Ticketing for Trash

Stephen Henderson shared the story of the Quade family, who recently received a ticket for leaving their garbage out for a little too long. As unfair as this whole situation is, I couldn't help but find it funny, well, in kind of a twisted way. There's drug dealers, murderers, rapists - and the community is concerned with garbage violations. Way to have your priorities straight, Detroit!

Henderson exposed the ridiculousness of this whole situation through his sarcastic irony. He described the Quade's less than clean neighborhood. He explained how ironic it was that the Quade family received a ticket for having trash out, and yet their block and other parts of Detroit pretty much look like a trash can. He also used an ironic example. Tree trimmers came into the subdivision to clean up the bushes, and yet the entire surrounding area is filled with broken down houses and trash. By using irony, Henderson was able to express the comical aspect of the whole situation, while still sending a message that says, "Hey, before you start ticketing people for garbage cans, you might want to pick up the trash in the middle of your public streets."

Darnell Gardner

Enhanced by a strong word choice and a careful arrangement of ideas, Darnell Gardner delivered a powerfully honest essay displaying not only his pride in the city of Detroit, but also his disappointment in Kwame Kilpatrick. He dismissed the ridiculing comments made by his classmates, and used his intellect to produce an effective essay. His impressive usage of many rhetorical devices, especially description and point of view, caused one commenter on the Detroit Free Press website to say, “Darnell has a future!” Another commenter even compared him to Martin Luther King, Jr.
Darnell boldly displayed his love and worry for his city through many powerful phrases. At the very beginning of his essay, Darnell showed his intellect with the words ‘an ethical and contractual obligation.’ When Kwame entered office, he agreed to a contract, whether he knew it or not, to listen to the concerns of the people. By describing in that manner, Gardner made it clear that listening to the people of Detroit is not Kilpatrick’s option, it is his obligation as the leader of a deteriorating city. Darnell showed an obvious passion and concern for Detroit. He wrote, “...something reminds me every day of how low this city has fallen.” Growing up, he first experienced a beautiful city, but as time went on, Detroit began to sink lower and lower. Every single day, Gardner is reminded that the city he fights so hard to uphold becomes harder to defend each and every time Kwame makes the national news.
Gardner’s choice to use first person point of view gave the essay what it needed to affect readers. If Kwame Kilpatrick read this in the Detroit Free Press, he would see that this article was not simply a work of the media in another attempt to ‘attack’ him and his family. He would see that this essay came straight from the heart and mind of a young man who possesses a genuine concern for his city. Darnell provided an inside look at the real Detroit, despite the efforts being made to improve the city. His first person view of the students in his high school should cause Kwame to feel guilty. “In fact, one of my peers asked me to proofread one of his essays, and I nearly began to sob halfway through it,” Darnell wrote. That one simple quote provided a real example from a student in a Detroit high school. The lack of educated people coming out of Detroit is not simply an exaggeration. Darnell’s intelligence cannot be found among many students in his high school, even if it is one of the top schools in Detroit. The first person point of view also displayed Darnell’s bravery and willingness to openly share his strong opinion, even if his peers ridicule him. He was not afraid to put himself into the essay.
In conclusion, publicly sharing such a strong opinion on a controversial issue can result in teasing and even violence. Darnell Gardner disregarded the comments of his classmates. He exercised his right to share his opinion in a peaceful manner, which showed his maturity and dedication to improving the city he loves.

Ethos in Kym L. Worthy's Speech

Along with the charges facing Kilpatrick and Beatty, Kim L. Worthy gave a powerful speech about the high standards and integrity of the American system of justice. Her use of ethos was obvious throughout the speech. She began by saying, "Only the facts and evidence would lead us." This adds to the integrity and reputation of all those involved in the investigation regarding Kilpatrick and Beatty. The investigators would not come to a solution based on rumor or bias opinion; they would only look at facts and evidence. They took as long as they needed to, because to the men and women involved, doing their job efficiently was more important than reaching a quick decision to please the public and the press. They realize that people’s lives are in their hands. Worthy went on to describe the cornerstone of the Americans system of justice: witnesses.

Witnesses take an oath to tell nothing but the truth, because the people’s lives are literally in their hands. Kym L. Worthy made it clear that Kwame Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty made selfish decisions by using their status to cheat the judicial system. The lives of Gary Brown, Harold Nelthorpe, and Walter Harris were forever changed because of two people’s selfish lies. Kilpatrick and Beatty made a mockery of the integrity of the judicial system. In Worthy’s words, “Witnesses are the backbone, heart, core, soul, and center of the justice system. Without witnesses the American system of justice would totally collapse. Without witnesses we have nothing, justice means nothing and we can do noting for anyone.” By lying under oath, Kwame Kilpatrick and Christine Beatty hindered the ethos of the position of witnesses. Worthy made it clear that an oath is an oath, no matter how high of a position one may hold. Kym Worthy expressed this by using a quote from a man who once held the highest position in American government. Theodore Roosevelt stated, “No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man’s permission when we require him to obey it. Obedience to the law is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor.” If the President of the United States saw that, Kilpatrick and Beatty should learn from his words. After all, “Even children understand that lying is wrong.”

While Kilpatrick and Beatty may have had no respect for the justice system, Worthy made it clear that the investigation and prosecution would be handled by those who have a reputation in the justice system. Of the four names listed, none of them have experienced less than fifteen years of cases. Kilpatrick and Beatty were given a fair investigation, despite their lack of honesty and integrity. Kym L. Worthy provided the public with a fine example of how the American system of justice is upheld by witnesses - witnesses who respect the reputation of not only the American system, but also the reputation of those on trial.

