demons. Madeline thought up a fictional theology for her work, that although also had an almighty god, did not comprise of the views of her own LDS faith. She described how this has been a therapeutic way of answering some of her own gospel-related questions, and made her realize the importance and central necessity of our loving Heavenly Father, and just how beautifully structured our religion is in this way. Her protagonist cannot speak due to his state and circumstance, and for that reason dialogue is limited on his behalf with gestures and facial expressions. Madeline's writing style was beautiful, and as I was taking notes, I found it also hard to describe. She would often use quick sentences and use repetition. She used beautiful descriptive metaphorical verbs, such as the following example I wrote down: "The smile was well-ironed on her paper-pale face..." Overall, Madeline's storyline was in and of itself very interesting, and would keep her listeners and readers hooked, and her writing style elaborates it in a way that is hauntingly memorable.
Tuesday, February 17, 2015
Rhetorical Analysis Thesis Proposal
Thesis Proposal: Rhetorical Analysis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frank_Zindler
http://business.highbeam.com/3861/article-1G1-98780327/government-thrall-religion-speech-frank-r-zindler
For my rhetorical analysis, I have decided to write on and
analyze Frank R. Zindler’s “A Government in Thrall to Religion”.
In addition to Mr. Zindler being a biology and ecology
professor, he is also one of the most prominent atheists in the US. “A
Government in Thrall to Religion” was originally a speech, and was published in
the American Atheist Magazine.
Some of Zindler's main arguments included:
- The need for a separation of church and state -- preachers/priests triumphed over constitution
- There must be a place put aside where science and learning can thrive, and won't be victims of religion
- He sees science as a great "benefactor, liberator, and secular savior", from the "dark and swelling tide of superstition, faith and ignorance"
- Idea that, if the government relies upon a god, who can rely on the government for the world's problems ???
- Sees religion as wishful thinking
- Degrades Bush's credibility and rationality (believes he brought religious bias into the white house) -- as well as many others who are overly religious and ignorant
- Cabinet made up of religious politicians
- ignored warnings of ecologists and scientists
- Doesn't believe in global warming
- Pulled funding from UN fund for population control
- EPA allows more pollution into rivers and lakes
- NASA discontinued remote sensing and environmental application projects
Rhetorical tools Zindler uses to achieve this:
- repetition (especially towards the end with "we must" phrases
- references to the Christian faith -- pulling blame on them, sympathizing with his followers and fellow atheist society, and degrading their credibility
- Logos - making logical statements, that, granted, are very biased, but does so in a manner in which he can successfully persuade those on the edge or who are unsure of Bush's presidency and legitimacy, as well as those who are not religious but a respecter of the current government organization and constitution
- Pathos - creates a sense of urgency towards the end of his speech, that this is a crucial time to bring complaints to Capitol Hill and push for a higher regard of science and less influence of religion
- Ethos - degrades George Bush's credibility, therefore making him seem more intelligible
Sources
http://business.highbeam.com/3861/article-1G1-98780327/government-thrall-religion-speech-frank-r-zindler
Sunday, February 8, 2015
"Faith in America" - Mitt Romney Appeals Assignment
In Mitt Romney’s speech “Faith In America”, Romney elaborates to his audience his support of
religious liberty and freedom in the United States as well as offering
perspective on his own faith and its role it would have in his potential
Presidency. Romney emphasizes that his own faith shares core American
values, and that he commits to the LDS faith and intends to live the principles
taught. He assures his audience –religious peoples of America as well as his
skeptics – that religious authorities or institutions would have an influence
on presidential decisions.
Romney uses ethos
as the core of his argument – as a presidential candidate, he was trying to
prove why he was credited to be president, and what good things he would
emphasize during his term. One of his main points is that a presidential
candidate should not become a spokesman for his faith, as he would need the
support of all diverse faiths in the country. He made clear to his audience,
that as past governor of Massachusetts, he did not confuse teachings of his
church with his obligations of his office and the Constitutions – thus, he
provided his audience with the knowledge that he would have the same type and
honor of commitment in his Presidential office.
Pathos can be found in Romney’s patriotic statements and
emphasis on American liberty and essential until. Romney stated in his speech
that we are all similar in that we are part of the human family, and children
of God. He used this statement to portray the responsibility and obligation for
one another and for the gift of Liberty. He reminds the audience of the
thousands of lives of Americans that were sacrificed for this purpose and to
protect their freedom. With this, he again emphasizes that his religious holds
these same values dear, and that he intends to protect these rights and
freedoms. By including the memory of those who fought for freedom, Romney
guided his audience to realize the importance of protecting their freedoms, and
thus increased his credibility.
