Persuasive Paper (Final polish)

May 27, 2013                                                                                                                  Whitehead 1

1126 Longworth

Washington DC, 20515

 

Congressman Sam Farr,

Most people care about keeping their home clean. When it comes to the home we all share though, by this I mean our ecosystem, it seems to not be in the front of our minds so much. I have observed that most people do not really think about the environment on a day to day basis. I go to school and live near Santa Cruz and I have noticed that it is a place where people generally care for the environment. We are at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and actually see some of the human effects on the coastline and most people are aware of this. Santa Cruz is only one small area in the world and outside of coastal areas a lot of people actually do not believe global warming, or any other environmental issues are going on. If the public understands the importance of taking care of our home and takes action accordingly the earth and every organism living on it, including us would be in a lot better shape.

            Humans have driven a lot of species into extinction. This is due to the belief that we are the “master species”, and lack of knowledge about the animals that have been systematically decimated for human pleasures, such as money. Very few actually went extinct because we ate all of them; it is usually because they have some other kind of value to us. For example, with whales we want their natural oil.  We extract what we want from the kill and then dispose of

Whitehead 2

the rest of the animal. With humans rapidly growing in numbers we need places to live, so we have built towns and cities by cutting down trees destroying habitats. This has also driven species into extinction. We have massive brains and are able to communicate using language better than any other species, but does this give us the right to dictate the world?

            We are land animals, so we do not know a lot about the ocean even though it dominates 71 percent of our planet. Because we do not live in the ocean habitat, a lot of people are not aware that we are trashing it. According to my Oceanography teacher David Schwartz and my Marine Biology teacher Nicole Crane there are garbage piles the size of Texas in the middle of the ocean. This happens because on each side of the hemisphere the water has a current that spirals and down wells in the middle. This is called a gyre, sort of the effect of a toilet bowl in the ocean. Because the current spirals toward the gyre this is where trash- such as plastic- accumulates and essentially stays forever.

 What are even worse than the visible heap of trash are the micro plastics. Except for a handful of plastics that are made to break down most particles only break into microscopic particles. It will never completely be gone, and humans just keep contributing to it and unknowingly consuming it along with all of the animals in the sea. Seven Billion pounds of bisphenol A are manufactured each year and they are known to cause health problems in people and animals. These synthetic particles are found in nearly every sea creature and because we eat them they are in human bodies as well. There was a study done in Japan that detected the women with high levels of bisphenol A were the ones who had several miss

Whitehead 3

carriages and in some cases they were never able to conceive. This not only interferes with human reproduction, it also as some of the same effects on fish. One out of every four male sword fish produces female eggs due to these toxic synthetic particles that cloud the water.  Scientists and engineers have had ideas to take the trash from the gyres and convert it into energy, the problem is it is expensive, the particles are to small pick up, and we really do not have the technology yet. When or if we do figure it out, we have to be cautious of putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is a whole other problem.

            Too much carbon dioxide is very detrimental to life on earth. There are many theories of why dinosaurs went extinct. There were huge numbers of volcanoes erupting during the time of dinosaurs so one of the most plausible theories is that the gas from the volcanoes caused their mass extinction, because there is mostly carbon dioxide in the gas exploding off volcanoes. According to U.S Geological Service the changes in levels of carbon dioxide have mimicked the global temperature(USGS). Every year 300 million tons of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere by volcanoes, which seems like a lot, but in comparison with the human activity it is only 1 percent of total carbon dioxide emission. We top the charts at 26.8 billion tons a year. To reduce this amount our society would have to be less dependent on oil and burning fossil fuels in general. Because we rely on it so much it is extremely difficult to get people on board to try a different energy source now, unless we find alternate energy sources that work just as efficiently.

           

Whitehead 4

Finding alternative energy sources and using products that are biodegradable is not impossible. Hydrogen engines have even been made to replace the use of gasoline. Although the gasoline industry is so profitable that the government makes is seem like that is the only option for us so they can make money. The well being of the economy is really important too, but that can always be altered to fit our life style. The shape of the environment is essential to all life and that cannot be reversed. We need to look at the big picture. If we don’t try to slow down the global warming green house effect, our food source will be slim from the decreasing crop fields and loss of habitat.

 We are so accustom to wrapping nearly everything in plastic. Plastic is good material for things that need to have a long life such as cars, but for things like wrapping food in plastic and plastic water bottles, it just does not make sense that we wrap permanent materials in products that last no longer than a week. Consumers can help by bringing their own bags and try to minimize the things they buy wrapped in plastic, such as plastic water bottles. The problem is nearly everything is wrapped in plastic, so it’s difficult to avoid and that is where the government can help. By putting regulations on wrapping material we can minimize the amount going into the environment. Monitoring the materials used to produce plastics may cut out some of the bad side effects it has on humans, animals, and the environment. When the synthetic plastic materials were first made nobody thought about where these particles were going to end up. Now that we know how toxic and permanent they are it is time to change our ways.

            Whitehead 5

Our intelligent brains are part of the reason we are in this mess, but if we use our brains we can slow it down. Just getting more people to realize what is slowly happening to our earth, it could help to figure out how to move forward while doing less damage to the environment. Congress can help by setting regulations for factories that produce hazardous materials like bisphenol A. This is our home and it’s time to start taking care of it. The rising heat has affected a lot of the animals in the North and South poles already, and it is only a matter of time until it will directly affect us.

Sincerely,

Hailey Whitehead

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

"Plastic Not-So-Fantastic: How the Versatile Material Harms the Environment and Human

Health: Scientific American." Scientificamerican.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

 

"Volcanic Gases and Their Effects." Usgs.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

 

"TOXIC: Garbage Island - Part 1." VICE. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.vice.com/toxic/toxic-garbage-island-1-of-3>.

