I have a dream…
Martin Luther King Jr. gave one of the most inspirational speeches of all time. His “I have a dream” speech is an example of powerful rhetoric that took place in American’s most influential city, Washington, on the steps of the Lincoln memorial. The vision of a strong black man standing on the steps of Washington delivering a speech to thousands of people would have been a powerful sight and increase King’s effectiveness as a speaker. The speech was a social statement that represented an entire population’s resistance to the ideologies of the time. Black people wanted to be treated as equals and exercised what little rights they had by gathering and protesting. A history of slavery laid the ground work for the resistance of blacks to segregation. King knew this about his people and choreographed his speech to incite that blacks everywhere demand change. He called his people to action in order to win the basic liberties of every other American citizen and united them under their common shared trials and tribulations. King did so in a way that suggested his people not run the streets in mayhem not rather rightfully and just fully insist they be treated fairly. His words were powerful and could not be ignored by anyone especially when he quoted the staples of our government, such as the Constitution and Declaration of Independence, which gave rights to not just white people but all people. Statements such as these were given even more power because of the location his speech was given from. King’s rhetoric was eloquently laid out and the repetition of “I have a dream” insisted that all black people should have a dream of equality as well.
King Jr., Martin Luther. I have a dream. Washington: D.C. August 28th, 1963. Retrieved from www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/mlkihaveadream.htm.
Hart, R.P., & Daughton, S.M. (2005). Modern rhetorical criticism (3rd ed.). (pp. 42-53) Boston: Pearson Education.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
Invisible Children
One of the most influential presentations over the semester was about the Invisible Children in Uganda. I thought that the presentation was in a way directing related to the involvement the creators of the document intend. By showing the class segments of the film and describing the travesties that the children in Ugandan face everyday, the presenters were making an impact on the entire class. The footage in the documentary was very disturbing and immediately hugged at my heart. Watching hundreds of children walk from their homes every night just so they could be safe was something that no one in the class could relate to. It was something that no American could relate to. The children in Uganda have no security or safety even in their own homes. The have no where to feel safe and no one to really care for them. The presentation and film was moving and made me want to find a way to help the cause. I found the testimony of the young boys who lost their brother to the rebels the most compelling aspect of the presentation because it offered a view of real heart ache and desperation for a better life. After listening to the presentation I later went online and found websites that could offer additional information about the blight of the Ugandan children. I was grateful that the group gave a presentation about the invisible children or else they would have remained invisible to our class. We would not have learned about the suffering and the efforts that are being made to help.
One of the most influential presentations over the semester was about the Invisible Children in Uganda. I thought that the presentation was in a way directing related to the involvement the creators of the document intend. By showing the class segments of the film and describing the travesties that the children in Ugandan face everyday, the presenters were making an impact on the entire class. The footage in the documentary was very disturbing and immediately hugged at my heart. Watching hundreds of children walk from their homes every night just so they could be safe was something that no one in the class could relate to. It was something that no American could relate to. The children in Uganda have no security or safety even in their own homes. The have no where to feel safe and no one to really care for them. The presentation and film was moving and made me want to find a way to help the cause. I found the testimony of the young boys who lost their brother to the rebels the most compelling aspect of the presentation because it offered a view of real heart ache and desperation for a better life. After listening to the presentation I later went online and found websites that could offer additional information about the blight of the Ugandan children. I was grateful that the group gave a presentation about the invisible children or else they would have remained invisible to our class. We would not have learned about the suffering and the efforts that are being made to help.
