Blog 3 Response to Michael Terzian

       While reading your blog I found myself wanting to watch one of my favorite movies The Hurt Locker. Your blog paints a better understanding as to why Staff Sergeant James removes his protective bomb suit after popping the trunk of a car only to find enough explosive to level multiple square blocks. In that sense I can understand wanting to remove your protective equipment if one absolutely knows it will be useless to wear vice the possibilities of feeling comfortable. I absolutely agree with you when you mention how risky war is and that not all equipment can stop a soldier from being hurt or even killed for that matter. I also agree with you in the sense that the speed and agility of a soldier could help maintain security and survivability. Though I am not an infantry Marine and have not been in the direct line of fire, I have had to take cover from indirect fire from rocket and mortar rounds fired into our air base in Al Asad, Iraq. Harry on Dumb and Dumber put it quite nicely when after being shot realizes if he had been shot in the head instead of the chest he would have been dead. The moral of my story would have to be that yes I would much rather wear a flak jacket and helmet or any other protective equipment to better my chances of surviving the war zone. The enemy will not always give you all they got being that they are also human and often make vital mistakes which could be used against them. Soldiers have also been known to be killed by small fragments of flying debris which could have been prevented if the proper gear was being worn.          

Blog 2 Timing is Everything

When thinking of kairos I remember back to a cell phone commercial I have seen which depicted a certain provider its’ audience should use. In this commercial there was a group of workers who were all sent the same joke on their cell phones while car pooling to work. As three of the four workers received the message first and began laughing, it left the fourth worker out of the circle being that his provider was not as fast as the others. It was not until a few moments later that the fourth worker fully received the message and began laughing which led the other three looking at him like he was insane. This implicit argument focused more on persuading the audiences’ view towards buying their service being that they portrayed offering a faster and more reliable data plan. Though the kairos in this commercial could be looked at by pointing out the timing of the downloaded message and responses, it can also be recognized by looking at all the other services coming out with their new plans at the same time. With commercials like this sticking out more than most it tends to play deeper in the mind of the consumer as he or she goes out to purchase their next product.

            I often find myself using kairos on a daily basis as I talk to young men and women about their career opportunities. At any given moment if I am to veer off a relative subject an applicant was looking for, the kairotic moment for keeping the individual interested may be lost. As I have quickly found many ways to strengthen my skills in determining the right time and appropriateness to build better kairotic moments with applicants, I don’t necessarily have that same ability with my wife. I am regularly told by my wife that I hardly think before I speak and in doing so I usually dig myself a hole to climb in. Page 116 of the Writing Arguments explains that considering using proper kairos helps the effectiveness of an argument to increase. I can only imagine if I were to use the proper timing and appropriateness when talking to my wife on certain occasions how much more caring I would be considered. 

Blog 1 Tugging at the Heart Strings

While looking back through out the Writing Arguments course, I can really only think of one thing that directly stands out to me. As we recently studied about how to effectively write an argument, my focus was solely on the ability to not only create a tight bond between me and others but also learn more about the possibilities that emotions can play on one another. This trait which may commonly be looked at as a barrier between many is one that most individuals could easily overcome by simply building some rapport amongst one another. On a daily basis I find myself coming in contact with perfect strangers who have no idea of my true intentions until after we have begun to know a little about each other. Building rapport has been the simplest way for me to gain pathos while coming in contact with random people on the streets (or as page 63 of the text book Writing Arguments describes as the “audience”) I talk to.

As I occasionally find myself being turned away by many individuals who I try to influence with new and exciting career opportunities, I do not look at it as being the end of the world.  I have found in many situations that using emotional ties have often help regained the attention of those I am trying to influence with opportunities. After reading more about what makes up pathos in chapter 3, I have discovered that without this key part of the rhetorical triangle an effective argument can not be made. This portion of the rhetorical triangle is the one that is intended to go after the feelings, beliefs, and values of the speaker’s audience (Ramage). Though sometimes it may seem like a selfish trick to use in order to gain the attention of others, I genuinely use this persuasive appeal to open the eyes of individuals who often may see the world in one color.  

Ramage, John D., John C. Bean, and June Johnson. "Chapter 3." Writing Arguments: a Rhetoric

with Readings. Eighth ed. New York: Pearson Longman, 2010. 63. Print.

Building The Military

       There is not a day that goes by in which people around the world propose new and exciting arguments in order to try and change the way the world turns. Case 2 on page 310 of the text book Writing Arguments quickly gained my attention when I noticed the proposal argument. This specific argument proposed a possible solution to increase the Army recruiting efforts due to their crisis in supplying enough soldiers to serve around the world. Though the Army is not really my style, I do have a complete understanding of the stress they often endure during recruiting men and women into the armed forces. As the recent economy crisis has shown many of us how critical job seeking can be today, many individuals have realized that the military maybe the only way to survive these tough times. With guaranteed pay and health benefits in an economical downfall, many people would be foolish to not try and use this opportunity to their full advantage.