Persuasive essay (Final draft)

May 27, 2013

1126 Longworth

Washington DC, 20515

 

Congressman Sam Farr,

Most people care about keeping their home clean, although, when it comes to the home we all share it seems to not be in the front of our minds so much. I have observed that most people do not really think the environment on a day to day basis. I go to school and live near Santa Cruz and I have observed that it is a place where people generally care for the environment. We are at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and actually see some of the human effects on the coastline and most people are aware of this. Although Santa Cruz is only one small area in the world, and outside of coastal areas a lot of people actually do not believe global warming or any other environmental issues are even going on. If the public understands the importance of taking care of our home and takes action accordingly the earth and every organism living on it, including us would be in a lot better shape.

            Humans have driven a lot of species into extinction. This is due to the belief that we are the “master species”, and lack of knowledge about the animals that have been systematically decimated for human pleasures, such as money. Very few actually went extinct because we ate all of them; it is usually because they have some other kind of value to us. For example, with whales we want their natural oil.  We extract what we want from the kill and then dispose of the rest of the animal. With humans rapidly growing in numbers we need places to live, so we have built towns and cities by cutting down trees destroying habitats. This has also driven species into extinction. We have massive brains and are able to communicate using language better than any other species, but does this give us the right to dictate the world?

            We are land animals, so we do not know a lot about the ocean even though it dominates 71 percent of our planet. Because we do not live in the ocean habitat, a lot of people are not aware that we are trashing it. According to my Oceanography teacher David Schwartz and my Marine Biology teacher Nicole Crane there are garbage piles the size of Texas in the middle of the ocean. This happens because on each side of the hemisphere the water has a current that spirals and down wells in the middle. This is called a gyre, sort of the effect of a toilet bowl in the ocean. Because the current spirals toward the gyre this is where trash- such as plastic- accumulates and essentially stays forever.

 What are even worse than the visible heap of trash are the micro plastics. Except for a handful of plastics that are made to break down most particles only break into microscopic particles. It will never completely be gone, and humans just keep contributing to it and unknowingly consuming it along with all of the animals in the sea. Seven Billion pounds of bisphenol A are manufactured each year and they are known to cause health problems in people and animals. These synthetic particles are found in nearly every sea creature and because we eat them they are in human bodies as well. There was a study done in Japan that detected the women with high levels of bisphenol A were the ones who had several miss carriages and in some cases they were never able to conceive. This not only interferes with human reproduction, it also as some of the same effects on fish. One out of every four male sword fish produces female eggs due to these toxic synthetic particles that cloud the water.  Scientists and engineers have had ideas to take the trash from the gyres and convert it into energy, the problem is it is expensive, the particles are to small pick up, and we really do not have the technology yet. When or if we do figure it out, we have to be cautious of putting too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is a whole other problem.

            Too much carbon dioxide is very detrimental to life on earth. There are many theories of why dinosaurs went extinct. There were huge numbers of volcanoes erupting during the time of dinosaurs so one of the most plausible theories is that the gas from the volcanoes caused their mass extinction, because there is mostly carbon dioxide in the gas exploding off volcanoes. According to USGS.gov the changes in levels of carbon dioxide have mimicked the global temperature. Every year 300 million tons of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere by volcanoes, which seems like a lot, but in comparison with the human activity it is only 1 percent of total carbon dioxide emission. We top the charts at 26.8 billion tons a year. To reduce this amount our society would have to be less dependent on oil and burning fossil fuels in general. Because we rely on it so much it is extremely difficult to get people on board to try a different energy source now, unless we find alternate energy sources that work just as efficiently.

            Finding alternative energy sources and using products that are biodegradable is not impossible. Hydrogen engines have even been made to replace the use of gasoline. Although the gasoline industry is so profitable that the government makes is seem like that is the only option for us so they can make money. The well being of the economy is really important too, but that can always be altered to fit our life style. The shape of the environment is essential to all life and that cannot be reversed. We need to look at the big picture. If we don’t try to slow down the global warming green house effect, our food source will be slim from the decreasing crop fields and loss of habitat.

 We are so accustom to wrapping nearly everything in plastic. Plastic is good material for things that need to have a long life such as cars, but for things like wrapping food in plastic and plastic water bottles, it just does not make since that we wrap permanent materials in products that last no longer than a week. Consumers can help by bringing their own bags and try to minimize the things they buy wrapped in plastic, such as plastic water bottles. Although nearly everything is wrapped in plastic, so it’s difficult to avoid and that is where the government can help. By putting regulations on wrapping material we can minimize the amount going into the environment. Monitoring the materials used to produce plastics may cut out some of the bad side effects it has on humans, animals, and the environment. When the synthetic plastic materials were first made nobody thought about where these particles are going to end up. Now that we know how toxic and permanent they are it is time to change our ways.

            Our intelligent brains are part of the reason we are in this mess, but if we use our brains we can slow it down. Just getting more people to realize what is slowly happening to our earth it would help to figure out how to move forward while doing less damage to the environment. Congress can help by setting regulations for factories that produce hazardous materials like bisphenol A. This is our home and it’s time to start taking care of it. The rising heat has affected a lot of the animals in the North and South pools already, and it is only a matter of time until it will directly affect us.

Sincerely,

Hailey Whitehead

           

 

Works Cited

 

"Plastic Not-So-Fantastic: How the Versatile Material Harms the Environment and Human

Health: Scientific American." Scientificamerican.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

 

"Volcanic Gases and Their Effects." Usgs.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

 

"TOXIC: Garbage Island - Part 1." VICE. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.vice.com/toxic/toxic-

garbage-island-1-of-3>.

