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Abby Zyk

MAJ Garriott

ERH 202WX-03

2 May 2018

The End

Ronald Reagan gave a speech on the 40th anniversary of D-Day at the U.S. Ranger Monument located in Pointe du Hoc, France. This speech was given to commemorate the sacrifices made on D-Day, commemorating both the fallen heroes, surviving soldiers, and the loved ones that carry their sacrifice to this very day. The way Reagan executed his speech was a direct influence for me as I wrote my speech on the zombie apocalypse. The language, style, and delivery of Ronald Reagan’s “D-Day Memorial” Speech exemplifies defining characteristics of rhetoric as a whole. To find success in rhetoric, it is important to know your audience, your purpose, and your message. Reagan selectively chooses the content of his speech so that each of the differing audiences will be catered to. Say, for example, the audience at hand was the families and loved ones of the victims and survivors of D-Day. Reagan would adhere his message to commemorate instead of persuade, to show gratitude towards the strong-willed families for handling the grieving so gracefully, and to pay tribute to the sacrifices that were made that fateful day. As a result of this, Ronald Reagan was respected as a leader of our country due to the genuine compassion and unwavering moral courage he displayed for his people. On the other hand, take his audience of congressmen, government officials, and the general professional audience listening to his speech for its precedential value instead of its leadership value. Reagan

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implemented more statistics and logistical information such as where we were as a military force on D-Day versus where we are now and how that continuation of improvement is leading us to become the greatest military in the world. Doing so hit two birds with one stone, meaning it provided formal information for his professional audience, but also persuaded his emotional audience that what we’re doing and the sacrifices made were for a cause greater than ourselves. While writing my speech, I made an effort to adhere to my audiences as best as possible. In an actual zombie apocalypse, there will be a variety of different audiences. There will be those that flee in fear and go completely internal with worry. There will also be those who view the situation from a tactical perspective and take educated actions towards survival. For my speech, I drew my ideas as if the zombie crisis stemmed from a disease. Explaining the crisis through science accounts for both the practical and emotional audiences. For the practical audience, they see the medical crisis as one that can be diagnosed, treated, and at some point cured. For the emotional audience, they view a medical crisis as much less intimidating than a “rebirth of the undead from the underworld.” Reagan’s rhetorical tactic of knowing your audience served him well, and I seek to emulate his practices in my speech on the zombie apocalypse.

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Hello. My name is Abby Zyk and I am located in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado with my husband and two children. The date is April 20th, 2056 and this is a radio broadcast for anyone out there who can hear me. For those of you that do not know, America is under attack by zombies. Yes, lumbering, flesh-eating, human-like creatures now roam our home. The situation we are facing is terrifying, to say the least. Upon first utterance one may be inclined to fight back with weapons in hopes of making a dent in the monsterous population. Or, if responding to fear with violence risks too much for you, one might decide to barricade and hide away, optimistically hoping for the best. But the reason I stand before you today making this broadcast is not because I seek to advertise this “fight or flight” natural response you may be facing. Rather, I want to encourage a more rationalized approach to the situation. I, Abby Zyk, am a licensed medical analyst who has seen disease outbreaks like this predicted in the past. I have studied Biology and Epidemiology at Harvard University, and have conducted countless research projects and created almost 11 different simulators geared towards the study of diseases.  First, what you must understand is that this is not a resurrection of the undead. This outbreak is not an insurgence of mythical beings, it is not an act of sorcery by the will of God, and it is certainly not a real-life reenactment of “The Walking Dead”. These creatures we see before us are, in fact, people. People who have been unfortunately affected by the diseased epidemic called “Acute Zombification”. This is a condition that is highly contagious, and the effects are fierce. From my research, a person affected by Acute Zombification may experience bodily malformation, rotting or discoloration of the skin and organs, a sharp increase in appetite, and an extreme fever in the low 100 degrees. These effects are scary to think about, I know. But the

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reason I am communicating the medical list of symptoms is because the key to surviving this epidemic is knowledge. Using a knowledge based approach to survival will give us the best chance of safety. If you, a loved one, or someone you know is experiencing any of these symptoms, I advise you to treat them immediately for the worst case scenario.