AIDS
In 1992, Mary Fisher gave a speech about the blight of AIDS to the Republican National Convention. Fisher initiated her speech by saying “I want your attention, not your applause.” (1992) Fisher makes it immediately clear that the purpose of the speech is not to entertain but to inform. She was not there that day to only address Republicans, but to address all Americans about the blight of AIDS. At the very beginning of her speech she draws a connection between herself and every other person suffering from the deadly disease. It was important for her to not single a specific group that was inflicted with the condition but rather focus on all infected people. She does so by saying that she is there to “represent the entire AIDS community”. (Fisher, 1992) Fisher’s creditability is drawn from the very fact that she is infected with AIDS. She is there to tell her story and the story of millions living with the disease. And not only that but she states the obvious truth that anyone is susceptible to infection and that is why she is demanding that everyone take action to help prevent further infection. Fisher is powerful in drawing her audience in by making the disease personal and letting everyone know that they are not impervious to its reach. She makes very strong statements which reflect that AIDS does not discriminate between gender, race or sexual orientation. Fisher is doing her part to break the silence about the disease by bringing it into every Americans home, as their responsibility to help prevent and protect any further spread of AIDS.
Fisher, Mary. A whisper of AIDS. Republican national convention address. August 19th, 1992. Retrieved from www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/maryfisher1992rnc.html.
Hart, R.P., & Daughton, S.M. (2005). Modern rhetorical criticism (3rd ed.). (pp. 177-188) Boston: Pearson Education.
In 1992, Mary Fisher gave a speech about the blight of AIDS to the Republican National Convention. Fisher initiated her speech by saying “I want your attention, not your applause.” (1992) Fisher makes it immediately clear that the purpose of the speech is not to entertain but to inform. She was not there that day to only address Republicans, but to address all Americans about the blight of AIDS. At the very beginning of her speech she draws a connection between herself and every other person suffering from the deadly disease. It was important for her to not single a specific group that was inflicted with the condition but rather focus on all infected people. She does so by saying that she is there to “represent the entire AIDS community”. (Fisher, 1992) Fisher’s creditability is drawn from the very fact that she is infected with AIDS. She is there to tell her story and the story of millions living with the disease. And not only that but she states the obvious truth that anyone is susceptible to infection and that is why she is demanding that everyone take action to help prevent further infection. Fisher is powerful in drawing her audience in by making the disease personal and letting everyone know that they are not impervious to its reach. She makes very strong statements which reflect that AIDS does not discriminate between gender, race or sexual orientation. Fisher is doing her part to break the silence about the disease by bringing it into every Americans home, as their responsibility to help prevent and protect any further spread of AIDS.
Fisher, Mary. A whisper of AIDS. Republican national convention address. August 19th, 1992. Retrieved from www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/maryfisher1992rnc.html.
Hart, R.P., & Daughton, S.M. (2005). Modern rhetorical criticism (3rd ed.). (pp. 177-188) Boston: Pearson Education.
WAR
On April 2nd, 1917 President Woodrow Wilson addressed the American people about the threat of Germany. Wilson used authoritative rhetoric to speak to the public about the government’s stance on what he referred to as the “enemies of Germany”. He stated that Germany had decreed all submarines would be treated as “pirates” and that the safe passage that had once been promised, no longer applied. Wilson began his speech to the public as a forum of explaining the future decisions that would need to be made such as going to war with Germany. The President reinforced his decision by stating that Germany was infringing on the “humane practices of civilized nations”. (1917) He justifies the war actions that will be taken as a result of Germany’s disregard for international laws and the rights of all nations. Wilson makes that argument that a decision based on the nation’s best interest must be made, not a decision based on revenge. Throughout Wilson’s speech he makes numerous warrants for the declaration of war. He seems to want the American people to know that the decision would not be entered into lightly and that he understood what such a declaration could mean for our nation. He explains the various actions that will need to be taken and what these actions will mean for the American people. I felt the Wilson wanted the public to be very clear about what war meant for America and how it was the only way to preserve our way of life and liberty.
Wilson, Woodrow. War message. April 2nd, 1917. Retrieved November 26th, 2006 form http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/wilsonwarmessage.htm.
Hart, R.P., & Daughton, S.M. (2005). Modern rhetorical criticism (3rd ed.). (pp. 88-99) Boston: Pearson Education.