Persuasive paper (revised draft)

United States Congress,

As a member in our society I have noticed that a common mind set is that as humans we can do whatever we want with no regard for the environment or other species. I go to school and live near Santa Cruz and I have observed that it is a place where people generally care for the environment. We are at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and actually see some of the human effects on the coastline and most people are aware of this. Although Santa Cruz is only one small area in the world, and outside of coastal areas a lot of people actually do not believe global warming or any environmental issues are even going on. If everyone understands the importance of taking care of the environment and takes action accordingly the earth and every organism living on it, including us would be in a lot better shape.

            Humans have driven a lot of species into extinction. This is due to the belief that we are the “master species”, and lack of knowledge about the animals that have been systematically decimated for human pleasures, such as money. Very few actually went extinct because we ate all of them; it is usually because they have some other kind of value to us. For example, with whales we want their oil.  We extract what we want from the kill and then dispose of the rest of the animal. With humans rapidly growing in numbers we need places to live, so we have built towns and cities by cutting down trees destroying habitats. This has also driven species into extinction. We have massive brains and are able to communicate using language better than any other species, but does this mean we have the right to rule the world?

            We are land animals, so we do not know a lot about the ocean even though is dominates 71 percent of our planet. Because we do not live in the ocean habitat a lot of people are not aware that we are trashing it. According to my Oceanography teacher David Schwartz and my Marine Biology teacher Nicole Crane there are garbage piles the size of Texas in the middle of the ocean. This happens because on each side of the hemisphere the water has a current that spirals and down wells in the middle of the northern and southern hemisphere. This is called a gyre, sort of the effect of a toilet bowl. Because the current spirals toward the gyre this is where trash like plastic accumulates and essentially stays forever.

 What are even worse than the visible heap of trash are the micro plastics. Except for a handful of plastics that are made to break down most of these particles are made out of Bisphenol A which breaks into microscopic particles. It will never completely break down, and humans just keep contributing to it and unknowingly consuming it along with all of the animals in the sea. Seven Billion pounds of Bisphenol A are manufactured each year and they are known to cause health problems in people and animals. These synthetic particles are found in nearly every sea creature and because we eat them these particles are in human bodies as well. There was a study done in Japan that detected the women with high levels of bisphenol A were the ones who had several miss carriages and in some cases they were never able to conceive. This not only interferes with human reproduction, it also as some of the same effects on fish. One out of every four male sword fish produces female eggs due to these toxic synthetic particles that cloud the water.  Scientists and engineers have had ideas to take the trash from the gyres and convert it into energy, the problem is it is expensive and we really do not have the technology to do this yet.  When or if we do figure it out, it may put too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is a whole other problem.

            Too much carbon dioxide is very detrimental to life on earth. There are many theories of why dinosaurs went extinct. There were a lot of volcanoes erupting during the time of dinosaurs so one of the most plausible theories is that the gas from the volcanoes caused their mass extinction because there is mostly carbon dioxide in the gas exploding off volcanoes. According to USGS.gov the changes in levels of carbon dioxide have mimicked the global temperature. Every year 300 million tons of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere by volcanoes, which seems like a lot, but in comparison with the human activity it is only 1 percent of total carbon dioxide emission. We top the charts at 26.8 billion tons a year. To reduce this amount our society would have to be less dependent on oil. Because we are so dependent on it, it is extremely difficult to get people on board to try a different energy source now, unless we find alternate energy sources that work just as efficiently.

            Finding alternative energy sources and using products that are biodegradable is not impossible. Hydrogen engines have even been made to replace the use of gasoline. Although the gasoline industry is so profitable that the government makes is seem like that’s the only option for us so they can make money. The well being of the economy is really important too, but that can always be altered to fit our life style. The shape of the environment is essential to all life and that really cannot be reversed. We need to look at the big picture. If we don’t try to slow down the global warming green house effect our food source will be slim from the decreasing crop fields and loss of habitat. We are so accustom to wrapping nearly everything in plastic. Plastic is good for things that need to have a long life such as cars, but for things like wrapping food in plastic and plastic water bottles it just does not make since that we use permanent materials for products that do not last long. Consumers can help by bringing their own bags and try to minimize the things they buy with plastic. Although nearly everything is wrapped in plastic, so it’s difficult to avoid and that is where the government can help by putting regulations on wrapping material. When the synthetic plastic materials were first made nobody thought about where these particles are going to end up. Now that we know how toxic and permanent they are it is time to change our ways.

            Our intelligent brains are part of the reason we are in this mess, but if we use our brains we can slow it down. Just getting more people to realize what is slowly happening to our earth it would help to figure out how to move forward while doing less damage to the environment. This is our home and it’s time to start taking care of it. The rising has affected a lot of the animals in the North and South pools already, and it is only a matter of time until it will directly affect us.

           

 

 

Works Cited

 

"Plastic Not-So-Fantastic: How the Versatile Material Harms the Environment and Human

Health: Scientific American." Scientificamerican.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

 

"Volcanic Gases and Their Effects." Usgs.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

 

"TOXIC: Garbage Island - Part 1." VICE. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.vice.com/toxic/toxic-

garbage-island-1-of-3>.

Bibliograghy Annotation

"Teen Health and the Media." Washington.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2013.

