Rhetorical Analysis Reflection and Thesis

                For me, the article that was most persuasive, or the one that impacted me the most both emotionally and logically, and regarding the credibility of the author, proved to be "American Justice and Divine Mercy: Thoughts on Osama Bin Laden's Death", by Patrick Clark.  Therefore, his is the article I have selected to be the very core and focus of my rhetorical analysis paper.

            After researching a bit about his background, I discovered The author, Patrick Clark, to be a professor of theology at the private Catholic University of Notre Dame, and a writer for the Catholic Moral Theology Blog.  Christian values of courage, martyrdom, and human fulfillment provide the basis for his works and teachings, and how living a moral Christian life reflects our worship of God.  Fantastic!  He's obtained a professional background in the ideals he presents in his piece about the ethics and the extent of mercy and justice in regards to celebrating the execution of Osama Bin Laden. 

            I find his ideas of death and mercy to be most persuasive, in that he talks about how, despite the horrible deeds that this corrupt leader performed on earth, he's still a man and spirit, and the extinction of a fellow being shouldn't be cause for rejoicing.  Sure, while he hurt many people, and probably deserved what came to him, we should consider Christ's sufferings and death for all of us, and extend more mercy and compassion for victims of justice.  I just feel like he's got a real strong, effective argument for his intended Christian audience.  It hits my heart strings and provokes the internal questioning of my morals.  In Patrick Clark's article about the variables of justice and divine mercy, and the obligation of the Catholic community to retain greater mercy and forgiveness in acts of justice, he utilizes unfailing rhetorical devices and powerful literary tools to present and concentrate his argument.

            I'll take the approach of appraising Clark's solid elements of writing fused into the piece, particularly the ethological and pathological strengths.  His ability to sufficiently demonstrate and elaborate on his beliefs and use allusions to Christ's execution also bolstered his claim.  It isn't all just points emphasizing the correctness of his stance on the issue, but the author presents opposing evidence to his article, which I believe increases his credibility.  However, there are a few setbacks and areas for improvement in this article, which I'll identify and discuss, like the more narrow appeal and the controversial defense against the choice to kill Bin Laden, supporting the side of a higher level of morality and doctrine; forgiving all because Christ suffered for all, and loving our enemies.

Faith in America

            Mitt Romney's speech of 2007, given at the George Bush Presidential Library was truly inspirational, and effective.  His whole purpose in raising his voice that night was to dispel any fear that might have been held about him influencing politics with LDS affairs, and doctrinal oppressiveness, but also, at the same time, to reinforce the strong, committal ideal that America should acknowledge God as our Provider of liberty, our Protector.  There still should be a separation of Church and State, but that common respect and love for our Creator that was held even by the Founding Fathers of our nation should not vanish in the secular world.

            The ethos side of this article is very strong for Governor Romney.  He knows about politics for sure, seeing as how he's served as the governor of Massachusetts and done extremely well there in his preservation of Constitutional values and laws.  Never before has an excessive inclusion of Mormon doctrine negatively affected his stewardship, and leadership, and yet he never discredits the faith in God that upholds America.  After being questioned by his faith, he always told how it helps him in his position, not a detriment.  People can trust him because he presents the cause of uniting the citizens more, common cause supporter, and that religious freedom should be for all.

            His employment of pathos is fantastic.  Complimenting the president and the government to begin is always nice and flattering, while delving into the strength of the country and the generations who have fought valiantly in the past and present for our liberty.  People desire to belong, to be connected and yet free, which Romney strongly believes; we should have common morals to protect, and everybody should be respected in their own right.  The many lives laid down in sacrifice for American liberty is a tender, passionate reminder of his love for the soldiers and the duty he feels towards honoring these sacred emblems of the U.S.  He emphasizes the need for love of neighbor, service to nation, just being Christ-like.

            Logos is also evident in this great speech.  He points out the past's defeat of fascism an Soviet Union as being a feat of the great generation, and the issues that America faces now, and how they need to be aware and willing to fight equally as hard as their predecessors.  Also, religion-wise, he mentions the Founding Fathers reverence and love for God.  We have many faiths in this country, and that's good, we should stand on common ground of preventing a national religion of secularism.  We've had long journeys before for our freedom, and we need to be willing to fight now.

             

Opinion Editorial Reflection

            Initially, I was tentative about the opinion editorial assignment, almost as if it were a new menu item at the burger grill that had great advertisements, but in actuality tasted really awful.  The whole concept of the paper sounded scrumptious--creating your own ideas, expressing your own personal convictions pertaining to a specific area of interest--, but the tedious, redundant nature of the writing/drafting process proved to not be all peaches and roses.  It consumed hours, focused concentration, excavation into the deep creative caverns of the mind, a considerable expenditure of mental energy.  Despite these rigorous qualities, however, it was a healthy, growth-promoting task, and one very satisfying to conquer.

            I began the whole assignment, after the idea and thesis/supportive reason proposal, by constructing my paper through a random spill of ideas.  Basically, any thought or idea that cropped up in the garden of my mind, I jotted down into the meat of the paper.  After all my surface creativity was spent, I confronted the scattered ideas and organized them according to their proper topic sentence pertinence.  Then the editorial started to take shape, and have meaning and purpose, not just a jumbled vat of unconnected thoughts.  Eventually, the first, rough body of the paper was completely hewn, and offered up for peer/teacher review.  Of course, it was pocked with frequent imperfections, of which I was the head reviser of.  I added, cut, rearranged, slimmed, bulked, and polished the paragraphs to produce a cleaner, more powerful piece.  Thus, the final draft eased forth into literary existence.

            I definitely employed certain tools and tactics in the writing style of my article.  One thing that I certainly love is creative, descriptive language and story-telling, and, since I focused my ideas greatly upon the outdoors, I wrote about specific places or scenes in nature that I've enjoyed, and the feelings attached thereto.  I just hoped that these detailed digressions would foster welcoming avenues that pulled audience readers into the paper, and kept them happy to be rolling along.  Another device I used was to include logical, evidential points about how being outside and doing those hearty activities provides legit health benefits, mentally and physically.  I also mentioned the social and spiritual consequences of prolonged indoor existence.  I also hoped that the interspersed scriptural references, general conference/movie quotes would bolster my argument.  I tried to use as much authority in my writing, and boldness as seemed appropriate and effective.

            I felt that I could've improved in a couple various areas.  My own personal experiences and growth with getting to know and appreciate the beauty and power of nature haven't been limited to only scouts or family trips, but also were due greatly in part to sports.  I failed to mention those uplifting adventures.  Also, I feel like, even after some revision, I completely discredited and shunned the modern-age technology, which really does have some good benefits.  In fact, if it weren't for my laptop, I wouldn't enjoy the privilege of writing my papers conveniently, or being able to quickly message my family or friends in far-off places.  Lastly, I should have found more of the true, impressive statistics that correlate with my desired message; there's lots of good stuff out there, but I didn't really look into that realm too extensively.