America, believe me when I say that all hope is not lost, for I have a foolproof plan that will ensure your safety and survival in this situation. First, gather your belongings and your loved ones. Take as much food, water, fuel, radios or phones, medical supplies, and weapons as you can manage and head for a location with the least amount of population and least amount of civilization. These places include mountains, deserts, heavily wooded areas, swamps, rural zones, and anywhere else where you might find solitude. Once settled, barricade yourselves. Create some sort of obstacle between your residence and any wanders that may want to find their way to you. Cutting down large trees, moving boulders, digging ditches or moats, all of these will delay or inhibit unwanted guests from finding you. After building your barricades, hunker down. Make yourself comfortable and satisfy whatever medical, emotional, and physical needs you or your loved ones may have. Stay put and listen to the radios as you wait for more information. Your job at this point is to be patient. Trust me, a cure will come and this chaos will pass. Your best chance at survival is to hide and wait out the effects of the outbreak.

However, if you do find yourself in a situation with zombies for whatever reason, do not lose sight of the end goal. Look fear right in the eye and choose to determine your own destiny. Be strong as you attempt to disguise yourself as one of their kind. Have a pair of dingy, beaten up clothes already constructed and roll around in the mud to mask any scent of cleanliness you

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may have. If done correctly, the zombies will not, and I repeat: they WILL NOT hurt you. My medical analysis has shown that they are not cannibalistic to other zombies. They will view you as their same species and not pay you any mind. Make as much effort as possible to not have to fight, because without weapons these diseased people could easily infect you.  I have faith in each and every one of you. Be courageous, play the game.

America, do not let a medical mistake scare you into making rash decisions. Decide your own fate by creating your way out. This outbreak is painfully disappointing, indeed. But it is not by any means the end of our world. With proper preparation and a rationalized, well thought out plan, this pain shall pass and we may once again thrive as the great country we are. Remain calm, follow the step by step plan I have provided, and never lose hope.

My friends, I stand before you not only as a licensed medical analyst and an informed researcher on all things zombie related, but I also stand before you as a mother, a friend, and a fellow American. I wish you the best of luck in your journeys, and my door is always open for a helping hand. May God bless you all.

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Works Cited

The History Place. “Ronald Reagan on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day.” The History Place –

Great Speeches Collection: Ronald Reagan Speech on the 40th Anniversary of D-Day,

www.historyplace.com/speeches/reagan-d-day.htm.

From writing this paper, I learned about how to first understand a cultural situation before I can deeply analyze an individual’s experience. This has been a very interesting journey for me, but it all started when I chose the second essay question. This question stood out to me because I was used to looking at somebody’s argument and either supporting or proving it wrong. This has been the basis for almost all of my research papers. Yet, this essay topic furthers this simple concept of supporting or counterarguing by then asking exactly how the person who made the claim actually carved out a space for their argument, not just simply stating what their argument claims. In order for anyone to accomplish something of this nature, they themselves not only need to have a strategy, but they also have to have an advanced understanding of how the human brain will be persuaded. I loved the complexity such a loaded question demanded from the writer.

While the question was intellectually stimulating, and I loved working at it, my favorite part of this essay has to be the research process. The question called for the synthesizing of a primary source versus a secondary source, and deciding whether or not the secondary source adequately supports the primary source not just in argument, but in the use of rhetorical technique as well. For my paper in particular, I first analyzed the primary source of Sojourner Truth’s speech. This is a primary source because it is a direct address to a community of people. Then, I decided how and why the secondary source of Shirley Wilson Logan’s commentary on 19th century African American female activism deserved recognition. From this process of researching sources I found it increasingly important to make as many connections as possible in order for my paper to be fully explained and supported. This is different from previous academic papers I have written due to the fact that just one connection between a source and its supporting source was enough to provide evidence. However, in this essay it was imperative that connections were drawn across the board, not just in the statements they made about black women’s validity as people, but in how they delivered their claims.

What the connections between the two sources provided was a well-rounded, almost three dimensional answer to my research question: what argument did these women a=make, why was it powerful, what was needed to attain success in these women’s activism, and what about their time period made it difficult? Prior knowledge on black versus white racism provided a foundation for my understanding of what this black community actually endured. However, what I was not familiar with was what set the 19th century time period apart from previous or future time periods of discrimination. This brought in the idea of political reform as it applies to social reform. What Sojourner and Logan both sought their audiences to realize was that abolishing slavery would make it illegal to hold blacks as property, yes, but what it fails to accomplish is the underlying civil and social reforms that actually make black people equal to white people.

This paper was beyond interesting to me and I truly did learn a lot. Essays like this that really seek to intellectually stimulate the student really get me excited for future research. I am so blessed to be an English major!