            The information in this website comes from the University of Washington from the teen futures media network. They work towards the prevention of teen pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, tobacco, alcohol and other drugs, youth violence, nutrition, and body image. They have a lot of different article regarding all of these issues on the website, but the article I was looking at was all facts and statistics from their own studies and other credible sources like the Kaiser Foundation. The website states that since world war two popular media has increasingly held up thinner body images. In every three articles in teen magazines focuses on appearance and beauty. As a result 40 percent of girls have tried to lose weight between the ages of 9 and 10. At the age of 13, 53 percent of American girls are “unhappy with their weight”. This increases to 75 percent by the time they get to age 17. Eating disorders affect more than 5 million Americans each year. All of these statistics can help with the argument that we are living in a “killer culture”.

 

"Progressive Movement." Center for American Progress. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 May 2013.

            This is an independent nonpartisan group dedicated to improving lives of Americans through progressive ideas. They address challenges such as energy, national security, economic growth and opportunity, immigration, education, and healthcare. According to this group the re-election of president Obama will help to create a more multiethnic, cross-class coalition. The millennial generation (between the ages of 12 and 29) is the largest, most diverse and most progressive generation in American history. The progressivism is visible in issues like immigration, marriage equality, and women’s health and rights. Most young people whether they are conservative or republican identify with progressive views and they will be the ones to shape our culture. This would be a great argument that our society is actually becoming a “pleasure dome” with how equality is slowly emerging in our culture.

Persuasive paper (rough draft)

United States Congress,

As a member in our society I have noticed that a common mind set is that as humans we can do whatever we want with no regard for the environment or other species. I go to school and live near Santa Cruz and I have observed that it is a place where people generally care for the environment. We are at the edge of the Pacific Ocean and actually see some of the human effects on the coastline and most people are aware of this. Although Santa Cruz is only one small area in the world, and outside of coastal areas a lot of people actually do not believe global warming or any environmental issues are even going on. If everyone understands the importance of taking care of the environment and takes action accordingly the earth and every organism living on it, including us would be in a lot better shape.

            Humans have driven a lot of species into extinction. This is due to the belief that we are the “master species”, and lack of knowledge about the animals that have been systematically decimated for human pleasures, such as money. Very few actually went extinct because we ate all of them; it is usually because they have some other kind of value to us. For example, with whales we want their oil.  We extract what we want from the kill and then dispose of the rest of the animal. With humans growing numbers we need places to live, so we have built towns and cities by cutting down trees destroying habitats. This has also driven species into extinction. We have massive brains and are able to communicate using language better than any other species, but does this mean we have the right to rule the world?

            We are land animals, so we do not know a lot about the ocean even though is dominates 71 percent of our planet. Because we do not live in the ocean habitat a lot of people are not aware that we are trashing it. According to my Oceanography teacher David Schwartz and my Marine Biology teacher Nicole Crane there are garbage piles the size of Texas in the middle of the ocean. This happens because on each side of the hemisphere the water has a current that spirals and down wells in the middle of the northern and southern hemisphere which is called a gyre, sort of the effect of a toilet bowl. Because the current spirals toward the gyre this is where trash like plastic accumulates and essentially stays forever.

 What is even worse than the visible heap of trash is the micro plastics. Except for a handful of plastics that are made to break down most of these particles are made out of bisphenol A which breaks into microscopic particles. It will never completely break down, and humans just keep contributing to it. Seven Billion pounds of bisphenol A are manufactured each year and they are known to cause health problems in people and animals. These synthetic particles are found in nearly every sea creature and because we eat them these particles are in human bodies as well. There was a study done in Japan that detected the women with high levels of bisphenol A were the ones who had several miss carriages and in some cases they were never able to conceive. This not only interferes with human reproduction, it also as some of the same effects on fish. One out of every four male sword fish produces female eggs due to these toxic synthetic particles that cloud the water.  Scientists and engineers have had ideas to take the trash from the gyres and convert it into energy, the problem is it is expensive and we really do not have the technology to do this yet.  When or if we do figure it out, it may put too much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere which is a whole other problem.

            Too much carbon dioxide is very detrimental to life on earth. There are many theories of why dinosaurs went extinct. There were a lot of volcanoes erupting during the time of dinosaurs so one of the most plausible theories is that the gas from the volcanoes caused their mass extinction because there is mostly carbon dioxide in the gas exploding off volcanoes. According to USGS.gov the changes in levels of carbon dioxide have mimicked the global temperature. Every year 300 million tons of carbon dioxide is emitted into the atmosphere by volcanoes, which seems like a lot, but in comparison with the human activity it is only 1 percent of total carbon dioxide emission. We top the charts at 26.8 billion tons a year. To reduce this amount our society would have to be less dependent on oil. Because we are so dependent on it, it is extremely difficult to get people on board to try a different energy source now, unless we find alternate energy sources that work just as efficiently.

            Finding alternative energy sources and using products that are biodegradable is not impossible. Hydrogen engines have even been made to replace the use of gasoline. Although the gasoline industry is so profitable that the government makes is seem like that’s the only option for us so they can make money. The well being of the economy is really important too, but that can always be altered to fit our life style but the shape of the environment is essential to all life and that really can not be reversed. We need to look at the big picture. If we don’t try to slow down the global warming green house effect our food source will be slim from the decreasing crop fields and loss of habitat. When the synthetic plastic materials were first made nobody thought about where these particles are going to end up. Now that we know how toxic and permanent they are it is time to change our ways.

            Our intelligent brains are part of the reason we are in this mess, but if we use our brains we can slow it down. Just getting more people to realize what is slowly happening to our earth it would help to figure out how to move forward while doing less damage to the environment. This is our home and it’s time to start taking care of it. The rising heat has affected a lot of the animals in the North and South pools already, and it is only a matter of time until it will directly affect us.