The
emphasis on the unity between various religions in America outlines the usage
of Logos in Romney’s discussion. Romney
emphasizes that though diverse in theology, the religious peoples of America have
been united in the cause of protecting moral principles, equality, and liberty.
He related the examples of the causes of abolition and civil rights to
emphasize this. Romney uses logos to a further extent in his discussion of the
separation of church and state. He explains how the notion of this has been
adapted from its original meaning. The establishment of America was done so
with the words “Under God”, and thus it was not intended to eliminate religion
from the public. Therefore his argument that religion is not merely a private
affair with no place in public life is justified – though separate, religious
and political spheres continue to support common values, and one or the other
should not be disregarded.
Thursday, February 5, 2015
Opinion Editorial & Writing Process Reflection
What writing strategies work for you? What didn't?
I found that writing the opinion editorial came fairly easy, as I was writing about a topic that I had been passionate for quite some time. As someone who struggled with negative side-effects from social media, and who ultimately found better ways to use my time, I found that writing to others who also have struggled/are struggling with social media was intriguing. This topic worked for me, and I found that creating my thesis, and thus my entire paper, was a very fluid process. I divided my thesis into three parts illustrating three potential negative effects that social media may have on its users. By doing this, I structured my paper with three specific topics, from which I could research and give more detailed examples. While writing my opinion editorial, I found myself using a lot of logos by referencing credited sources to 1. pinpoint social media addiction as an actual problem and 2. offer background information and support to the points I discussed in each paragraph.
I found it harder however, and especially for this topic, to write with Pathos -- perhaps I used some techniques to connect emotionally with my audience, however knowing how to do so completely was a bit difficult. I attempted this with my hook sentence and parts of my introduction, but I feel that my paper lacked other examples to connect on a more emotional level with my audience. One writing strategy that I struggled with was being firm in my opinion, and not being so apologetic surrounding my examples. I wanted to present my topic in a realistic way, and show that there are two sides to social media use: one positive, and one negative. However, I realized that to be too two-faced or "wishy-washy" in a persuasive piece can be detrimental to an argument. For this reason, after my rough draft I had to go through and cut out many pieces that would seem to undermine my main argument, or at least make them less stark.
What were your expectations writing the Opinion Editorial?
While writing my opinion editorial, I wanted to really include all three areas of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. However, I found it hard to really include specific examples of each... often, I would find myself including examples subconsciously. My experience with my opinion editorial was an overall positive one. I think my topic had a lot of substance and examples to draw from, and there was probably much more I could have included to make my argument stronger -- however, my keeping my points concise, I feel I could connect with my audience at a better level. Learning to write for an audience was also a crucial part of this paper. By keeping in mind who would be reading my paper, I could tailor my discussions to their personal experiences/needs.
What were techniques/styles/thoughts used in my paper from class lecture/style academy?
One of the techniques I attempted to use from the Style Academy is that of parallelism. I tried to do this throughout my paper, and found that repeating important concepts or ideas helped the persuasion of my argument. Of course I tried to use as much Pathos, Logos, and Ethos and other rhetorical tools as I could -- and this was something we spent a fair amount of time in class discussing. Another important method I used was mimicking the style of other writers (also taught in one of the videos on Style Academy). Many may think this negative, however reading others' works have helped me to develop my own and unique style of writing -- and I definitely looked at some writing pieces before hand to inspire some of my sentence structures. Something I wish to improve with my next paper is making my writing more concise -- something that I struggle with every assignment (as can be seen by the length of this post).
I found that writing the opinion editorial came fairly easy, as I was writing about a topic that I had been passionate for quite some time. As someone who struggled with negative side-effects from social media, and who ultimately found better ways to use my time, I found that writing to others who also have struggled/are struggling with social media was intriguing. This topic worked for me, and I found that creating my thesis, and thus my entire paper, was a very fluid process. I divided my thesis into three parts illustrating three potential negative effects that social media may have on its users. By doing this, I structured my paper with three specific topics, from which I could research and give more detailed examples. While writing my opinion editorial, I found myself using a lot of logos by referencing credited sources to 1. pinpoint social media addiction as an actual problem and 2. offer background information and support to the points I discussed in each paragraph.