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Abby Zyk

COL McDonald

ERH 202WX

12 September 2017

The Ethics of the U.S. Military: A Rhetorical Analysis

Entering the controversial conversation of ethical warfare, or more specifically, warfare in the United States being fueled by the rhetoricians that govern it, it is apparent that an argument holds no merit without proper backup. Hundreds of debates among scholars, military leaders, and government officials alike have long ensued in a verbal bloodbath resulting in little to no change regarding the use of rhetoric to fight our country’s ethical battles. If it should be increasingly difficult to persuade the civilian world to be content with brute military force against the will of the enemy at hand, why has no counter argument against warfare been successful? The answer lies in the art of strategic rhetoric.

Rhetoric has been used throughout the ages to communicate, persuade, and express language. Nowadays, rhetoric is used in political campaigns, persuasive speeches, academic or theoretical debates, and the like to craft a message according to the principles of rhetoric. Even though this art seems like a pretty modern concept, the language is far from new. Classically famous philosopher, Plato, displayed his exploration of the art that rhetoric has to offer through effective expression. Built on the principles of classic layout, the most comprehensive statement of Plato’s mature philosophical views appears in his work, The Republic, a discussion of the most fundamental principles for the conduct of human life, “Using the character “Socrates” as a fictional spokesman, Plato considers the nature and value of justice and the other virtues as they appear both in the structure of society as a whole and in the personality of an individual human being” (Kemerling, paragraph 1). This naturally leads to discussions of human nature, the achievement of knowledge, the distinction between appearance and reality, the components of an effective education, and the foundations of morality. In this analysis, I will be focusing on the parallels between his arguments of human nature, and the arguments of the present-day epitome of a morality crisis, the U.S. military.

In 2003, the U.S. Army published a leadership manual, Leadership, in order to discuss how military leaders can improve leadership and the overall success of the military through effective rhetorical skills. Leadership states that, “The complex nature of leadership requires leaders to develop a repertoire of message strategies that can be adapted to the unique qualities of different situations” (Barge 1994, 11). Approaching the ethical debate of warfare through the complex lense that is American culture, it is apparent that the United States has utilized the art of rhetorical discourse to support and defend the use of warfare in our world today. The invention, arrangement, and style of rhetorical discourse that the United States instills into our future military leaders has surpassed their competitors due to the speakers’ cultural awareness of American values and beliefs.

The parallels between Plato’s argument and the strategies of the military are best exemplified when taking into consideration the 3 compartments of culture that we split up when ensuing on such an ethical discussion. Plato splits up civilization into 3 distinct classes: rulers, soldiers, and the people. Plato maintained that if the proper functions were performed by its disparate classes, the work the society produced would be for the sake of common good. Thus, providing a ready account of the need to develop significant social qualities or virtues through rhetoric.

As defined by Plato, the first compartment of culture is the wisdom and the capacity to comprehend reality and to make impartial judgments about it” (Plato). Simply meaning that Plato values wisdom and knowledge as his most important traits when pertaining to a governing system. Justifiably, of course, by backing it up with the fact that you have to know the ins and outs of your craft in order to be successful. That’s obvious. But Plato takes it further to say that it is integral to the well-being of a functional society that its leadership has sound intelligence in their tool belts in order to make the correct judgements when they are needed most. In the Leadership manual, this argument is paralleled by the author’s discussion of leadership traits that make an effective military leader, “Leadership is influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization. (HQDA 1999, 1-4). An effective military leader is an individual in the armed forces who produces the intended or expected result. (Random House Dictionary 1992, 426). Rhetorical strategy is a skillful use of language in speech or writing as a method for achieving a specific goal” (Random House Dictionary 1992, 1155 and 1321). The two arguments begin to unpack the role of communication as it equals success in the military’s agenda of persuasion.