On April 2nd, 1917 President Woodrow Wilson addressed the American people about the threat of Germany. Wilson used authoritative rhetoric to speak to the public about the government’s stance on what he referred to as the “enemies of Germany”. He stated that Germany had decreed all submarines would be treated as “pirates” and that the safe passage that had once been promised, no longer applied. Wilson began his speech to the public as a forum of explaining the future decisions that would need to be made such as going to war with Germany. The President reinforced his decision by stating that Germany was infringing on the “humane practices of civilized nations”. (1917) He justifies the war actions that will be taken as a result of Germany’s disregard for international laws and the rights of all nations. Wilson makes that argument that a decision based on the nation’s best interest must be made, not a decision based on revenge. Throughout Wilson’s speech he makes numerous warrants for the declaration of war. He seems to want the American people to know that the decision would not be entered into lightly and that he understood what such a declaration could mean for our nation. He explains the various actions that will need to be taken and what these actions will mean for the American people. I felt the Wilson wanted the public to be very clear about what war meant for America and how it was the only way to preserve our way of life and liberty.
Wilson, Woodrow. War message. April 2nd, 1917. Retrieved November 26th, 2006 form http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/wilsonwarmessage.htm.
Hart, R.P., & Daughton, S.M. (2005). Modern rhetorical criticism (3rd ed.). (pp. 88-99) Boston: Pearson Education.
Locks of Love
My cousin Tiffany Carroll is a very inspirational person. When trying to decide who to interview for my portfolio, I immediately thought of her because for years now she has been actively trying to help various organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Relay for Life. Recently at our family’s Thanksgiving dinner, I sat down with her and asked what type of projects she has been involved in lately. “Well I have been growing my hair out for the last two years and I just recently decided to donate 11 inches of my hair to the Locks of Love organization.” (Tiffany Carroll, November 23rd, 2006) According to Tiffany the organization takes donations of hair 10 inches or long in order to create hair prosthetics for children with long-term health problems that result in hair loss. I asked Tiffany how she decided to help the organization and she said that “well I actually hate my hair cut and my hair being so short but that could not possibly compare to the way a sick child will feel when they are able to have some normalcy in their life from my hair.” (Tiffany Carroll, November 23rd, 2006) But her generous gesture did not just stop at donating her hair. She has also been visiting local salons and posting fliers about Locks of Love in hopes of gathering more hair donations. When I asked why she became so passionate about this particular organization she answered “these are kids that are losing their hair, some of them permanently and this is my way of helping. Its just hair to you or me but it’s so much more to someone who needs it.” (Tiffany Carroll, November 23rd, 2006)
Tiffany Carroll. Interviewed November 23rd, 2006. Lillington, NC.
My cousin Tiffany Carroll is a very inspirational person. When trying to decide who to interview for my portfolio, I immediately thought of her because for years now she has been actively trying to help various organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Relay for Life. Recently at our family’s Thanksgiving dinner, I sat down with her and asked what type of projects she has been involved in lately. “Well I have been growing my hair out for the last two years and I just recently decided to donate 11 inches of my hair to the Locks of Love organization.” (Tiffany Carroll, November 23rd, 2006) According to Tiffany the organization takes donations of hair 10 inches or long in order to create hair prosthetics for children with long-term health problems that result in hair loss. I asked Tiffany how she decided to help the organization and she said that “well I actually hate my hair cut and my hair being so short but that could not possibly compare to the way a sick child will feel when they are able to have some normalcy in their life from my hair.” (Tiffany Carroll, November 23rd, 2006) But her generous gesture did not just stop at donating her hair. She has also been visiting local salons and posting fliers about Locks of Love in hopes of gathering more hair donations. When I asked why she became so passionate about this particular organization she answered “these are kids that are losing their hair, some of them permanently and this is my way of helping. Its just hair to you or me but it’s so much more to someone who needs it.” (Tiffany Carroll, November 23rd, 2006)
Tiffany Carroll. Interviewed November 23rd, 2006. Lillington, NC.