I found it harder however, and especially for this topic, to write with Pathos -- perhaps I used some techniques to connect emotionally with my audience, however knowing how to do so completely was a bit difficult. I attempted this with my hook sentence and parts of my introduction, but I feel that my paper lacked other examples to connect on a more emotional level with my audience. One writing strategy that I struggled with was being firm in my opinion, and not being so apologetic surrounding my examples. I wanted to present my topic in a realistic way, and show that there are two sides to social media use: one positive, and one negative. However, I realized that to be too two-faced or "wishy-washy" in a persuasive piece can be detrimental to an argument. For this reason, after my rough draft I had to go through and cut out many pieces that would seem to undermine my main argument, or at least make them less stark.
What were your expectations writing the Opinion Editorial?
While writing my opinion editorial, I wanted to really include all three areas of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. However, I found it hard to really include specific examples of each... often, I would find myself including examples subconsciously. My experience with my opinion editorial was an overall positive one. I think my topic had a lot of substance and examples to draw from, and there was probably much more I could have included to make my argument stronger -- however, my keeping my points concise, I feel I could connect with my audience at a better level. Learning to write for an audience was also a crucial part of this paper. By keeping in mind who would be reading my paper, I could tailor my discussions to their personal experiences/needs.
What were techniques/styles/thoughts used in my paper from class lecture/style academy?
One of the techniques I attempted to use from the Style Academy is that of parallelism. I tried to do this throughout my paper, and found that repeating important concepts or ideas helped the persuasion of my argument. Of course I tried to use as much Pathos, Logos, and Ethos and other rhetorical tools as I could -- and this was something we spent a fair amount of time in class discussing. Another important method I used was mimicking the style of other writers (also taught in one of the videos on Style Academy). Many may think this negative, however reading others' works have helped me to develop my own and unique style of writing -- and I definitely looked at some writing pieces before hand to inspire some of my sentence structures. Something I wish to improve with my next paper is making my writing more concise -- something that I struggle with every assignment (as can be seen by the length of this post).
"A Tale of Illuminating Falsehoods v. Faulty Realities" - My Opinion Editorial
Sis. Kaleigh Spooner
Writing 150
February 2nd, 2015
A Tale of Illuminating Falsehoods v. Faulty Realities
Tragedy sits before the screen: A girl, whose
self-worth is measured in “likes” and not confidence, whose circle of
“followers” is larger than that of her confidants, and whose perception of time
is gently slipping away. This situation, although heartrending, is not
uncommon, nor is it exclusive to the female gender, and can appear in various
forms. Just as any play has a setting, the backdrop to this story is the
newsfeeds and the profiles in the realm of social media. The sites, apps, and
phones that are mediums for these online networks can have an overbearing and
controlling influence on the lives of many, and are almost always with us. Social
Media, although not bad in its nature, can be easily distorted to be a
foundation of vanity and vulnerability, a restriction of social interaction,
and a devil of time. Funny, though, how social media’s goal is to increase our
connections and communications with friends – for many, however, it seems to
have had the opposite effect. Those who use social media need to be aware of
its dangers and be a strict evaluator of the time, self-confidence, and
tangible friendships that may all falter and fade if virtual community
participation becomes obsessive.
All types of social media can be
potentially time-consuming. This is almost true in every case – managing a
firm’s Facebook advertisement page, tweeting about an upcoming club event, chatting
a friend living abroad, or even posting on a class blog. These are all proactive pursuits that enrich our lives
and help us to move forward. However, there is a different type of
time-consumption that I am sure we are all at least a bit familiar with – scrolling
through (pointless) posts, double-touching our way through hip, filtered
pictures, and lol-ing at streams of vine videos – all fun things, but when we
allow them to become too time-consuming, we give up the other end of the opportunity
cost: doing anything that is, quite frankly, more productive. This goes both
ways – as Best-selling Author Margie Warrell wrote, “like any addiction, no matter
how many likes we get, the high is quickly outlived and we are forced to head
back for another round of posts and likes and follower counts. It's a vicious
cycle.” To break this cycle, we must become stringent about the time that we
spend on our profiles and newsfeeds.
