Police Reform RefAnnBib – Google Docs

The 2020 Presidential election was special, the tension was high the race was close and of course the pandemic played a big role on how our election was managed. The biggest takeaway from this election was how much my patience was tested. Seeing states turn red to blue and vice versa made it very interesting but but not knowing who was our winner days after the election create a lot of tension. The aftermath of the election was big relief to many although President Trump is still not accepting the lost. The actions of the president Tweeting out that the results were a fraud did not anger me I was expecting the Trump not to take the results well. What I will remember the most from this election is how long it took to finally get the final results and the reaction of President Trump.

Questions:

1. If you are able to vote for this election why would you? And what does it mean to you to cast your vote?
2. How will this presidential election affect Gen Z? And do you feel obligated to vote?
3. As a Gen Z how different would your generation look at politics without social media?

Thomas. C, 18

I’d vote to try and create change from the past 4 years rather than having 4 more years of the same. I believe this is the ultimate goal of most Gen Z voters. To cast a vote means to use your democratic right to vote in elections and have a voice in society and make change for what is best.

This presidential election affects Gen Z because people today are more inclusive than ever, and with all the progress made in certain communities it can be catastrophic if change does occur. As a citizen especially in this time of crisis I definitely feel obligated to cast my vote to try to make sure there is change in the oval office and for our country. 

Without Social Media Gen Z would look at politics completely different. The media is always biased in a certain way and it’s hard to create your own opinion without research. No social media will make it harder for the media to try and sway you one way  or another on issues

Gabriela. A, 18

If I was able to vote I would for this election because I know how imperative it is to get President Trump out of the White House. If I was able to vote I’d mean that I took a step for change in our country. 

This presidential election will affect Gen Z because most of us are progressive and to keep a president (Trump) who leans more towards conservative as a Republican, will probably make us less motivated to vote for the next election. I do feel obligated to vote but I was unable to.

Without Social Media, I feel like we’d focus heavily on the facts and not what other people think of our candidates. 

Viviana. B, 20

If I were able to vote for this election I would do it because it’s my right as an American. And as being an American who comes from a Latino background it is even more necessary for me to be able to vote. Latinos need their voices to be heard. To me casting my vote means I have an input with my ideas and my voice to what’s going on in today’s world. Casting my voice allows at least part of my opinion to be heard. 

I think this Presidential election will greatly affect Gen Z. We are part of society. Whoever gets elected will obviously impact and change the way our world runs. As being a young person in my generation, the results of this election can impact my future goals and desires. Whether it’s a change of law or something being enforced. I do feel obligated to vote because people always complain how their voices are never heard and as stated in question one, this is a way of being heard even if it’s just a simple vote. 

As a Gen Z, I am certain that my generation would look at politics as something boring or unimportant without social media. A lot of us get our information and are up to date with everything because of posts made. I think that is why most young people today feel obligated to vote. With videos always being posted and people’s opinions being said out loud it definitely causes you to stop and think. Without social media I don’t think many Gen Z would be interested in voting because they wouldn’t really know what it means. Social media has a big influence on the decisions made by young people.

What stood out to me the most in the first article “on the cusp of adulthood and Facing an Uncertain Future: What We Know About Gen Z So Far” by KIM PARKER AND RUTH IGIELNIK was the statistics stated. According to the article Gen Z is on track and is the most diverse generation due to the country’s changing racial and ethnic makeup. According to the article is states “One-in-four Gen Zers are Hispanic, 14% are black, 6% are Asian and 5% are some other race or two or more races.” This statistic gives us an idea of how much our country is changing and what it’ll look like in the future. In article 3 ” “Gen Z is about to go to the Polls, Many for the First Time.  Here’s What They Care About”” I completely agree with the statement made by photographer Anna Betts “I feel like social media has changed the way that my generation is able to share information.” This statement allies perfectly with Gen Z. Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, etc is all part of our generation. Through social media we’ve been able to stay up to date with what is happening with our world, and what we can do to change a political issue, stop climate change and much more. The last and final thing that stood out to me was in the second article “6 things to know about Gen Z, politics and 2020″ which stated ” First-time voters already face significant barriers to understanding and participating in the electoral process.” I personally disagree with this statement. Many Gen Z are aware about the electoral college how it works, and we are more then ever informed about politics through social media. I believe that Gen Z is more confident about voting than any other generation at our age, we want to see a change with social justice, politics and of course with the pandemic. I wouldn’t change anything that is portrayed about Gen Z except the last statement that I quoted. Everything else seems to be very accurate about my generation.