           

 

 

Works Cited

 

"Plastic Not-So-Fantastic: How the Versatile Material Harms the Environment and Human

Health: Scientific American." Scientificamerican.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

 

"Volcanic Gases and Their Effects." Usgs.gov. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Apr. 2013.

 

"TOXIC: Garbage Island - Part 1." VICE. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 May 2013. <http://www.vice.com/toxic/toxic-

garbage-island-1-of-3>.

  

Reading Analysis to "Killer Culture"

It is not easy to persuade a reader of something especially if they already have a different opinion about it. The only way you can write a great persuasive paper is by using different modes such as narration, description, exemplification, process, cause and effect, compare and contrast, classification/division, and definition. David Kupelian uses all of these in his article “Killer Culture”, to justify why he believes our culture is so poisonous that we need to protect our children from it by homeschooling. The following examples are some of the modes he used to persuade the reader that this is the right way to educate our future generations.

                Kupelian is in his 60’s and he compares and contrasts the clothing choices in the generation he came from to the present day trends. He explains “…the generation uniform of Levi’s and work shirts and peacoats in their celebration of blue collar workers, “the Real Americans,” so today’s adolescents have co-opted inner-city black street-style as the authentic way to be”(649). He defiantly has an angle on this statement. He believes that the blue collar way to dress is superior to the “gangsta generation”. His audience is parents so he is also connecting with them because they may be from this generation.

                When talking about the companies that target teens to make money he goes into detail about MTV. He concludes that everything on his channel is a commercial, whether it is a music video, cloths, or a commercial for a movie funded by that company. This is an example of exemplification. When he continues discussing MTV he also uses process to show how they figure out what they can sell to youth. Kupelian says “They hold focus groups. They send out culture spies to pretend to befriend and care about teens so they can study them-what they like, what they don’t like, what’s in, what’s out, what’s cool, and what’s no longer cool. They engage in ‘buzz marketing” (651-652). He goes on in more detail about the process they use to sell their product. This is a turn off for most people because people generally don’t like it when they know someone is selling something to them.

                Kuplelian also believes that the culture today is literally obsessed with death. He uses definition to explain some horrible things youth do to their bodies to look cool or get a rush. “The act of suspension is hanging the human body from hooks pierced through the flesh in various places around the body” (656). He also explains, “Or, How about tongue splitting-literally making yourself look like a human lizard-how could that be a positive, spiritual experience?”(657). He gives these definitions to show the public how gruesome some of the things that the young generation does because some people might not know what the words mean. It also gives a visual that most people would find disturbing which helps prove the point that our culture is just to poisonous to put our kids in the midst of it.

                The points Kuplelian makes are very valid, and the modes help a lot with his argument. Although, the article did not persuade me or the majority of the class. In my opinion it was just too far out there, and a little crazy. He did put some facts but it was mostly all his opinion. He was very persuasive and had all the components of a great persuasive paper.

               

Response to "Killer Culture"

Today’s youth are the future of our society. It is very common for their confused young brains to get targeted by a lot of different things such as social media, peer pressure, or just the desire to fit in. David Kupelian wrote a very controversial essay about this called “Killer Culture”. His response to the problems that popular culture inflicts on kids is to keep them isolated until they are ready to go out into the world. I do not agree with Kupelian’s solution to this problem, but he does have a valid point about this issue.

                Kupelian noticed the pressure kids feel to conform when he observed his son Joshua. His son always hated body jewelry until he met and hung out with his older cousin on a vacation. After the vacation he wanted to get a choker just like the one his cousin owned, even though he previously believed men should not wear jewelry. Another example of this he states is the “gangsta generation”. Baggy sagged pants, hip-hop music, body piercings, tattoos, backwards hats, and even a different attitude are some of the things that became attractive during this time.

                Things like fashion trends and music do not spread on its own, media has a lot to do with this. Huge companies figure out what the youth wants and what is in style by sending out “culture spies”. These people make friends with the kids and pretend to care about them, but they are really just gathering information about things that they like so their products will sell. MTV is an example of this; Kupelian believes everything on MTV is a commercial whether it is a music video or a show with trendy clothes. Kupelian wonders “Is the media really reflecting the world of kids, or is it the other way around”. (653) His point is that it is hard to tell if this kind of media is being based of youth or if youth is actually following the examples on the television. In reality it is most likely just a continuous circle.

                Kupleians response to this is that it is mostly the parents fault for not censoring their children from these kinds of corruptions. He thinks children should be home schooled so parents can choose what kind of things their kids will be exposed to. By doing this we would be creating a safe “subculture” for youth. Kupelian’s intentions become very clear when he states “I believe homeschooling today represents the single most important and promising avenue for true rebirth of American Judeo-Christian culture.”(662)

                Although I do see valid points in his concerns, I do not agree at all with his solutions. First off styles of generations are ever-changing and the “Gangsta generation” will be gone as soon as it came and be replaced with another style, which is already happening. I personally believe that not everything on MTV is a commercial. MTV came out with the show 16 and Pregnant in 2009 which is a documentary of a variety of different young teenage mothers and the hardships that they go though during the pregnancy and afterwards. According to the Christian Science Monitor 82 percent of teens who watched the show said it helped them better understand the hardship of being a young mother. Statistics even show a 6 percent decrease in teen pregnancy from 2008 to 2009 and a 10 percent decrease in Hispanic teen pregnancy. I find it hard to imagine being homeschooled as a child. Going to a public school, I not only learned skills in school I also learned social skills and really important life lessons too. Censoring every aspect of a Childs life from what I have seen is not effective in most cases because rebellion is what a human does when they feel they are being repressed. I have seen firsthand that the parents who control their children too much end up with trouble maker kids because they try to break free.