I dare say
that the social media isn’t a measure of popularity, and certainly not an
indication of happiness, although many may temporarily see it in this way. The
unspoken promise and seduction that these sites appear to offer us – “if you
have more followers and likes, you are more followed and liked in reality” – is
false. The disappointing qualities of vanity and vulnerability (which correlate
with happiness) can come as results of posting (usually pictures) and receiving
feedback from our social circles in the form of “likes” and comments. Take the
example of a “selfie”, Oxford dictionaries word of the year back in 2013 for a
picture taken of oneself and uploaded on a social media website. Selfies are
not all-out bad – and they are fun to take once in a while. However, over-posting these may scream out ones’
narcissism and can be interpreted as vain, or even as a form of insecurity when
that person depends on its likes and comments to enchant their egos or praise
their appearances day after day. By viewing the number of likes, reposts, or
shares on “masterminded-posts” to be indicative of their significance in the
world, social media users are being deceptive to themselves by feeding this
unhealthy sense of pride. This can work the other way around too – when posts
get no attention, or one may feel they have little influence in their social
media circle, and therefore little significance in reality – this is extremely
negative, and can diminish one’s productivity. These sites and other photo-sharing
opportunities may also take form of a comparison-game. By comparing your
experiences and accomplishments to others through the form of photographs and
posts, one can also come away with negative feelings. Thus, we see the effects
of vanity and vulnerability in social media and its impact in self-respect and
confidence. Dr. Ethan Kross from the University of Michigan conducted the first
study to directly observe from Facebook’s influence on happiness and
satisfaction of students in Ann Arbor, Michigan. “The researchers observed that
the more a person used Facebook between surveys, the sadder his or her
responses became. In addition, heavier Facebook usage over the entire two-week
period was tied to lower life satisfaction” (Akpan). This study seems to
support not only the fact that Facebook may affect productivity (due to time-wasting),
but can be even more so damaging to one’s self confidence and happiness levels.
“Lower life satisfaction” and “sadness” should not be side effects from sites
that aim to assist our social lives. To turn this vicious cycle around, we must
recognize that “comparison is the death of joy” (Mark Twain) and that “pride
makes us artificial and humility makes us real” (Thomas Merton).
The effects
of social media on our time and our emotions can be tied to our relationships in
reality – is our time looking at the Face-book taking away from the Face-face?
As a social-media user myself, I can attest to there being two fronts when it
comes to the effects of social media on real life relationships. The first, being
the use social media to keep in touch or network, and the second being an
obstacle and hindrance to improve current friendships and seek out new
relationships. The first front is positive – I use social media to communicate
with many friends and family that live outside of the country through Skype, Facebook,
and instant messaging. By connecting with them in this way, I can share new
happenings of my life and vice versa. The other front is negative: it seems
that when more time is spent on building up status in social media for sakes
other than healthy communication, the quality of offline friendships falters.
50 years ago, the dating scene was much different than it is today. People got
to know each other by going up to strangers and introducing themselves – they
would give each other a short call and make plans to meet up. Today, many couples
have started to meet each other by simply “swiping right”, and then letting
that same relationship get dominated by texting, where it is easy to hind
behind a mask. We must look beyond the face-value descriptions and photographs
that are posted online, and invest into individuals themselves – whether this
be dating or otherwise. I have often witnessed friends completing activities
just for the purpose of taking a picture to post later… and then obsessing over
the number of likes on it. There is nothing wrong with this except for the
reasoning behind it. Today, friendships have the potential for so much more
depth than a profile could ever proffer, conversations have so much more
meaning than texting and emojis, and quality time outdoors has so much more
gratification than a nose stuck on a phone screen. Once one starts to discover
these potentials, and live them, they can begin to measure their relationships
by the true memories created, rather than “likes” – and regardless of whether
these memories are eventually shared publically or not.
These three
“fates” of social media – time-wasting, vanity and vulnerability, and diminishing social-interaction
– must be controlled and eliminated if we are to have a positive outcome from
our online connections. We must have the time to make ourselves available to
those around us and cherish their time – quality time means looking into eyes
and not screens. By placing time limits on social media, we are able to clear
up more time not only for the short-run, but for the long-run as well – as we
are able to practice productivity and focus, we are able to find time to
improve friendships in day-to-day conversation and activities. We must acquire
a sense of security and confidence that has no dependency on the opinions of
others, but that comes from ourselves and from the advice and support of those
whom we trust most. The online virtual world, although intriguing, can never
replace the vividness and genuineness of the actual world we live in – and
isn’t the latter so much better than the first? When we do use social media, we
must use better judgment by developing better habits of not wasting time and
losing ourselves in what can be considered the futile aspects of social media
(comparison and conceit). We should all take the time that we respectably gain
from this to write more hand-written letters, enjoy fresh air and beauties of
the world, and speak to those we admire and cherish in this life face to face
rather than letting the soft glow of cell phones hypnotize and keep us from
these things – there must be a careful balance between these two worlds: virtuality
and reality. We must keep in mind that the reality
of our lives outside the virtual world– no matter how imperfect they are – is what
fuels our well-being, our friendships, and our future.