A) The excerpt “Backpacks V. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis” helped me realize how we all analysis something or someone without even knowing. I learned that over the years, as I interacted with people I have built a mental database that I draw on to make conclusions without even realizing it most of the time. I also learned that the better i get and know how to analyze situations and draw informed conclusions, the better I become at judging people, situations, and the media. Another thing that I learned is that the exigence, and audience are ways one can understand the context. firstly what I learned from this is the word exigence which means understating the purpose of the rhetoric. With that being said understanding the purpose of the rhetoric and the audience is essential to understanding the context of any speech, letter, etc.

B) “If we refuse to stop and think about how and why it persuades us, we can become mindless consumers who buy into arguments about what makes us value ourselves and what makes us happy.” This quotation stood out to me the most. The reason why is because nowadays we spend countless hours on screen, either on our cell phone, or on a computer for class or work, and we see countless amount of ads. Being the target of multiple ads it is important think about why and how this political ad, or commercial persuades us in order not to fall into every trap portrayed by the media and have our own voice and opinion.

C) One way the essay of “Backpacks V. Briefcases: Steps Toward Rhetorical Analysis” will affect my rhetorical analysis is by making sure I understand the purpose of the rhetoric as stated before and the audience. This is one of the many strategies I grasped from this essay and believe is the most essential because understanding the context will make it easier to analyze any text.

I’m sure many of you have seen this post all over social media this morning, if you didn’t know last night Vice President Mike Pence and Kamala Harris had the first VP debate. While pence was speaking a fly landed on his head and stood there for a while. I found the post to be funny because Biden didn’t waste anytime to reply to that incident with a political strategy against the Trump campaign by posting a picture of himself with a fly swatter. This was a smart move by Biden because it went viral and gained a lot of attention which was the main goal of the post.

After reading and reviewing George Orwell’s essay “Politics and the English Language” I was informed to a political issue that I was not aware of. Thanks to Orwell I learned from his thesis that the English language is declining in several ways and the blame for that can be politics, and writers like ourselves.  Many writers including myself tend to imitate strategies and style of other writers which has been one of the reasons for the declining of the English language according to Orwell. A great example of this issue can be seen when Orwell states “But in between these two classes there is a huge dump of worn-out metaphors which have lost all evocative power and are merely used because they save people the trouble of inventing phrases for themselves. ” As stated above this stood out to me the most because I can assure you that almost all writers like myself have fallen for this trap. The meaning of a “worn-out metaphor” is simply a metaphor that has been used  extravagantly by writers without actually acknowledging the meaning or background of the metaphor. An example of a worn-out metaphor can be this very well known metaphor used by many in the morning “rise and shine” this is a metaphor I use all the time and I’m sure you have too. This metaphor has became an ordinary phrase which is simply why it is a worn out metaphor.

This critique by George Orwell is valid because not only have I seen it very often in multiple stories, essays, etc, but because this is one of the downfalls of our language. According to Orwell he states ” Modern English, especially written English, is full of bad habits which spread by imitation and which can be avoided if one is willing to take the necessary trouble.” This is one of the mostly common issues in our language but what Orwell is trying to explain is that the solution is easy writers like myself have to take the challenge and go the extra mile and come up with their own ideas and metaphors. I believe that when language use and politics intersect it can have a great affect on the way people view a political figure circumstance and the political beliefs. A great example can be President Trump’s language use that has created many controversial ideas and opinions towards our president, many are on board with him and many are completely against him. One example of how President Trump’s language use which has contributed to the way people see him can be in one his very well known statements back in 2016 when he stated Mexico sends their worst people and stated how they send “criminals, drugs, rapist, etc.” President Trump’s language use towards the Mexican people has contributed to the hate and anger the Hispanic community has towards him. This is a prime example of how when language use and politics intersect is has a major affect on the audience.