                It is so difficult to solve these problems the youth faces in today’s society because it is all around them in their everyday lives. All a parent can really do is teach their children good morals, and to not always listen to what a peer or a TV show is telling them to do. Kids will be kids and they go through a lot of changes and phases. As long as they know right from wrong and what they should and should not follow I think they will turn out as decent human beings.

 

 

Works Cited

 

Jonsson, Patrik. "A Force behind the Lower Teen Birthrate: MTV's '16 and Pregnant'" The Christian      Science Monitor. The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Dec. 2010. Web. 15 Apr. 2013.

 

Kupelian, David. "Killer Culture." (n.d.): n. pag. Web.

MLA Information

For my Iran topic report I used three different citations. The first citation was from a journal article given to our group by Instructor Knapp. One of these citations was from a website with no author. The other was a quote I got from a website on Google that listed direct quotes by Ayatollah Khomeini. All of these citations were necessary to give the credit these sources deserve.

            According to Instructor Knapp, “For a writer, plagiarism is the equivalent of stealing. For a student, plagiarism is cheating. In the Academic world, plagiarism is considered to be: stealing, cheating and lying.” This really stood out to me because it puts it into perspective how serious plagiarism really is. When I think of stealing I think of being robbed of something in my car, home, or bag at school. I have never thought of plagiarism being the same as this but when you take someone’s ideas and portray them as your own; it is just like stealing someone’s positions. Stealing is morally wrong and this class made me realize plagiarism is as well.

What I have learned in English 1A

English 1A is a required class for all college students in the area and now that we are half way through the semester I can understand the reason for this. There was a lot of really valuable information that we have already learned. This course focuses on how to further us in our academic success. It emphasizes research which is what we are going to be doing throughout our college experience. I want to go to grad school which would be impossible to do without the foundation of English1A. Everything I have learned in this class so far will give me the tools I need to succeed.

                The first thing we learned that was very useful was the quote sandwich. I knew how to put a quote in a text and properly site it but I never exactly elaborated on the quote to make it fit into my topic. By putting in the 3 part structure of introduction, quote, and explanation it really helped me understand the importance of the explanation, which was something I had never done or thought about before.

 I knew from previous classes how to structure a full length paper, but I had never really narrowed my focus on each individual paragraph in detail until professor Knapp taught us the tea paragraph. This acronym stands for topic, evidence, and analysis. In most of my previous writing my paragraphs either jumped around too much or it just had topic and evidence without the analysis. I finally understand the importance of an analysis whether it is my opinion or relating it to why the reader should care about the information given. This is so important for pulling in the reader. They need to be told why they should care about a topic because it is a lot easier to not care.

I am very challenged when it comes to technology. We set up blogs on the second day of class to post our papers on. This was very different for my because I never picture myself as a blogger and I had no idea how to even set one up. I learned how to set it up, use it correctly, and even connect with other users in the class. Secondly, we had to do a power point presentation which up until this class I had avoided at all cost. In high school my teachers always gave options of what you could do for the visual part of a presentation and I always picked a poster. I knew the time would come when I had to just man up and learn how to do a power point and I’m glad I did because it’s a skill that I really should have in college.

I really do believe that all of these things will not only help me go further in school but also in the real world. In specific technology is domination the world and it would be really ignorant of me to ignore that fact just because it takes time to learn my way around it. Writing is something that I may have to do for a job later on in life so improving my skills is only going to help in the long run. Everything we have learned so far has been very helpful with my success in school.

Persepolis page 70 Analysis

In the novel Persepolis Marjane Satrapi not only grabs the reader’s attention with words, but also with detailed comic illustrations. The common saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is spot on in this story. The pictures bring the story to life but in particular page 70 really stood out to me. God often appears to Marjane throughout the story especially when she is having a hard time in her life. After a tragic death in the family instead of letting him comfort her she turns her back on him forever.

            To understand Marjane's strong emotion we must look at the first image and the history behind it. The first picture on page 70 is her uncle Anoosh in the news paper, announcing his death. The heading says “Russian Spy Executed” (70). Marjane had never heard about her uncle until she was about ten years old. She immediately connected with him; she looked up to him and thought of him as a hero because he was imprisoned for attempting to create a democracy. He was against the Shah and that was a major crime. The story never says he was a spy; he only lived in Moscow to get away from the Iranian government. This image shows how unjust the government was at this time. By portraying him as a Russian spy it makes the Iranian government look like the hero, when they really just don’t want the idea of a communism spreading.

            When Marjane found out this devastating news she laid on her bed and said to herself “Everything will be alright…” (70), a phrase her uncle Anoosh often said when anything went wrong. When suddenly god appeared and her face changed from very sad to a look of hatred. She went from sobbing to yelling in a few seconds. She stood up on her bed, pointed towards the door, and screamed “Shut up, you! Get out of my life!!! I never want to see you again!” (70). He was only concerned for her and she projected all of her anger towards him.

            In parts of the story earlier on, Marjanes face lit up when god came into her life. He was her protector. Someone she could lean on. When the tragic death happened her attitude towards him completely flipped. At that moment she pushed him out of her life forever. She probably reacted so strongly because she blamed him for the death of her uncle. He was supposed to protect her and he let her down. God listened to her command because he never appeared in the novel again. This marks a significant shift in the story because after this she no longer cared what god thought about anything, she focused on what she wanted and no longer had that faith and innocence she had when she was younger.