Works Cited
Akpan, Nisikan.
"Facebook Usage Linked To 'Declines In Happiness': Is The Social Media
Platform Making You Depressed?" Medical Daily. 4 Aug. 2013.
Web. 24 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.medicaldaily.com/heavy-facebook-usage-linked-declines-happiness-social-media-platform-making-you-depressed-251415>.
Warrell, Margie.
"Seduced by Social Media: Is Facebook Making You Lonely?" The
Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 24 Jan. 2015.
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/margiewarrell/social-media-lonely_b_4034744.html>.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
GASCAP
Generalization - assumption you make based on an observation
Analogy - comparison, nothing similarities
Sign - If - then
Causality - consequences
Authority - credibility/education/experience
Principle - morals between writer & reader
Healing Soldiers - Blast Force
"The Invisible War on Brain" by Caroline Alexander
http://www.nationalgeographic.com/healing-soldiers/blast-force.html
G: It is assumed that blast waves in war zones have a some serious impact on the brains of soldiers and fighters in proximity of the explosions.
A: Comparisons with combat blasts and blasts from a study test performed in colorado were compared (more of a literal comparison) - analogies to the physical pains were made, " 'like someone had punched them,' as well as headaches that 'started with shooting pains in the forehead, progressed down the temples, behind the ears, and up through the jaw line."
S: If current research and findings are correct, they would have major implications for treatment, diagnosis, and prevention of TBI from blast zones.
C: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) has very similar symptoms to that of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and this emphasizes the severity of this specific impact.
A: The writer experienced a first-hand account of being inside a protective bunker and experiencing the "thump" felt from the blast events on the war front. The writer also uses the credited source of the US Department of Defense, which shared facts on how many soldiers/veterans suffer from the TBI injury associated with exposure to blast events.
P: TBI may increase vulnerability to psychological disorders, including suicide, and therefore the author implies a sense of moral/ethical urgency to solve this negative phenomena.
Are We All Not Beggars?
Rich or poor, we are to “do what we can” when others are in need.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
G: We must be compassionate in all our dealings with fellow men, as we are also beggars when it comes to the mercy of God. We must share the temporal comforts of this life with our brothers and sisters in this life -- this is a virtue of service that many LDS members have concluded to with all the teachings they have gathered in their lifetime and because of the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
"Like you, I have had to worry about finances on occasion, but I have never been poor, nor do I even know how the poor feel. " -- Elder Holland
A: Elder Holland uses two main examples (which can be seen as similar to analogies) of men who have given all that they could to those in need. The first is of Jesus's ministry on earth as he fed, clothed, and healed the sick, hungry, and poor. He was, for his adult life, homeless... and dedicated most of his time to aiding those, and loving them, who were in need. The second, is that of President Monson. As he was returning from East Germany (in its limited economic state), he gave up two of his suits and the shoes off his feet to those who needed them much more than he did. These examples give the readers two great lives of service that they can keep in mind, and strive to live up to their own full potentials (however great, or small their contributions may be).
S: Elder Holland used a direct "if - then" sentence to help his listeners understand the love of God and the atonement: "if there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety and nine who need no repentance, then apparently God is not overly preoccupied with percentages"
C: We must do all we can to help those around us -- if we don't we risk the dreams and well-being of many who are poor in circumstance in this world. There is a direct correlation between those who are poor in circumstance and those who are poor in heart -- and thus the blessings and the joy that would come from service and good will from us will encourage us to give all that we can.
A: Elder Holland gave an example of Mother Theresa -- a woman of God recognized not only by the LDS church, but the whole Christian community, and the entire world. He included a quote from her emphasizing that one should do all they can -- and by doing this, adds more credibility to his talk.