Oh Kwame...

Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick ended his Tuesday night speech by passionately speaking to every single person who has attacked his family in the past month.

This section of Kwame's speech was allegedly unscripted, and his words came straight from his own mind and heart. Usage of description was key in his attempts to win over his listeners. By referring to the insults and threats hurled at his family as "unethical, illegal lynch mob mentality," he impacted more people. Those words are effective on their own, but by piecing them together, Kwame created an even more heart-hitting statement.

With those heart-hitting statements, Kwame utilized pathos in his speech as well, and it was either his best or worst move. Depending on the listener, Kwame's statements may have made them feel guilty, or they might have simply given his enemies another speech to harass him for. He probably hit everyone's emotions when he said, "...and you can launch a hate-driven bigoted assault on a family." He definitely wanted to make people feel guilty for any unkind words or actions.

Since the AP blog assignment didn't call for our own personal comments about Kwame Kilpatrick's attempt to make the city of Detroit feel sorry for him, I won't post my opinion here. I will, of course, write about it on my other blog.

A Response to Larry Elder from a "Misguided" Liberal

Larry Elder wrote about how liberals and conservatives view each other. Elder, obviously a conservative, summed up his stereotyping article with, "Bottom line: Conservatives consider liberals well-intentioned, but misguided. Liberals consider conservatives not only wrong, but really, really bad people." He provided a conversation between himself and a man at his local barbershop, which I'll elaborate on later.

I don't agree with Larry Elder, and I'm actually quite sick of all the political labels. We're in the midst of an absolutely historical election, and he's bashing liberals? To be quite frank, everyone needs to put their political comfort zones aside. I've heard, "Oh, well I've just never voted Democrat. I'm a Republican through and through," too many times. Vote for who will run our country best. I see no reason to create more division between liberals and convservatives when in the end, we're one country. We will never come to absolute agreement. We're human. That's not in our nature, but we do, or should, have the ability to set aside differences and do what is right for the United States of America.

Larry Elder's dialogued "They say, I say" conversation with the man in the barbershop really does make a mockery of liberals. The ideas of that one man are totally extreme; they're conspiracy theories. Just because one liberal believes something, doesn't mean every single liberal believes it. It isn't like all liberals, or conservatives for that matter, live in perfect harmony with each other. Elder's most mocking "They say" argument was in the very last line. By saying, "Liberals consider conservatives not only wrong, but really, really bad people," he completely stereotypes every single person who considers themselves a liberal. At age sixteen, I've already been labeled a liberal, and I don't think that every conservative person is bad. I would be getting into political arguments every other day with teachers. By saying that all liberals think that way, he's making all liberals look judgmental, but he really isn't making himself look all that wonderful either. He's calling liberals judgmental, and yet he's stereotyping all liberals into one big group of people who hate conservatives.

This week in "It's All About You" by Tony Murphy, the comic expresses a message of creating a new image for yourself -- without any nips or tucks. Gina noticed a change in her friend Maggie, and asks what caused the difference. Maggie describes all these changes she has made in her life due to her obsession with self-help books. Murphy uses different elements to emphasize his message. Gina's facial gestures change throughout the comic strip as Maggie describes her 'makeover.' As soon as Maggie says, "I went on Esteem Makeover!" Gina's face immediately looks like she's thinking, "Oh, please." Then after Maggie lists off all the different procedures she went through, Gina's expression softens. Murphy wants to deliver his message, but still have an entertaining comic strip, so he plays around with the different medical plastic surgery terms. He also added the "knows job" comment at the end for comic relief. The different elements he uses keeps the comic strip humorous, but it still gets his message across to readers.

Not Such A Brilliant Idea

In "Let's Apply 'American Idol' Rules to Politics" James Shea wrote about how Americans are so direct and upfront about most situations. He began his column by saying, "Americans, by nature, are a direct people. We'll tell you if we like you. We'll tell you if we don't like you." He brought up reality television, specifically American Idol, and described how if the judges and later on the viewers do not like someone, Americans just go ahead and tell them. This process is quick. Shea believes that this simple process should be applied to the presidential elections.

I do not agree with Shea at all. There is a huge difference between American Idol and a presidential election. American Idol might upset a few die-hards, but they can deal with it. Presidential elections affect the future of America. Careful consideration needs to take place in order for people to make the right decision. Maybe it is not the exact purpose, but all the primary elections and speeches allow citizens to get to know the candidate. I would not want to vote for someone after reading about them for just a month or two. I like to see how they respond to issues as the year progresses. Getting to know people takes time, and I for one would like to know every detail I could possibly know before placing a person in charge of my country.

This column would be interestingly written if it were directed to an audience full of politicians. To them the long process probably makes all the sense in the world, so Shea would have a difficult time putting up a convincing argument. I would first change the tone of the article. I do not think the sarcastic tone would be appreciated or taken seriously by a politician or a politically involved person. I would keep Shea's list of political events, because that puts how much time an election actually takes into a new perspective. I would probably add in a few paragraphs about the inconvenience of the long process and a more clear definition of how it might be changed. I would point out specific places in the previous list that I feel could be removed from the process or shortened. After I proposed my changes, I would describe how this would better the nation as a whole. A politician would want the issue presented and then be able to clearly see how it will be made better. Most politicians, or at least the good ones, would want to see a plan.