Persepolis

The comic book style story Persepolis written by Marjane Satrapi gives the reader a sense of what Iran was really like in the revolutionary times. Marjane expresses the things she experienced as a young, rebellious, and witty girl. Marjane had a keen awareness for the world around her at a very young age. She was in the midst of the revolution, but by reading a lot of books and understanding the country’s problems she was still able to form her own opinions.  The theme of rebellion occurs throughout the entire novel.  

                In 1980 the revolution began and the people were forced to conform to a lot of changes especially in the schools. Marjane was 10 years old when she was forced to wear the traditional Muslim veil at school, and girls and boys were also no longer allowed to go to school together. Most of the kids were not used to it so they used the veils as everything except what they were meant for. She was also taught in school that the king was chosen by god. This directly conflicted with her parents’ belief, so when she went home and said she liked the king, her parents felt entitled to tell her about their family history. Her great grandfather was the emperor before he was overthrown by the Shah's father. He was put into power as a puppet of the British because they were after Iran’s oil. The Shah was very uneducated, so Marjane’s grandfather was made the prime minister because of all the education under his belt. The power struggle weight heavily on him so he became a communist and because of this he was thrown in jail. After she learned about the family history she was on the same page as her parents when it came to protesting the government, which they often participated in.

                She was a very independent and smart girl, and she did not take on all the beliefs that her parents had. Unlike her parents she realized that the divisions of social classes made her feel ashamed. They had a maid named Mehri who had been working for them since she was eight years old. Mehri was left alone to take care of her at the early age of 10. They essentially grew up together and when Mehri fell in love with the neighbor next door she had Marjane write letters for her because she was not able to read or write. When Marjane’s father found out that this was going on he went over to his house and informed him that Mehri was the maid and not his daughter. The boy next door never spoke to her again. After this incident Marjane said with frustration, “But is it her fault that she was born where she was born???” (pg.37). She believed that it shouldn’t matter where Mehri came from, she should have the same rights as everyone. This was not the traditional way of thinking in Iran at this time and it showed her rebelling the cultural norm.

 Marjane decided she wanted to go out demonstrating with her parents. When they forced her to stay home because it was too dangerous, she decided to go out anyway and she took Mehri with her. Of course when they got back her parents were furious at the girls. Later, that day was known as Black Friday, the worst day they could participate in the demonstrating because there was a huge massacre in one of the neighborhoods. Many unjust things happened after this time. Her uncle Anoosh was arrested and executed in the prison for being communist. Her mom was also assaulted for not wearing the veil out in public. After this all happened, her mom was so angry that she let Marjane go out and demonstrate with them. She was finally allowed to fight for what she believed in.

This rebellion continued when she went to school. After Iraq invaded the war was in full swing. It was custom to whack your heart to mourn the fallen soldiers so they were forced to do this in school, they also made winter hoods for the soldiers. All this was a joke to Marjane and her class mates. Parties, drinking alcohol, card games, and many other activities were illegal at this time. This did not stop the Satrapi family from doing all this things. They believed it was the only way to stay sane in the hard times they were living in. Her parents also went to Turkey on vacation and smuggled back westernized posters, clothing, and shoes. All of which were highly discouraged by the powerful fundamentalist. Marjane even called out her teacher about lying to the students; she said there were no more political prisoners when there were really 300,000. After their next door neighbor’s house was bombed by the Arabs, Marjanes parents decided it would be best to send her off to school in Austria. They wanted her to get a good education and be safe, both of which she could not have if she stayed in Iran. Marjane was upset she had to leave her parents at the age of 14 but she understood it was best for her.

Marjane Strapi’s complete understanding of Iran’s problems at such a young age was incredible. All these events that happened in the novel forced her to grow up very quickly. Her fundamentalist school had a completely different view than what was taught at home, and for the most part she stuck with her family. The easy thing would have been to conform to the government’s ideals, but that was the opposite from what she did. She rebelled to stay true to her family and what she believed in.

Factions and Political Pluralism

Iran’s political factions ironically appear very similar to the United States’, however when looked into further there is actually quite a bit of variance between the two. According to Sussan Siavoshi in the article "Cultural Policies and the Islamic Republican",For the most they have a biofactional policy between the conservatives and the liberals. Like the United States these two groups are in constant battle with each other. One group wants the country to keep old traditions and beliefs and the other loves to embrace change. Although, the amount of power the dominant group has is the huge difference between USA and Iran. Liberals had an upper hand in government control, until Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic public, sided with conservatives after 1992 elections. As a result, the conservatives took complete control of the government. This power change lead to some major changes within the country.      

Western influence had been instilled into the Iranians for half a century, and Khomeini’s goal was to recapture Iran as a Muslim country. The ministries and their religious leaders were some of his main supporters. To achieve his goal, Ayatollah Khomeini had to destroy the whole western value system. He strongly states that "Americans are the great Satan, the wounded snake" (AyatollahKhomeini). By demonizing the Americans, he hoped to get more Iranians against foreign influence. He attempted to get the general public against foreign countries utilizing their oil. Most of the conservatives were in the older generation and they remember how Iran used to be before their country was taken over by foreign countries, so they wanted Iran to be more like it was in those times. The main point was to revert back to older, post revolutionary days. This means that a lot of things considered to be a part of the modern day society were discouraged.

 Cultural freedom was so feared that censorship was taken to the extreme. Liberals believe education and the arts should play a major role in society, but the powerful conservatives think the opposite. They wanted to oppress the freedom of expression that art encourages.There are two groups of conservatives, so beliefs do vary, but all put an emphasis on religious dedication and war participation instead of education.

