Why am I thankful?

                As Thanksgiving nears people always discuss what they are thankful for. Being thankful for things such as food and shelter is a common way to give thanks. However, I am thankful for more; I am thankful for the government I have. I am thankful for the democratic republic this nation has, and all of the freedoms and perks it presents. Our countries government, in my opinion, is unrivaled. The United States of America is known as the land of the free, and our government is the reason why. Through democracy people enjoy the simple freedoms of not only doing what they wish, but being who they wish. Our democratic government also presents people with the opportunity to have a say what goes on within it. With the election of leaders, we the people, have control over what happens. I cannot imagine having to live under any other form of government, especially a communist or an authoritarian government. People in these government systems do not have the simple freedoms we do, as Americans. I cannot imagine being told what occupation I will have, or how often I will be able to do leisure activities. My government is a perfect government. This government provides me with not only my freedoms and needs, but also guides me to any of my desires. I will forever be thankful for being free, which makes me thankful for democracy.

Just a Little Brain Power

Life for the average American has changed somewhat over the past few decades. Life is better than ever. The living standards are at their best. However, that does not mean that our country is not in debt and people are still not living through poverty. Some American people are still going through the hardships that are normally associated with many developing nations. Although conditions can be bad, solving the poverty issue and increasing wealth is not an impossible task.

            When thinking of success one always must look at the resources available. Many places lack the necessary tools to achieve success. However, this is not true for our country. The United States has all of the necessary resources to achieve success. They just need the people to be able to operate correctly. All of the ground work has been made; there is just one thing missing, education. With proper education and training a set of people can achieve any task. If a better form of education were put in place the American people could pull themselves out of any problems considering poverty.

            The thought of the “perfect America” isn’t an impossible task to achieve. Intellect is our best resource. Therefore, with the proper education and training this country could solve all poverty issues. This would intern increase the wealth of our nation. Anything can be accomplished with a little hard work and determination, and applying this to education would result in substantial dividends for the American people.

Lao-Tzu and The Perfect, Imperfections of Humanity

When I think of Lao-Tzu one word comes to mind, and that word is logic. This is shown in his work “Tao-te Ching”. He uses the appeal of logic throughout his text to get his point across. Lao-Tzu believed the Chinese people could function better if the government were less involved with the people’s everyday lives. He believed that people would make the right decisions if given the opportunity.

                The thought of a lack of government involvement is very intriguing to me. When this work is put into context it actually seems quite possible. Life in 4^th century B.C. China was very different than today. Things were a lot simpler and many people lived their own peaceful lives. I totally believe that in Lao-Tzu’s time this way of life could be very possible. However, I have my doubts of whether or not this could be possible today

                The lifestyle of people today has drastically changed just has time. I believe that if I the government stepped out of the lives of its citizens there would be horrible consequences. People today are too materialistic and selfish to have complete freedom. Unfortunately, within weeks of the government stepping out of the lives of people there would be complete chaos. Some people would follow a peaceful lifestyle. However, it only takes one bad apple to ruin the bunch. It is not necessarily bad that people could not function without some form of infrastructure. It is just simply human nature to make mistakes. No one is perfect. However, I believe that is what makes the human race ‘perfect’. Although it is an oxymoron, I completely stand behind my statement. We are the perfect species because we understand that we are not perfect.

Genocide Project Analysis

The Genocide Project that was on the Pedestrian Walkway this week was, to say the least, very interesting. It made an attempt to use the rhetorical appeal of pathos. Yes, the demonstration, with all of its pictures (located below), plays on the emotions of people, however, it does not play on emotions correctly. The Genocide Project is simply just too graphic and grotesque. It does a terrible job of getting the point across. All it does is make people feel bad. The group displayed many pictures of aborted babies. The message that the group was trying to send is that aborting unborn children is genocide or the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part of a group of people. The group’s presentation did not change the minds of the thousands of passing by students. It simply just made them feel uncomfortable. The members of the group basically harassed the students. I, myself, actually chose an alternative route to classes on Wednesday just to stay. The appeal of pathos is supposed to either positively affect one’s emotions, or if it does cause a negative affect it is supposed to make people rethink their ideas on a certain situation. The Genocide Project did not accomplish either of these. Their tactics were poor and need serious revision in order to see better results.