Joel Batz

Rhetorical Analysis of a Campaign Ad

Joe Biden: ‘keep up campaign’ 2020: https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/politics/campaign-ads-2020/joe-biden-keep-up-campaign-2020/2020/08/27/7dff81f0-d141-43bd-95e9-29274fe5c385_video.html

After viewing one of Joe Biden’s campaign ads it is obvious who the ad is aimed towards and the message portrayed. The audience for Joe Biden’s ad are people that are against president Trump, those who care about immigration, and citizen’s who haven’t made up their mind on who to vote for in the November election. I know this because in the beginning of the ad it states about the differences Biden would make to end the chaos of the pandemic, they stated how Biden won’t lay back as a president persuading citizens to vote for him and attacking Trump’s campaign. The ad also shows the audience that Biden cares about immigration and we can see this towards the end of the ad we’re the ad illustrates that Biden cares for immigrants and portrays photos of Biden with people of all different races. The message is obvious. Joe Biden is the total opposite of President Trump, he will “end chaos” caused by the pandemic, he cares about all the people in America no matter their race, gender, etc. 

This ad does a very good job when it comes down to evoking emotions, we see this by how the ad is structured. The beginning of the ad starts off strong stating that the U.S. will have to “keep up” when Biden is in office this evokes an emotion of hope that Joe Biden will finally get us out of the pandemic. Towards the middle of the ad it evokes an emotion of inspiration, the ad states that Joe Biden “has been hit hard in life” he lost his wife, daughter, and son, although Biden was hit hard he still got up and never gave up. The ad is mixture of positive and negative, I know this because the ad gives the reader the idea of how Biden will change our nation in a better way if he is elected president which is positive. On the other hand the ad gives the reader the idea that president Trump hasn’t done enough to fight back during the pandemic, which evokes negativity towards Trump’s campaign. 

I believe that the visual of the ad is one of the most important contributions to the message. The ad illustrates Biden being active which contributes to the title of the ad “keep up” throughout the ad we see images and videos of Biden spending time and having a good time with all different types of people from all different races. This contributes to the message of the ad, That Biden will be the president that will help all people no matter their race, religion or even if their immigrants. Joe Biden’s ad uses a lot of rhetorical strategies to persuade his audience, for example the ad uses pathos which aims to create certain emotions in your audience. As stated above Biden does this through the visual’s of the ad the background music of the ad and the way the narrator describes Joe Biden. The narrator describes Biden as a man who has been hit hard by life by has gotten up, a man who will fulfill his promises to get this country out of the pandemic which is aimed to create emotions of hope and inspiration in the audience.

I personally believe the ad was successful, the ad did a very great job illustrating the main points and the structure of Biden’s campaign. The ad does a very good job explaining Biden’s background which at the same time aims to create certain emotions towards the audience. Theses are great strategies to convince your audience that you are ethical and can convince many to swing their votes towards Biden.

After reviewing both articles “Shitty First Drafts ” and “RETHINKING THE SHITTY FIRST DRAFT” I believe that no strategy is right or wrong. I believe that everyone is different, just how everyone has a different opinions in politics or how every professor and teacher has their own unique style of teaching. With that being said, I personally know that George Dila’s method suites me better. I have used his method several of times while writing essays and stories in school. Georges’s method of writing a first draft and revising at the same has worked for me, the reason why is because it is time efficient and because while I write I come up with idea’s to revise what I just wrote. I do not expect for perfection for my first draft but I also think that effort should be put in everything I do. I believe that if you don’t put any effort in a first draft you are basically wasting your time. For example in the text “RETHINKING THE SHITTY FIRST DRAFT” by George Dila it states “Imagine building a house using Miss Lamott’s pour-it-all-out strategy. The builder would end up with a pretty shitty house; so shitty it would probably be easier to tear it down and start over, maybe a little more carefully the next time”. The pour it all out method has never worked out for me for the reason stated above, I believe it would actually create more work like the example of the contractor, and you’re better of starting over. Whatever I do either it’s writing a draft, practicing a sport or an instrument I believe the best way is to always give it you’re all and put effort into it. It is the method that is most productive to me but I also understand that everyone is different and a different method may be more productive for themselves.