Hillary Clinton and the Fight for Women’s Rights
At the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women Plenary Session, Hillary Clinton made a powerful speech that addressed women’s rights worldwide. Clinton’s speech was a call to action for people all over the world to change the status quo of how women are abused and denied their rights and liberties because of gender. (Hart, p284) Throughout her speech, Clinton makes references to women of various cultures in order to unite all women as a gender and eliminate the idea of race and nationality. At the beginning Clint says that “however different we may be, there is far more that unites us than divides us.”(1995) Immediately Clinton engages the audience as a whole instead of focusing on a particular group of individuals. She addresses the fact that all people have to help change the abuse and repression of women’s rights worldwide. I thought this was an inspiring aspect of her rhetoric on how women’s rights are human rights and we as the human race can not deny a gender their rights if we hope to prosper and flourish. She makes her statements powerful because she describes the various abuses of women rights to abuses of human rights and gives very vivid and at times violent depictions of atrocities that take place everyday. Another very influential feature of Clinton’s speech is that she doesn’t only paint a dark picture of the evils commented against women but offers a message of hope. She does so by talking about the struggle women in America had to achieve women’s suffrage. “It took 150 years after the signing of our Declaration of Independence for women to win the right to vote.” (Clinton, 1995) A statement such as this gives hope to the struggle of women worldwide to achieve the respect and protection of their rights and freedoms.
Clinton, Hillary R. The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. China:Beijing, 1995. Retrieved from www.americanrhetoric.com on November 26th, 2006.
Hart, R.P., & Daughton, S.M. (2005). Modern rhetorical criticism (3rd ed.). (pp. 283-295) Boston: Pearson Education.
At the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women Plenary Session, Hillary Clinton made a powerful speech that addressed women’s rights worldwide. Clinton’s speech was a call to action for people all over the world to change the status quo of how women are abused and denied their rights and liberties because of gender. (Hart, p284) Throughout her speech, Clinton makes references to women of various cultures in order to unite all women as a gender and eliminate the idea of race and nationality. At the beginning Clint says that “however different we may be, there is far more that unites us than divides us.”(1995) Immediately Clinton engages the audience as a whole instead of focusing on a particular group of individuals. She addresses the fact that all people have to help change the abuse and repression of women’s rights worldwide. I thought this was an inspiring aspect of her rhetoric on how women’s rights are human rights and we as the human race can not deny a gender their rights if we hope to prosper and flourish. She makes her statements powerful because she describes the various abuses of women rights to abuses of human rights and gives very vivid and at times violent depictions of atrocities that take place everyday. Another very influential feature of Clinton’s speech is that she doesn’t only paint a dark picture of the evils commented against women but offers a message of hope. She does so by talking about the struggle women in America had to achieve women’s suffrage. “It took 150 years after the signing of our Declaration of Independence for women to win the right to vote.” (Clinton, 1995) A statement such as this gives hope to the struggle of women worldwide to achieve the respect and protection of their rights and freedoms.
Clinton, Hillary R. The United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women. China:Beijing, 1995. Retrieved from www.americanrhetoric.com on November 26th, 2006.
Hart, R.P., & Daughton, S.M. (2005). Modern rhetorical criticism (3rd ed.). (pp. 283-295) Boston: Pearson Education.
Parents Against Commercials
The activist group that Adam, Patrick and I created is called Parents Against Commercials also known as PAC. PAC is an organization dedicated to preserving the morality of television and helping to eliminate the excessive amount of advertising in children’s programming. I enjoyed working with both Adam and Patrick. As a group we worked well with one another and were able to share ideas and humor in our effort to properly attack the task at hand. We were able to successfully collaborate on how to choose our cause and the audience we were trying to appeal to. When trying to decide what cause to undertake for our group project we each contributed several ideas about issues we thought were important. We decided that the media has taken advertising too far and we thought it was an issue that everyone could relate to. The focus of our cause became geared toward the effects of advertising on children because they are one of the largest consumer demographics today. Once we decided on our cause and our focus, we then began to talk about what type of advertisements and product placements we had been exposed to while watching television. By describing our personal experiences with advertisements, we were able to develop an individual understanding of how previously we had passively watched television. It became apparent that since we had at times not taken notice of ads that children would be even more susceptible to the influences of advertisers. This helped us gain a better grasp of how to defend our cause during the activist challenge questions.