Sonnet 1

A dreadfully painful knot in her womb,
A thought that would cause most women sorrow.
However Henrietta shows no gloom.
A doctor’s visit is soon to follow.
Cervical cancer proves her biggest fear.
Noninvasive, a treatable cancer,

Doctors assure that death is not very near.
Johns Hopkins thinks that they have the answer.
Her treatments begin but soon after fail.
More tumors, her pain begins to worsen.
On her last days she is so weak and frail.
Henrietta Lacks' death is now certain.
HeLa makes curing disease a safe bet.
To her we will forever be in debt.

This little number right here was my creative response to the Life of the Mind assignment. Feel free to comment on it. P.S Zach Luecke try not to be so harsh this time. haha j/k

Rhetorical Analysis

After searching and searching on different websites for ads I finally decided to return to the link we used in class, and I believe this was for the best. I would like to start off by expressing how much I love this ad. This Ford advertisement, displaying the rear view camera on their vehicles is both interesting and effective. It displays the four elements of the rhetorical situation and the three classical appeals perfectly. The exigence, or the reason or problem that impels a person to write or speak is very easily noticed. This is the safety issues that are caused when a driver is backing up their vehicle. The purpose for the advertisement is to display how helpful the rear view cameras are on their models. This ad depicts it as the driver being able to see what is behind them just as if they were looking at something right in front of them. The audience that this ad is reaching out to is the general public. However, it is also specialized towards potential car buyers, especially those with a concern for safety. The context of this ad is influenced by the safety concerns involved in driving. It is straight to the point by showing what the rear view camera does for you. This thrives on logos, ethos, and pathos. The logical appeal in this advertisement is very easily displayed. It shows the in having a rear view camera. It shows that it is in a driver’s best interest to be able to see exactly what is behind them. This ad also plays on the ethics of someone. It shows that Ford cares for the safety of their costumers and the people involved with them. This shows their goodwill and character. Although the two previous appeals are heavily displayed, they are not the main point in this advertisement. This ad uses pathos very strongly. By showing a young child behind the car it makes the reader realize the concern for safety. Emotions are put into play when reader thinks “What if that was my child?” No one wants to hurt anyone, and this ad shows that with the rear view camera one can prevent that from happening. I have provided the link for this ad, along with other interesting ones. However, if you do not feel like going to the link, the ad can be found below.

http://izismile.com/2011/05/06/incredibly_creative_ads_from_across_the_world_73_pics.html

About John Moore

Where to start? My name is John Wesley Moore and I am from White House, Tennessee. Yes, I know that you have never heard of it before. I went to the type of school where everyone basically knew everyone. Therefore, attending the University of Tennessee was a very big step. It was also big since I can say with all my heart that I am not a Volunteer fan. I unfortunately was raised a Vanderbilt fan. Yes, I've grown accustomed to losing in sports. Speaking of sports, I never mention how much I really love them. During my time at that small high school I managed to letter in four different sports. I was a member of the football, basketball, soccer, and baseball teams. I would never recommend anyone to ever do such a thing. However, I can say that I have no regrets from the first eighteen years of my life. High School was great for me, and I see that as a bit of a problem. I refuse to be someone who's best four years of their lives were in high school. I believe that is actually the main reason I am attending school here. I plan to be very active while being here at Tennessee, although I am spending my Saturday night in my dorm doing homework. I guess it's a bit of a work in progress. Now it's time to answer the one question every freshman in college will be asked an infinite number of times before they graduate. What is my major? I wish I knew, actually. I change my mind every day, honestly, and they are some very different career choices might I add. As of the moment I would like to get a degree in Biology with a minor in Marketing so I could some day become a Pharmiceutical Representative. However, I'm sure my mind will change by my next blog post. My back up plan would be to get a degree in aeronautics and become a pilot, and my back up plan to my back up plan is to become a high school football coach. I guess we'll just see what happens. For now that's all. I'm about to make an attempt to post a picture of myself. Due to the fact that technology and I aren't very compatible, you might not see. By the way, excuse the orb floating around in the picture. It's in all of the pictures taken in my room, weird right? I'm open to all questions so if any of you would like to become better acquainted, feel free to ask!