Plato continues with his theory to state that the next compartment of culture is soldiers. In the military’s case, this concept is referring to the enlisted men and women of the military. Plato claims, “  Soldiers charged with the defense of the city against external and internal enemies, on the other hand, need the virtue of courage, the willingness to carry out their orders in the face of danger without regard for personal risk” (Plato). The key role of military leaders is to carry out the missions given to them by their chain of command. Following this logic, it is imperative that the leader establishes a relationship with his or her subordinates in order to communicate effectively. Half of this verbal and communicative battle rests on the shoulders of motivation. Officers have to be inspirational, motivating, and power-inducing. The Leadership manual adores this notion, “ The perceptions, beliefs, attitudes, and power influences among the communication participants build to varying levels of message understanding, acceptance, and ownership. Dr. Lewis creates a practical guide for public speaking in his book, How to Get Your Message Across: A Practical Guide to Power Communication (1997). The focus of the book is fourfold: the winning power of words and the command of language; training and practice in becoming a good speaker; understanding the audience; and different message strategies for communicating to different audiences. Dr. Lewis devotes several pages to discussing the pyramid of perception that has the greatest impact upon subjective assessment, perceived understanding, and decision to accept a message” (Barge 1994, 9). There is proof that a mastery of rhetorical strategies and word choice does have a positive impact on developing leadership, shaping character, and fostering a motivation to act in a positive venue.

The last compartment of culture as defined by Plato and the Leadership manual is the people. The civilians of which the endeavors of warfare ethics arguably, most directly affect. Plato concludes, “ The rest of the people in the city must follow its leaders instead of pursuing their private interests, so they must exhibit the virtue of moderation, the subordination of personal desires to a higher purpose” (Plato). The civilian community has studied the issue of rhetoric longer and with more detailed analysis. In contrast, only limited material on effective oral communication exists within the military community. “The leader at the strategic level relies more on the power of communication as a skill and action. “Strategic leaders communicate not only to the organization but also to a large external audience that includes the political leadership, media, and the American people. To influence those audiences, strategic leaders seek to convey integrity and win trust. “As GA Marshall noted, they become expert in the art of persuasion” (Barge 1994, 20).

Military leaders should take Plato’s teachings into consideration in order to enhance their own arguments for a bigger and better quality military. By optimizing their language and choice of persuasion, the U.S. military can better serve our country by gaining prominence in the field of foreign policy and worldwide militia issues. At all three leadership levels defined by Plato, officers must possess the interpersonal skill of communicating and the conceptual skill of critical reasoning. At the organizational level, leaders must furthermore possess the ability to persuade as a means of communicating, as well as establishing clear intent within the conceptual skill requirements. As an action, leaders must communicate to influence.

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Works Cited

Hinck, MAJ John M. “The Military Leader and Effective Rhetorical Skills.” Www.dtic.mil, U.S. Army Command and General Staff College, 6 June 2003.

Hayden, Michael V. “Opinion | To Keep America Safe, Embrace Drone Warfare.” The New

York Times, The New York Times, 19 Feb. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/02/21/opinion/sunday/drone-warfare-precise-effective-

Imperfect.html.

Maguire, Laura. “The Ethics of Drone Warfare.” Philosophy Talk, 9 Sept. 2015,   

            www.philosophytalk.org/blog/ethics-drone-warfare.

Oxford Union, director. Drones Are Not Ethical And Effective | Chris Cole | Oxford Union.

YouTube, 3 May 2013, www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rkelju3eXYM&t=186s.

https://clas.uiowa.edu/rhetoric/about/what-is-rhetoric

Throughout this course on the History of Information Technology, I have not only learned a great deal about the cultures and societies that shape our world, but the technological advances that made it all happen. Exploring notions such as the impact of printing presses on people of the Middle Ages, to how Big Data can be used in modern times to predict and analyze fluctuations in just about any concept of mankind. . In previous essays, the use of the VMI ePortfolio allowed me to keep track of all my papers, and gave me the ability to reflect on what I learned while taking this course. In this essay, I want to discuss the timeline of events from the beginning of technological advances, to how we communicated, and finishing with how we move our community forward through transporations systems utilizing my past three essays to demonstrate this. Because not only is it necessary to note that culture ultimately shapes society, it is also prevalent to remember that whether it’s concerning transportation, communication, or technology, the history of our culture is something is use as a learning tool for future advancements and further our success in worldwide growth.

Using previous drafts from this class, I will talk first about my communication essay. In this, I talk about how the adaptation of Egyptian hieroglyphs was substantial, relatable, and impactful to our society. Analyzing the timeline of Egyptian communication is, and has been, a complex and demanding task. The Egyptians began to form a pictographic written language about 5000 years ago, which they continued to use for more than 3500 years, until about 400 AD. Eventually, the pictures they used to represent words came to represent sounds. These symbols, hieroglyphs, or “sacred inscriptions” were adapted for use in everyday life, in addition to their important religious/mystical identity. Using the skills I have learned from this course, I can attest that their language differs from present day communication in an extensive amount of ways. Although claiming far more pictures and illustrations and far less organization to an alphabet, we still cannot deny that the egyptians were a hard-working group of intelligent people capable of verbalizing their minds clearly. A remarkable discovery in the progression of technology through the ages, these techniques had set the standard for future communication, hence why our society uses a different form of physical writing similar to what the Egyptians did 5000 years ago.

