TOW #16 - How Not to Die (IRB - Second Post)

When it comes to health, you would be surprised how much nutrition factors into the prevention of many common diseases. Dr. Michael Gregor, an internationally-renowned nutrition expert and founder of nutritionfacts.org would attest to this. An advocate of a plant-based, herbivore diet, Gregor takes his readers illness by illness in proving that the "standard American diet" is really standard for disease. He examines 10 of the most common leading causes of death in book How Not to Die.

Gregor not only shows the fault in our diet and perception on health, but he also recommends substitute products in place of the "garbage we call food". For example, prostate cancer is linked to the consumption of cow’s milk (which makes sense, as their milk was not meant for us to digest). If we eliminate dairy from our diet, and replace it with a tablespoon of flaxseed a day, any hereditary linkage to this type of cancer can be avoided.

It is easy to turn a blind eye to things that do not affect us in the present. For example, if you do not have breast cancer, it might be hard to imagine having it; ergo, steps taken to avoid it may seem unnecessary. In addition, people do not like to do things outside of their comfort zone. If you have grown up on cheese and assorted meats, it might seem impossible to live without it. This makes Dr. Michael Gregor’s argument more challenging (and all the more important) to attack. In teaching an audience who might not see the long term effects of a healthy lifestyle, it’s important that you are forward, but not too complicated with your presented evidence. Gregor does just this. He presents his findings and explains their significance, adding just enough detail to earn him credibility while not being too complicated.

How Not to Die is the perfect book for people who are interested in improving their health but are unsure how to go about this (which is quite fitting for the New Year)!

TOW #15 - Professor misses class thinking school starts next week (Satire)

With the current semester at colleges and university starting off, The Oakland Post leaves room for humor. In "Professor misses class thinking school starts next week". student Nowshin Chowdhury writes a story describing a mishap at Oakland University in order to satirize a society's principals. She uses irony and parody as a way to make evident to her audience the ridiculousness of our emphasis on school.

She uses irony when writing, “I am not in denial,” professor Ian Denyle said to his wife on Jan. 4. “School starts next week. I’m still on vacation. Oakland is a great institution that recognizes our hard work and rewards us with much-deserved, long holiday breaks.” Obviously, the professor has said the opposite of the outcome of him missing the first day of class, thus satirizing teachers for being miss informed. In case of parody, the whole article is filled with specific times, like so: "At 4:20, students left the room, and the lights went out in the empty classroom." This kind of specifies gives off the effect that the manner is serious and that exact times are crucial to the situation. Chowdhury does this as a way to ridicule her readers of college students, who might feel worked up over the little details of their current schedule.

Nowshin Chowdhury proves to be a successful writer in the field of satire, a talent very admirable for someone of collegiate-age. She remains respectful with her subjects, while poking fun at them and their need to stress over their education. I think a great tie in to the theme of this essay is to quote Mr. Yost: “Relax; it’s just school.”

TOW #14 - To Help the World's Poor, Give Them Real Jobs

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-07-07/to-help-the-worlds-poor-give-them-real-jobs

In a country with arguably the richest humans, Charles Kenny makes the argument that this make poverty in turn, inevitable. The U.S. unemployment rate is 7.6 percent, which is seemly lower than that of the national average (6 percent). How can we change this? Kenny suggests that we create an environment with self-employed jobs, like farming, are more prevalent.

In supporting his synthesis, Kenny uses comparison to the two countries, India and Pakistan. Kenny tells how in these countries, more families are able to be more self-sufficient in the job market. In turn, unemployment rate is less than 5 percent. Kenny uses logos in his argument to describe the tradeoffs of this difference in economy. For instance, he states "Survey evidence suggests that being in the bottom fifth of India’s income distribution means your children have around a 12 percent chance of dying before their fifth birthday, compared with a countrywide average of closer to 8 percent." By using statistics and giving information on how other countries improve in this specific area, the readers are able to have a better understanding on this complex subject.

I think Kenny makes a valid argument, although I notice that he does not cite any of his sources. Perhaps this is because he is a senior fellow at the Center of the Global Development, therefore does not see it necessary here. He also contradicts himself when comparing our economy to that of developing nations, and it seemed to weaken his stance and credibility. I would be curious to read more from this author.

TOW #13 - A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte

In 1884, artist Georges Seurat depicted a picture of people lounging at a suburban park on a Sunday Afternoon. This famous work of art has since been recognized as one of the first works of "pointillism". In these paintings, artists apply small dots of color to form an image. Seurat used the technique of "optimal mixture", to show the thoughtfulness of a Sunday after noon. Specifically, he illustrates the differences in class in Paris at the end of the 19th century.

By putting many colors together, Seurat is able to show how the many colors in this scene are a reflection of the differences between the lower class and upper class lounging. For example, the man with the pipe is much lighter than the couple next to him. What seems to be the couple's pet dog is also very dark compared two nearby wild animals. Seurat's use of contrasting colors illustrates the drastic differences in society at this time. He also draws a shadow by using darker shades against lighter shades. This is significant in that it shows how the light and dark are not so far apart from each other, suggesting that these lines may be coming closer together over time.

