Intro/thesis

Brittney Miller

Professor Thomas

Composition 102

17 March 2013

Title

            There is no doubt that millions of people are struggling in America due to the high prices in the grocery stores and even in fast food restaurants. The main victims who are affected by the rise in prices are the low-income families. An article written by the Tufts University Health & Nutrition Letter states that the price of a loaf of white bread has risen nearly 25 cents, red delicious apples are up 20 cents a pound, from 96 cents to $1.16, and eggs have jumped from around $1.45 to $2.18. The rise in prices makes low-income families struggle to feed their families healthy foods. Because of this it leads them to buying unhealthy foods for their families.  Adam Drewnowski, who is with the Center for Public Health Nutrition and the Nutritional Sciences Program, states that the low price of energy-dense food encourages low-income Americans to consume an unhealthy diet. Because of the low prices of unhealthy foods it increased the obesity rate in America, but not only did the obesity rate go up so did other medical problems like heart disease and high blood pressure. An article by Tammy Esteves states that According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than one third of adults in the United States were obese in 2009-2010. The high prices in healthy foods are a terrible problem because it affects the entire community, but specifically the low-income families, the suppliers, and even schools. As the prices continue to rise each year due to the struggling economy, communities need to raise awareness and provide information about ways to buy non-expensive healthy foods for their families.

research topic

The topic that I am researching is High Prices on Healthy foods. Some of the problems that I already know about the topic are that many Americans go to fast foods because it is cheaper to feed their families. Even on the menus of fast food places the more healthy foods on the menu is more expensive then the not so healthy foods. Also the prices on heathly foods in the market have gone up causing many Americans to reduce buying healthy foods. Also because of the high prices many Americans are getting obese; and the ones that are hurting from it the most is the children. The stakeholders that are affected by this are, of course, the children, and low-income families.

Here are some of my research questions:

1. Why are the prices of healthy food going up?

2. How are the high prices on healthy food affecting children? Low-income families?

3. What can we do to help fix this problem?

I found one great resource in the school library database which is an article called "Can You Afford To Eat right?" Which covers the topics Food prices, Heath, and obesity. This article is very useful in helping me with my paper because it provides so many useful quotes to creditable people about the topic.


http://proxy.uscupstate.edu:2048/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=31885135&site=ehost-live

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Title

            After the loss of the beautiful children and adults at The Sandy Hook Shooting, there was a huge outcry from Americans all over about how we need to do something about the shootings in the U.S. There is no doubt that many innocent people are dying because of the use of guns. President Barak Obama spoke on this at his speech on Gun Control on January 16, 2013; President Obama believes that this proposal will help reduce the violence in the U.S and keep our family and friends safe from harm. But would restrictions on guns really reduce violence? Although The Gun Control proposal is a growing topic, not all agree that this proposal will lessen the killings in the U.S or that this proposal will even last. Tom Gresham, an editor of the Columbus Dispatch, disagrees with President Obama’s proposal on gun control. Tom believes that this proposal will be a failure because all of the other bans on assault weapons in the past failed. He believes that if we have more programs on how to secure firearms then that will help reduce killings. I agree with president Obama that we need to keep our family and friends safe from harm, but I oppose on the stricter gun control proposal. We need to own guns to protect ourselves and our love ones against criminals.

 President Obama believes that having a control on guns is what we need to help reduce violence. In his speech he immediately talks on the Sandy Hook Shooting and how we need to protect our children from harm. He bases his whole speech on protecting or children and loved ones to grab the listener’s attention and make them feel sad and upset. President Obama uses many fallacies when he gives his speech to help his argument. For an example, he uses many glittering generalizations throughout his speech, like when he says the words “free”, “together”. “Powerful”, he uses these words so that the listeners can accept and approve of his argument without examining his evidence. But did President Obama have any proof in his speech that banning guns will actually help reduce violence? Analyzing his speech President Obama states that, “it's time for Congress to require a universal background check for anyone trying to buy a gun. Right now, as many as 40 percent of all gun purchases are conducted without a background check.” Through research I found that on an article on University News Elizabeth Golden writes that, “According to a report by the Government Accountability Office, between 2004 and 2010, over 1,200 people on terrorist watch lists attempted to buy firearms and 91 percent of these transactions passed the background check.” (Elizabeth Golden) This statement goes against Obama because it’s saying that even if we have background checks there will still be criminals who can beat the system and find a way to get a hold on a gun. In Obama’s speech he didn’t state many creditably people to back up his arguments on having a control on guns. This made it harder to agree with Obama’s proposals because we don’t know any other person who sides with him.