 So where does this discrimination leave the liberals? As a result of Khamenei's conservative approach, and when Ali Larijani got the position of minister in the summer of 1992, attacks on the intellectual community started to increase. A lot of authors were arrested .Newspaper and publishing houses were closed. On a television program called Huvayyat, intellectuals were even portrayed as foreign spies. Acording to the "World Savvy Monitor", Khomeini gave a speech targeting university curriculum. He demanded that they have more of an Islamic emphasis on the learning material. School children were also forced to wear the traditional Muslim veil. He saw it as the states responsibility to enforce all of these traditional Islamic values. The liberal’s response to all of this was very defensive. Although they did not really have a say in the government, they could only respond with news paper and magazine articles.

 It is unclear how long the conservative power will be so dominant in Iran’s politics. The discrimination of intellectuals will most likely go on until there is a power shift. The ongoing battle between the liberals and conservatives is likely to continue for generations to come.

 

 

Work Cited

"World Savvy Monitor." World Savvy Monitor. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

Siavoshi, Sussan. "Cultural Policies and the Islamic Republic: Cinema and Book Publication." International Journal of Middle East Studies 29.04 (1997): 509. Print.

"Ruhollah Khomeini." Ruhollah Khomeini. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2013.

 

 

Persepolis (draft #1)

The comic book style story Persepolis written by Marjane Satrapi really gives the reader a sense of what Iran was like in the revolutionary times Marjane expresses the things she experienced as a young, rebellious, and witty girl. Marjane had a keen awareness for the world around her at a very young age. She was in the midst of the revolution, but by reading a lot of books and understanding the country’s problems she was still able to form her own opinions.  

                 Marjane was only 6 years old when the story begins. She grew up very religious and was convinced she was going to be a prophet. God came to visit her every night, but when she expressed that she wanted to be a profit when she grew up it only made her teachers and her parents worried. She was side tracked of this dream in 1980 at the age of ten when the revolution had begun. When she went against her parents beliefs and told them that she liked the king because god had chosen him, they felt entitled to tell her about their own family history. They told her that her great grandfather was the emperor before he was overthrown by the Shahs father. This man was an uneducated low ranking soldier but when the British caught wind of his ideas to build a republic they took their opportunity to make him into the leader of Iran in exchange for oil. Although her grandfather was made a prime minister because of all the education he had under his belt. The power struggle weighed heavily on Marjane’s grandfather, and in turn he became a communist and was thrown in jail. Their family had nothing. After all the information on the history of her family she could not stand the king just like her parents. Her parents went out demonstrating every night. This was not the kind of protesting Americans are custom to. Police would shoot at the demonstrators and they threw stones back. Violence was unavoidable and people were killed because of it every day.

                She was a very independent and smart girl, and she did not take on all the beliefs that her parents had. She realized that the division of social classes made her feel ashamed. They had a maid named Mehri who had been working for them since she was eight years old. Mehri was left alone to take care of her at the early age of 10. They pretty much grew up together and when Mehri fell in love with the neighbor next door she had Marjane write letters for her. Mahri was a servant so she was not able to read or write because she did not go to school. When the girl’s father found out about what was going on between her and the neighbor he went over to his house and informed him that Mehri was the maid and not his daughter. The boy next door never spoke to her again. Marjane said with frustration “But is it her fault that she was born where she was born???” (pg.37). She believed that it shouldn’t matter where Mehri came from, she should be able to eat with the family not in the other room, and she should marry who she wants.

 Marjane decided she wanted to go out demonstrating with her parents. When they forced her to stay home because it was too dangerous, she decides she is going to go out anyways and she takes Mehri with her. Of course when they get back her parents are furious at the girls. Later, that day was known as Black Friday, the worst day they could participate in the demonstrating because there was a huge massacre in one of the neighborhoods. After Black Friday massacres happened one after the next, and the Shah’s reign was reaching the end. The events that occur in the last part of the forty pages foreshadow of what is to come in the rest of the story. The theme of rebellion was a dominant feature in Marjane’s personality and it can only increase as the novel continues.  

Factions and Political Pluralism (draft #1)

            At first glance the political factions in Iran seem very similar to the United States. For the most part they have a biofactional policy between the conservatives and the radicals, also known as  liberals. Like the United States these two groups are in constant battle with each other. One group wants the country to keep old traditions and beliefs and the other loves to embrace change. Although, the amount of power that the group who is dominant is given is the huge difference between these two countries. The Liberals had an upper hand in government control, until Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Islamic public, sided with conservatives after 1992 elections. As a result, the conservatives took complete control of the government.    

Western influence had been instilled in the Iranians for half a century, and Khomeini’s goal was to recapture Iran as a Muslim country. To achieve Khomeini’s goal, what he had to do was destroy this western value system. Most of the conservatives were in the older generation and the major supporters were the ministries and their religious leaders. The main point was to revert back to older, post revolutionary days. This means that a lot of things we consider to be a part of the modern day society were discouraged. Cultural freedom was so feared that censorship was a huge part of this transition. Unlike the liberals who believe Education and the arts was a major part of society the conservatives thought the opposite. There are two groups of conservatives so beliefs do vary but most put an emphasis on religious dedication and war participation instead of education.

When the minister was replaced by Ali Larijani in the summer of 1992, attacks on the intellectual community started increasing. A lot of authors were arrested and newspaper and publishing houses were closed. On a television program called Huvayyat, intellectuals were even portrayed as foreign spies. Khomeini even gave a speech targeting what universities teach. He demanded that they have more of an Islamic emphasis on the curriculum. The liberal’s response to all of this was very defensive, but because they do not really have a say in the government, they were limited to news paper and magazine responses. It is unclear how long the conservative power will be so dominant. Although the ongoing battle between the liberals and conservatives is likely to continue for generations to come.