The activist group that Adam, Patrick and I created is called Parents Against Commercials also known as PAC. PAC is an organization dedicated to preserving the morality of television and helping to eliminate the excessive amount of advertising in children’s programming. I enjoyed working with both Adam and Patrick. As a group we worked well with one another and were able to share ideas and humor in our effort to properly attack the task at hand. We were able to successfully collaborate on how to choose our cause and the audience we were trying to appeal to. When trying to decide what cause to undertake for our group project we each contributed several ideas about issues we thought were important. We decided that the media has taken advertising too far and we thought it was an issue that everyone could relate to. The focus of our cause became geared toward the effects of advertising on children because they are one of the largest consumer demographics today. Once we decided on our cause and our focus, we then began to talk about what type of advertisements and product placements we had been exposed to while watching television. By describing our personal experiences with advertisements, we were able to develop an individual understanding of how previously we had passively watched television. It became apparent that since we had at times not taken notice of ads that children would be even more susceptible to the influences of advertisers. This helped us gain a better grasp of how to defend our cause during the activist challenge questions.
The Vagina Monologues
Vagina. It’s a word that most people are uncomfortable with using in everyday conversation. I felt the same way until I attended an event called the Vagina Monologues that not only embraced the word but also made it a mission for all women to own it. The purpose of the Monologues is to not only to entertain but to inform and raise awareness about violence toward women by using public forums to speak out. The performances consisted of many testimonies about violence, rape, masturbation, and other real-life experiences of women that are considered taboo to talk about. The Monologues provide women a voice to express their resistance to terror and fear brought on by violence. The language of the performances was beautifully descriptive, eloquently delivered and at times disturbingly graphic. I found the event very powerful mainly because the Monologues were depicting real-life events. The stories the women on stage were telling were not fictional accounts dreamed up by a play writer sitting safely in his/her home. The accounts were real and it made the violence real. I thought one of the most important messages of the event was that by speaking out against sexual and physical violence against women, we were taking the power away from predators and giving in back to the victims. So when these victimized women allowed their stories to be told they were empowering an entirely new generation of women to fight back and resist oppression. They were saying that silence is never the answer.
Vagina. It’s a word that most people are uncomfortable with using in everyday conversation. I felt the same way until I attended an event called the Vagina Monologues that not only embraced the word but also made it a mission for all women to own it. The purpose of the Monologues is to not only to entertain but to inform and raise awareness about violence toward women by using public forums to speak out. The performances consisted of many testimonies about violence, rape, masturbation, and other real-life experiences of women that are considered taboo to talk about. The Monologues provide women a voice to express their resistance to terror and fear brought on by violence. The language of the performances was beautifully descriptive, eloquently delivered and at times disturbingly graphic. I found the event very powerful mainly because the Monologues were depicting real-life events. The stories the women on stage were telling were not fictional accounts dreamed up by a play writer sitting safely in his/her home. The accounts were real and it made the violence real. I thought one of the most important messages of the event was that by speaking out against sexual and physical violence against women, we were taking the power away from predators and giving in back to the victims. So when these victimized women allowed their stories to be told they were empowering an entirely new generation of women to fight back and resist oppression. They were saying that silence is never the answer.
National Coalition Against Censorship
For my activist presentation I discussed the National Coalition Against Censorship. The coalition is a grassroots movement to educate and inspire the public to take action against various types of censorship such as in the media and arts. One of the coalition’s greatest concerns is that “freedom of communication is the indispensable condition of a healthy democracy, in a pluralistic society it would be impossible for all people at all times to agree on the value of all ideas and fatal to moral, artistic and intellectual growth if they did.” (www.ncac.org) I chose to speak about the coalition because it is in direct relation to my major in Communication Studies and my minor in English. I think it is important that everyone have the right to express their ideas however they choose as long as it is in a nonviolent manner. Without the freedom of expression our society would be unable to grow and evolve past any previously established ideas. It would hinder our ability to adapt to change. We as a society would become uniform carbon copies of one another because any new notion of life would be unable to reach the public. The idea of the NCAC is to help create a healthy environment to allow the free exchange of ideas. It does so by sending out a quarterly newsletter, educating the public, and helping to organize and correlate activist movements. It’s important to protect our basic rights to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. It would be more beneficial for our society as a whole if we could simply agree to disagree and respect one another.