       At the time this proposal argument was published, U.S. Forces were being tasked with many conflicts around the world. Two major well known conflicts were Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan. With these two conflicts alone, it took every ounce of effort recruiters had on a daily basis to supply new men and women to training camps in order to replenish soldiers, sailors, and Marines who were returning home to separate from the military. I believe the proposed possible solutions on page 310 and 311 are a poor idea in that it discusses lowering enlistment standards, doubling bonuses, and reinstituting the draft to name a few. As a Marine for over nine years and a recruiter for almost a year, I have personally sighted these ideas slowly coming to reality. After seeing this proposal, the only thing I could really think of was America's enemies.

       Our enemies these days have no standards except to do as much damage and harm as possible until they are eventually stopped. If we lower our standards it could give the enemy more advantages over our troops as well as possibilities back onto American soil in which more civilian lives could be lost. If training standards of new service members are left at stake, young men and women could lose out on possible life saving techniques in which not only their life depends on it but so does the service member to the left or right of them. As increasing bonus money for enlisting has become a hot topic these days, I simply turn individuals away when they directly tell me that they want an enlistment bonus. Don't get me wrong, I am all about money but I have witnessed to many people “window shop” as we recruiters call it to try and find more money for their services. These individuals in my point of view end up doing no justice in the military being that they generally show a sense of greed right away. Last but not least I have a strong believe that if a draft was reinstated; those individuals brought into the military would do no good for a few different reasons. I feel in order to get a productive result from an individual, that person has to want to be involved in the line of work they are performing. Yes the military can be known for its' harsh way of getting results from individuals but in turn if someone is forced to do what he or she does not want to do, what quality would come of their work.

       As I have picked this proposal apart, I want to conclude by making a proposal myself. I propose to maintain the highest of standards and demand only the best effort from all the individuals that I come in contact with who wants to be a U.S. Marine. These men and women are our next line of defense for this great nation of ours. In doing this I believe that only those future Marines who prevail will not only carry on the highest of standards but will also enforce them in turn. This will at least help me feel safe once I have separated from the military and rely heavily on the next generation of young men and women to carry on the traditions of the Marine Corps.

A Proposal From My Wife

            Thinking back to a few proposal arguments that I have heard makes me think of only one in particular and it happens to be one that my wife recently made. She sure can make a good point. This effective proposal was while discussing my recent re-enlistment into the Marine Corps. My original intention in high school was to enlist in the Marines. After doing so, I planned to continue on until I reached my twenty year retirement eligibility date before getting out and continuing onto another career path. Approximately two years ago I told my wife that I wanted to get out of the military to begin a new career choice in the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. With this career choice being one that I planned on having either way, I left out one big piece of my master plan which was to retire from the military.

            As my wife and I began discussing my idea to get out of the military and move on the other things, she made the continual opportunities and benefits that I was leaving behind quite evident to me. She reminded me of how expensive college tuition would be for us if I was to separate from the military. One huge benefit we have been able to take part of was continuing not only my education but also her education with the military paying for both our tuitions in full. While we have both begun our journey to continue our education one other benefit has come our way in which we have been stationed closer to home due to my current duties which was a main factor on why I was looking to get out of the military after all. It has not been long after my wife made a very effective proposal argument that I found our lives affected for the good in the choice to continue my military service. The major way this has affected me has been the opportunities that we will have in our future due to the both of us continuing our education with just myself being directly in the military. I would have to say that yes I did response in the exact way that my wife had proposed due to her trained eye to map out the success in our future goals.

Response to Ryan Tupps

       As I was thinking of what proposals that have been most effective to me, the animal commercial was not one that quickly came to mind. It honestly wasn’t until you posted about it that I soon realized how similar our points of views really are on this matter. If you were to ask anyone who knows me, they would tell you that I would try to help anyone in their time of needs. I personally don’t agree with the way this commercial or even the Feed the Children commercials have there way of trying to make you feel guilty with the many misfortunes of life. I have given to a few of charities in the past, to include Feed the Children. I did so believing that I was doing the right thing either way.

      It was not until last year when I was doing a research paper for another college class that I found out that there was a big scam going on with the Feed the Children program. The money that was being donated was found being used in other ways than intended for. I have never understood why some individuals try and use the needy to their advantage when it comes to making a buck. This to me is very unethical though it has seemed to become more common in the world today. I think I will just stick to helping out the local charity groups by donating my time rather than money.