On the other hand, On The Columbus Dispatch, an article called “Gun control has a clear record of failure” Tom Gresham's the author, has published an argument about how the Gun control proposal will result in a failure. In his article he explains several reasons why the proposal will be a failure; he also states ways we can help reduce the violence in the U.S. According to Tom, “The National Academy of Sciences studied gun laws in the U.S. and reported it could find no link between restrictions on gun ownership and lower rates of crime, firearms violence or accidents with guns.” He also states that “The major change in America's gun laws over the past two decades is removing prohibitions against people carrying guns for protection” Even though these are great claims, Tom failed to have credibly citations in his article. If he would have cited a scientist or cited a FBI then the reader can feel like his statement was well supported. Through research I found an article called The Case for more Guns (And more Gun Control) by Jeffery Goldberg stating that, “Pink Pistol clubs sprang up across America, in which gays and lesbians learn to use firearms in self-defense. Other vulnerable groups have also taken to the idea of concealed carry: in Texas, African American women represent the largest percentage increase of concealed-carry permit seekers since 2000.” This quote supports Tom’s statement on how allowing people to carry guns for protection helps people with self-defense.

Tom Gresham also writes on child education on guns. He explains that if we had more programs like the Eddie Eagle program, which teaches young children to not to touch guns and to tell an adult if they see one then this will decrease the accidents on handling guns. He also states in his article that, “Congress eliminated the funding for “Project Childsafe,” a program created by the firearms industry to educate gun owners about safe storage and to distribute millions of gun locks.” Tom’s statements on how we need more programs that help educate young children is extremely useful because it sheds light on the serious problem on how to stay away from guns and to properly handle a gun.

In any case, both authors agree, and so do I, that we do need to do something to help with the issue on guns. I believe that we shouldn’t have a ban on guns. I believe that all Americans have the right to own a gun for protection or even for hunting. Although I agree with President Obama that we need to have stricter background checks for purchasing guns, I also agree with Tom Gresham on how we need to have more programs for children on teaching them about the dangers of guns.

summary of arguments

The article that I am summarizing is called Gun control has a clear record of failure. This article is about how the Gun Control issue is not the best idea and how we really do not need it. The author believes that this new Gun Control law is not the best way to go. He believes that we should enforce more programs that secure firearms. It says that we already have many laws on the restrictions on guns. The author uses LOGOS when he writes that studies show that over the past 20 years The National Academy of Science could find no link between restrictions on gun ownership and lower rates of crime, firearms violence or accidents with guns.


 
The second article that I am summarizing is called President Barack Obama: Now is the time. This article is about how we should enforce the gun control law and how it will help better and protect the U.S. President Obama uses PATHOS when he talks about the innocent children and adults who were killed at the NewTown shooting. He touches his audience hearts and then talks about how the gun control law will protect our loved ones from harm.

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Together We Can

            “So I’m putting forward a specific set of proposals based on the work of Joe’s task force. And in the days ahead I intend to use whatever weight this office holds to make them a reality;” Stated President Obama during his speech in Washington D.C on January 16, 2013. President Obama insisted that we issue a gun control problem to reduce the violence in America. He emphasizes throughout his speech that “We” as in every citizen in the United States, needs to come together and speak up on the violence so that change can come.

            Millions of people in the United States sat and watched Obama’s speech on their televisions, smart phones, or even listened to it on the radio. Watching some speech’s can be a bit dull and can tend to have people, including myself, dosing off while watching it. President Obama speech on Gun Control however, had me glued to the TV screen and also on board with his proposal on the gun control. Through Repetition, his use of historical references, and the structure of his speech, President Obama persuades his audience to be on board with his proposal on issuing Gun Control.

            Throughout his speech President Obama repetitively used the word “violence”. “To help prevent mass shootings, to reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country.” Or “if there’s even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try.” President Obama repetitively used the word “violence” to emphasize to Americans that gun shootings are increasing in the United States and we have to do something to stop it. The word violence itself is a powerful word; it opens up peoples ears when they hear it and makes them listen to what is being said about it. By using this word president Obama can persuade Americans that guns are very violent and dangerous and needs to be kept out the hands of dangerous people.

            President Obama repetitively used the word Violence was a great way to grab the attention to all Americans.  But when he stated the historically references on Ronald Reagan it gave him creditability on how great the gun control proposal will be. “And, by the way, so did Ronald Reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the Second Amendment, who wrote to Congress in 1994, urging them — this is Ronald Reagan speaking — urging them to listen to the American public and to the law enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of military-style assault weapons.” President Obama used this quote from Ronald Reagan to show the people that even a great idol of the United States once said that we should have a ban on assault weapons. President Obama also speaks on the second amendment, “Like most Americans, I believe the Second Amendment guarantees an individual right to bear arms.” President Obama speaks on this so that he can still gain the trust of the people who uses guns for hunting or sports. President Obama doesn’t want the gun control issue to be a bad thing he wants it to be a good one for all Americans.