Next, I will talk about how in my transportation essay I discuss the St. Louis Metro Transit systems and how the fact that they were one of the first pivotal moments in information technology history when our society plateaued towards a technologically advanced system of networking as compared to other societies. Obviously, transportation is imperative for the functionality of any given society. It is what holds communities together and acts as the backbone for the city’s limits. In existence for more than 60 years, the St. Louis Metro Transit is one of the nation’s oldest interstate agencies, but still one of the most impactful. The St. Louis Metro Transit’s vision is to improve the region’s quality of life by providing excellent transportation and promoting economic development, and their mission is meeting the region’s transit needs by providing safe, reliable, accessible, customer-focused service in a fiscally responsible manner. Transportation is important for multiple reasons that include travel, economic activity and mobility. Travel and mobility are difficult without the use of transportation services, and transportation provides an effective way to transport people and commodities from one place to another place. Methods of transportation include buses, planes, boats, trains, cars and other vehicles. Transportation is important for moving food, furniture, medicine, chemicals, clothing and other valuable necessities. Nothing is more important to civilization than transportation and communication, and, apart from direct tyranny and oppression, nothing is more harmful to the well-being of a society than an irrational transportation system. Trade is essential to economic vitality, and transportation is essential to trade. By using the skills I have acquired through this course, you can trace how our transportation system both mirrored and propelled a burgeoning St. Louis into the future, street by street, highway by highway, rail by rail. And what was true then remains true today and for tomorrow: one of the most essential forces that will continue moving the greater St. Louis region forward is a transportation system that moves its customers efficiently and connects its passengers with opportunity.

Lastly, I will talk about my social media essay and how the effects and benefits of social media, particularly Facebook, has platformed a way for our society to become masters of innovation in terms of a professional climate for future innovations, a key call in enterprise transformation, and a channel for societal changes to take place. Looking back on the class discussions and videos from this course, it can be concluded that the very concept of social media is at the top of the agenda for many business executives, social analysts, political officials, and basically every other person existing on Earth today. Decision makers, as well as consultants, try to identify ways in which firms can make profitable use of applications such as Wikipedia, YouTube, Facebook, Second Life, and Twitter. Social analysts use it to decipher patterns in mass communication and the effects it has on the human brain and human ideology. Political officials use it as means of propaganda and influence political attitudes and democratic participation after controlling for demographic variables and the role of interpersonal political discussion in stimulating citizen participation. While every other person in the world uses it to catch up with friends, connect and communicate with loved ones, be up to speed with society’s ever-changing news media, and of course, produce a platform for our own identity through photos and status updates. Through social media, anyone online is empowered by an unrestricted flow of information to add to their knowledge bank. In today’s world, it is undeniable that social media plays an important role in impacting our culture, our economy and our overall view of the world. Social media is a new forum that brings people to exchange idea, connect with, relate to, and mobilize for a cause, seek advice, and offer guidance. Social media has removed communication barriers and created decentralized communication channel and open the door for all to have a voice and participate in a democratic fashion including people in repressive countries. This media outlet accommodates a wide variety spontaneous, formal, informal, scholarly and unscholarly writings to flourish. It enables common interest based groups such as students to work in a collaborative group projects outside of their class. It fosters creativity and collaboration with a wide range of commentators on a number of issues such as education, the economy, politics, race, health, and relationships. Facebook is a perfect example of this, and I look forward to the progress and betterment of society that Facebook so gracefully wields.

Without this course, I would not have been comfortable speaking on topics that even mildly related to how our culture has flourished, nor would I be 100% confident in my abilities to speak on behalf of worldwide innovation and adaptation to new technologies. This course has taught me about history and future of a topic so important to our modern lives.  In conclusion, I can say with confidence that this course and the ePortfolio have molded me into someone who thinks deeper about topics that means so much to us without our conscious thought, and I can walk away with a better understanding of how to view trends and practices which may be too subtle for the average mind.

REFERENCES:

[1] Egyptian Hieroglyphics, Abby Zyk.

[2] St. Louis Metro Transit Systems, Abby Zyk.

[3] The Effects of Social Networking: Facebook, Abby Zyk.