National Coalition Against Censorship. Website. Retrieved November 26th, 2006, from http://www.ncac.org/about.cfm.
For my activist presentation I discussed the National Coalition Against Censorship. The coalition is a grassroots movement to educate and inspire the public to take action against various types of censorship such as in the media and arts. One of the coalition’s greatest concerns is that “freedom of communication is the indispensable condition of a healthy democracy, in a pluralistic society it would be impossible for all people at all times to agree on the value of all ideas and fatal to moral, artistic and intellectual growth if they did.” (www.ncac.org) I chose to speak about the coalition because it is in direct relation to my major in Communication Studies and my minor in English. I think it is important that everyone have the right to express their ideas however they choose as long as it is in a nonviolent manner. Without the freedom of expression our society would be unable to grow and evolve past any previously established ideas. It would hinder our ability to adapt to change. We as a society would become uniform carbon copies of one another because any new notion of life would be unable to reach the public. The idea of the NCAC is to help create a healthy environment to allow the free exchange of ideas. It does so by sending out a quarterly newsletter, educating the public, and helping to organize and correlate activist movements. It’s important to protect our basic rights to freedom of speech and freedom of expression. It would be more beneficial for our society as a whole if we could simply agree to disagree and respect one another.
National Coalition Against Censorship. Website. Retrieved November 26th, 2006, from http://www.ncac.org/about.cfm.
Activism and Me
I have never personally been a part of an activist movement or known much history about activism and protest before enrolling in this class. I would have to say that it was the basic assumption that one person can’t really make a difference that has kept me from actively pursuing a movement or cause. Nevertheless I have always been willing to discuss and voice my opinion on various aspects of life such as women'srights, the government and the environment. However this rhetoric has mainly been isolated between myself and close peers. After having the opportunity to learn about historical rhetoric and movements, I have found myself now wanting to do more than simply talk but rather take action. I feel that I have been motivated to find a group or organization that I can throw my support behind and become an active member. The struggle and oppression so many people have had to overcome in order to gain rights and freedoms is inspirational. Sweat, blood and tears have been poured in order for me to have the basic liberty of freedom of speech and expression. I feel that I would not be honoring such heroism if I did not find a cause to support and try to make a change on the status quo. Specifically I have been researching women’s rights organizations and I am going to volunteer at the Humane Society and other local shelters to help abused and neglected animals. So as far as activism and me, I would have to thank Dr. Ashe and my peers for such an informative and influential class that was inspired me to be a more active member of the global community.
I have never personally been a part of an activist movement or known much history about activism and protest before enrolling in this class. I would have to say that it was the basic assumption that one person can’t really make a difference that has kept me from actively pursuing a movement or cause. Nevertheless I have always been willing to discuss and voice my opinion on various aspects of life such as women'srights, the government and the environment. However this rhetoric has mainly been isolated between myself and close peers. After having the opportunity to learn about historical rhetoric and movements, I have found myself now wanting to do more than simply talk but rather take action. I feel that I have been motivated to find a group or organization that I can throw my support behind and become an active member. The struggle and oppression so many people have had to overcome in order to gain rights and freedoms is inspirational. Sweat, blood and tears have been poured in order for me to have the basic liberty of freedom of speech and expression. I feel that I would not be honoring such heroism if I did not find a cause to support and try to make a change on the status quo. Specifically I have been researching women’s rights organizations and I am going to volunteer at the Humane Society and other local shelters to help abused and neglected animals. So as far as activism and me, I would have to thank Dr. Ashe and my peers for such an informative and influential class that was inspired me to be a more active member of the global community.
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