P: Most talks, use principles -- Elder Holland chose the principle of service and doing "all that we can" to convey to his audience. He used an example of his life -- of how he was never in need, but would have enough to share with others -- and related this back to many of the circumstances of those listening to him. We must also keep in perspective the feelings and struggles of the poor, and how many of us may never know the difficulty of their everyday lives because of our life circumstance and showered blessings.
"Like you, I have had to worry about finances on occasion, but I have never been poor, nor do I even know how the poor feel." -- Elder Holland
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/are-we-not-all-beggars?lang=eng#watch=video
Are We All Not Beggars?
Rich or poor, we are to “do what we can” when others are in need.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland
G: We must be compassionate in all our dealings with fellow men, as we are also beggars when it comes to the mercy of God. We must share the temporal comforts of this life with our brothers and sisters in this life -- this is a virtue of service that many LDS members have concluded to with all the teachings they have gathered in their lifetime and because of the doctrine of Jesus Christ.
"Like you, I have had to worry about finances on occasion, but I have never been poor, nor do I even know how the poor feel. " -- Elder Holland
A: Elder Holland uses two main examples (which can be seen as similar to analogies) of men who have given all that they could to those in need. The first is of Jesus's ministry on earth as he fed, clothed, and healed the sick, hungry, and poor. He was, for his adult life, homeless... and dedicated most of his time to aiding those, and loving them, who were in need. The second, is that of President Monson. As he was returning from East Germany (in its limited economic state), he gave up two of his suits and the shoes off his feet to those who needed them much more than he did. These examples give the readers two great lives of service that they can keep in mind, and strive to live up to their own full potentials (however great, or small their contributions may be).
S: Elder Holland used a direct "if - then" sentence to help his listeners understand the love of God and the atonement: "if there would be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over the ninety and nine who need no repentance, then apparently God is not overly preoccupied with percentages"
C: We must do all we can to help those around us -- if we don't we risk the dreams and well-being of many who are poor in circumstance in this world. There is a direct correlation between those who are poor in circumstance and those who are poor in heart -- and thus the blessings and the joy that would come from service and good will from us will encourage us to give all that we can.
A: Elder Holland gave an example of Mother Theresa -- a woman of God recognized not only by the LDS church, but the whole Christian community, and the entire world. He included a quote from her emphasizing that one should do all they can -- and by doing this, adds more credibility to his talk.
P: Most talks, use principles -- Elder Holland chose the principle of service and doing "all that we can" to convey to his audience. He used an example of his life -- of how he was never in need, but would have enough to share with others -- and related this back to many of the circumstances of those listening to him. We must also keep in perspective the feelings and struggles of the poor, and how many of us may never know the difficulty of their everyday lives because of our life circumstance and showered blessings.
"Like you, I have had to worry about finances on occasion, but I have never been poor, nor do I even know how the poor feel." -- Elder Holland
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2014/10/are-we-not-all-beggars?lang=eng#watch=video
Friday, January 16, 2015
Thesis Proposal for Opinion Editorial
Thesis:
Social networking has changed over the past decade to become
something extraordinary – the communication that is allowed through texting,
instant messaging, posts, and “likes” sheds a whole new light on the nature of
relationships and friendships.
Although connecting online
may help friendships keep in touch and communicate (and in a good way), many
times, over-feeding our virtual social life may have detrimental results. Those
who spend too much time on social media can potentially find themselves feeling
more alone – seeing posts and pictures of others and their accomplishments may
spark feelings of loneliness or even jealousy, scrolling through newsfeeds and
reading updates of followers eventually leads to hours on end of time-wasting,
having a positive response with followers and “likes” can be seen as an
obsessive want or need, the new “selfie-age” can sometimes suggest narcissism
or a need to feel accepted or “liked”, and the list goes on and on. Not that
all these medias of sharing experiences are bad – in many ways they are good,
and can be used for positive communication. However links have been drawn
between the (quality) time spent on social media, and the quality of actual
(not virtual) relationships and happiness of individuals. Being sucked up by
cell-phone conversations and being overly-invested in checking newsfeeds can
take away valuable time – time which could be spent learning or becoming
knowledgeable through other mediums, holding meaningful conversations and
activities with people, and investing in hobbies or spending time outdoors. An
equilibrium must be found in which a person can maximize the benefits fostered
from social media, but keep away from the dangers it may impose.
Some interesting reads/sources on the topic:
I plan to find other studies
performed that may provide factual evidence as to whether social media really
does have an impact on social skills or increase levels of loneliness.
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