            The way President Obama structured his speech not only kept everyone who was watching glued to their television but it touched Americans hearts when he speaks on the killings of young children and adults. “And obviously, none have affected us more than the families of those gorgeous children and their teachers and guardians who were lost.” Or “This is our first task as a society, keeping our children safe. This is how we will be judged. And their voices should compel us to change.” President Obama structured his speech with quotes about the children and adults who were murdered so that he can create a mood of sadness and anger that the use of guns is used to take away loved ones. By doing this it caused Americans to stop and think to themselves “we do need a control on purchasing guns”. President Obama also used letters from young children about how we should do something about the killings in the U.S. “Hinna (ph) wrote, “I feel terrible for the parents who lost their children. I love my country, and I want everybody to be happy, and safe.” And another letter from a young child “And then Grant, go ahead and wave Grant, Grant said, “I think there should be some changes. We should learn from what happened at Sandy Hook. I feel really bad.” Using the letters from children also creates a mood of sadness it shows to Americans that young kids also agrees on having change and the need for control on assault weapons.

            Finally, President Obama states in his speech what congress needs to do to help with the change in stopping the violence in the U.S. “To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act, and Congress must act soon. And I’m calling on Congress to pass some very specific proposals right away.” Obama then states three things that congress needs to do to help make a change in the use of guns. After each statement Obama tells us some background information on why he states theses three things. President Obama does this because he wants all Americans to know that he is not the only one who can enforce the control on guns. He wants the citizens of America to know that we all need to work together to enforce these laws. In closing his speech president Obama stated “we must act now, for Grace, for the 25 other innocent children and devoted educators who had so much left to give; for the men and women in big cities and small towns who fall victims to senseless violence each and every day; for all the Americans who are counting on us to keep them safe from harm.” By the end of this statement Americans are persuade to help speak out on the gun violence in the U.S.

Basic Questions for Rhetorical Analysis

• Who is the author/speaker?

-Obama uses ethos when he quotes about Ronald Reagan:
"And, by the way, so did Ronald Reagan, one of the staunchest defenders of the Second Amendment, who wrote to Congress in 1994, urging them — this is Ronald Reagan speaking — urging them to listen to the American public and to the law enforcement community and support a ban on the further manufacture of military-style assault weapons."

• What is his/her intention?

- His intention is to have America on board with him issuing Gun Control.
-Stop violence

 

• Who make up the audience?

-The target audience is America, and the secondary audience is Congress.
"To make a real and lasting difference, Congress, too, must act, and Congress must act soon. And I’m calling on Congress to pass some very specific proposals right away."
-Obama uses PATHOS when he talks to the audience about the small beautiful children that died at the Sandy Hook shooting and the brave teachers who also died. The audience feels sad and also angry that innocent people died because of the use of gun violence.

• What is the form/structure/medium in which it is conveyed?

-Obama states the problem in his speech and then tells why it is a problem and how we need to fix it. By doing this the audience can easily follow along with him and be persuade into being on board for issuing the Gun Control proposal

• Which persuasive and rhetorical devices are used to accomplish the purpose?

-Obama uses many rhetorical devices throughout his speech.
"we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable rights that no man or government can take away from us. " He uses this from the Declaration of Independence to show ETHOS. It moves the audience because it is powerful and famous words.
-At first Obama uses a sad or sympathetic tone in his speech when he reads the letters from the children about stopping gun violence and when he talks about the Innocent people who died because of it. Then later on in his speech Obama tone is very authoritative when he talks about how congress needs to help too and what we as Americans need to do together.
-Obama also brightens up the mood in his speech when he reads a little girl letter to him.
"You know, in the letter that Julia wrote me, she said “I know that laws have to be passed by Congress, but I beg you to try very hard.” The audience gets a little laugh and then the president agrees with her and makes his point that Congress needs to help with the gun control.

Summary of Speech

The text that I’m summarizing is the Obama speech on gun control. The title of the article is Transcript President Obama, Joe Biden speech on gun control the author of the article is Brandon jones. A short overview of Obama’s speech is that he is talking about the new proposal on gun control. Obama starts of talking about the Sandy Hook devastation and how we lost 20 children and 6 adults that day. He uses pathos when he talks about the innocent people who died and even told us how 900 more people died in the last month because of gun use. He talks about how he wants to make getting guns more difficult, and not as easy as it is right now. He also speaks on getting better security for schools and better emergency preparedness plans. He also states what congress needs to do to make a difference.

 

http://www.theglobaldispatch.com/transcript-president-obama-joe-biden-speech-on-gun-control-43383/