Seurat is persuasive in his argument that the barriers between the upper class and working class are becoming less prominent. The setting of “La Grande Jette” was known to be a place where both the rich and poor spent their Sunday afternoon, making it crucial for Seurat’s purpose to be demonstrated. Seurat as an artist is able to communicate a deeper message through his use of color and light. His style of painting was widely controversial for his time; maybe the same way his views on society may have been. This painting deserves its popularity, as it exemplifies a universal theme of differences in class.

TOW #12 - How Not To Die (IRB)

      Is the standard American diet also standard for disease? Can eating the right foods and avoiding certain foods better, or even reverse, your health? Apparently so, as evident by Dr. Michael Gregor's "How Not To Die". Founder of nutritionfacts.org, Gregor writes this book on how to prevent the 15 most common causes of deaths through simple adjustments in one's everyday life.

      The structure of Gregor's book aids its purpose. Each chapter is titled "How to Not Die from ..." with the chapters given disease. So far, Gregor seems to order his chapters as follows: a personal anecdote on patients he has seen with this disease, statistics and facts on the popularity of this disease, a list of what foods prevent this disease, a list of what foods to avoid. The anecdote gives Gregor both credibility, as he has seen wide variety of patients as a doctor and has healed so many through his practice, and emotional appeal, as we can tell through the way he describes his patients that he really cares for their well-being and firmly believes that his take on modern medicine will help. The facts also work in tandem to show the seriousness of taking Gregor’s suggested precautions.

      Gregor is very persuasive at his argument. At a time where we put so much reliance on drugs and treatments to heal us, it’s hard to believe that such easy fixes to what we eat in a day can cause such significant outcomes. In his chapter on kidney disease, he quotes a famous retired athlete saying, “life is so much better without those medications – they made me feel so tired all the time” (164). Clearly, Gregor is not fibbing us when he says that the choices we make every day on deciding what to eat will affect us later – thus, we should look down the road 20 years from now and take control of our lives today!

TOW #11 - Thomas Paine's "The American Crisis" Chapter 1

In 1776, the United States was faced with a question that divided its citizens: Are you for the revolution or against? The people for the revolution were called the patriots; against, loyalists. As a colonist, the decision as to whether one is a patriot or loyalist was difficult, especially if you were not educated enough to comprehend the high level pamphlets of the scholars and politicians. Recognizing this, Thomas Paine published "The American Crisis" in which he addresses the common man to support the revolt against the British.

Thomas Paine was knowledgeable in the rhetoric. Understanding that much of his audience were devout Christians, he appeals to the religion of his audience. He speaks of "the devotion of a Christian" and "that God may bless you" if you should "show your faith by your works" (page 4). This effects his audience on an intimate level by giving them a call of action not only to fight not only for their country but God himself. Paine also builds an argument by describing the previous attacks and events by General Howe and General Washington (page 2). Since these pamphlets are for the "common man" to read, it is crucial for this explanation to be easily comprehensive. If Paine would have addressed these events without explanation, confusion and lack of interest would occur.

Paine delivery and tone adds to the persuasiveness of the article. Addressing his subjects as “we” gives a sense of unity between the politicians and colonists. It helps to demonstrate that the U.S. is fighting for a common cause: independence. Paine uses a mix of minimal, short sentences and extremely long sentences to show both urgency and complexity to the situation. Lastly, he uses repetition of the word “tis” frequently to begin his sentences, gaining the attention of the reader. Moreover, it is obvious why Thomas Paine’s pamphlets have such a reputation and perhaps why the patriots won: the beauty of the rhetoric!

TOW #10 - A 21st Century Modest Proposal

After our discussion of Jonathon Swift's "A Modest Proposal", for my TOW #10, I read a 21st Century imitation of this essay. In "A 21st Century Modest Proposal", Samuel Faktorow comments on the topic of Same-sex marriage by proposing reasons why the U.S. government should legalize marriages between all genders. Samuel Faktorow is a graduate of Colorado College with a degree in English and Drama. This article was published on November 18^th, 2014, less than a year before the Supreme Court legalized the issue. 

Faktorow uses parody as an element of satire in order to prove that same-sex marriage should be legalized. He mimics Jonathon Swift's essay for similar effects of that of Swift's. Swift's writing, already satirically structured, writes a comprehensive lists composed of six reasons why the Irish population should eat children. In Faktorow's proposal, he explains the different reasons why same-sex marriage would be beneficial for our country. This helps solidify and simplify the points Faktorow is making for his readers. Specifically, it breaks down the issue in a way that seems that this is the most obvious and productive solution. Like Swift, Faktorow is trying to prove to the government how they need to get a hold of themselves and face the elephant in the room. Unlike Swift, Faktorow is more direct (and more practical) with his suggestions to change the policies.

This essay is effective in proving its purpose. I especially like how he concluded his essay with a person touch. He states “Though I do have some personal interest in this matter, being a homosexual male, I confess that I have no desire to ever get married to anyone, so whether or not people choose to accept my proposal is of rather low importance to me” (Faktorow). To me, this appeals to my emotional connection to the author, as now I understand he has experienced this oppression first hand (This also establishes credibility). Overall, “A 21^st Century Modest Proposal” would impress Mr. Swift if he were around today.