Rhetoric Shaping History-

Nicholas Schweers

The world today is filled with examples of rhetoric’s use in shaping culture. While most of these examples may seem disappointing in modern times, they are still shaping our beliefs and our future. Examples can range from Black Lives Matter, to the Victim Culture of the West, to even the Presidential Election of 2016. In a culture as fluid and viscous as the United States, politicians and leaders have to adapt their rhetorical styles to help promote and move forward their ideologies.

Western culture, largely the American culture, changes and adapts to new ways of thinking constantly. What has happened most recently has been caused by a sense of victimization. Since World War Two, the United States have boasted being the best (which is undeniably true), but it has left most feeling entitled. This entitlement has done both good and bad. It has led to discourses of equality, putting blacks and whites, men and women on the same playing field. Sadly, this has also led us to expect more from society than is reasonable.

When looking at the current (2016-2020) Presidential election, both main candidates have decided to appeal to these desires. Mrs. Hillary Clinton promises tax cuts and totally free education for all Americans. While it has been proven to be monetarily impossible to achieve that goal, she appeals to said sense of entitlement, promising equal chances through socialism. Mr. Donald Trump appeals to conservatives by attempting to promote equal chances to gain advantage over others. He says that he will bring in jobs being lost to outsourcing, giving more people the chance to gain economic stability. While Hillary appeals to the desire for “equality” for less, Donald appeals to the American desire for “equality” through hard work. However the election goes, it will have a largely historic effect on the US. That is because whoever gains the presidency, will most likely control the Senate, Supreme Court, and more. This will allow them to best fulfill their goals to appeal to our entitlement. This is a chance to greatly influence the economy and politics of the United States, for better or for worse.

Nicholas Schweers

Maj Hoddie

10/2/16

Graphic Analysis

http://www.emersontech.net/2010/01/28/power-strip-vs-surge-protector-/

The link above takes you to a page that contains information on power strips and surge protectors. The company uses this article to help people understand what these tools are used for and the difference between the two. I convey much of the information in this website onto the toolkit project.

 

Appealing Characteristics:

• The Graphic leads the reader to question what all difference there is between the surge protector and the power strip. This is the most effective use of material because it brings into question the main point of the article.
• There is easy access to different tabs, which can lead the reader to other tools and tips if they are looking.
• Words that the author wants to portray as important are completely capitalized, begging the attention of the reader.

Negative Characteristics:

• The data is within the text, and is not very easy to pick out at a quick glance.
• While it is mostly common knowledge, there are no graphics or instructions on how to properly use surge protectors or power strips. This is the least important because it is already widely known how to use these materials.
• While black and white are as contrasting as it gets, the plain black and white does not draw much attention to the material.

 

Potential Solutions:

• To help the reader focus on important material, I would highlight the important sections in red, I would set them apart from the regular text, and I would use a graph to further explain the costs and benefits of each tool.
• To help the reader understand how to use these materials, I would add graphics of them in use, followed by descriptions on how to apply them.