Sarah Palin - Use of Logos

Moderator Gwen Ifill begins by asking vice president candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin “What promises, given the events of the week (the bailout plan), have your campaigns made to the American people that you are not going to be able to keep?” After a brief response by Biden, Palin is given the opportunity to prove herself to Americans. She opens with the statement, “The nice thing about running with John McCain is I can assure you he doesn’t tell one thing to one group and turn around and tell something else to a different group.” This is an attempt to show the audience that she and McCain, unlike Biden and Obama, will stick to their word; America will not have to worry about false promises within their campaign. Ideally for Palin, Americans will look at this contrast as a logical reason for favoring the McCain campaign. While this is an obvious logos appeal, Palin also appeals to the audience’s emotions with the use of pathos: she shows us that we, America, should never have to worry about false promises and with her and McCain in office, we are free of that worry.

Palin then launches in to a speech about an energy plan that Obama voted in favor of. This plan gave large oil companies big tax breaks. In response to this, Palin claims she “took on those oil companies and told them no way… that greed wasn’t going to happen in my state. I had to break up monopolies and say the people are going to come first, those tax breaks aren’t going to the big companies anymore – not when it adversely affects the people.” By these statements, Palin is attempting to show the audience, once again, the logic of voting in favor of the McCain campaign rather than the Obama campaign. She backs this idea up with the fact that Obama did indeed vote in favor of this particular plan. The audience can use their own reasoning to realize the obvious logic: under she and McCain, these tax breaks on large companies would not happen; the people would be more protected.

We can see another overlapping of rhetorical appears when Palin states that she had to break up companies “as governor of an energy-producing state, and undo (actions) in my own area of expertise: energy.” Here, Palin establishes her own authority, employing ethos, by mentioning her “area of expertise.” Still, her argument is rooted in logic. She continues to build on the idea, common in politics, that her side of the campaign is superior to the other (Obama and Biden). Palin closes her argument by stating “I don’t believe John McCain has made any promises that he would not be able to keep.” She leaves the obvious conclusion to the audience, once again. She has presented the facts about differences between her own campaign, alongside McCain, and Obama and Biden’s. The audience is to use this evidence to make their decision.

"Say It To His Face"

Upon being asked, “Are both of you willing to say to each others faces what your campaigns have said about each other?”, both political candidates are given prime opportunity to make use of rhetorical strategies to persuade us, the audience, that each is the better candidate. The interviewer begins by giving examples of each man’s negativity toward the other’s campaign: Obama has deemed McCain angry and out of touch; McCain has described Obama as disrespectful, dangerous, and dishonorable. Immediately, we look to see which candidate handles these remarks better; which candidate’s argument is more persuasive.

McCain begins by establishing his authority, applying ethos. By saying “I know from my experience in past campaigns…” McCain attempts to show us that he is knowledgeable in the area, perhaps more so than Obama. McCain then turns to pathos, playing on the emotions of the audience. McCain claims the allegations that he and Sarah Palin were associated with segregation and church bombings were “so hurtful” – the audience is expected to sympathize. He again uses this strategy when he claims that “Senator Obama didn’t tell Americans the truth (concerning public financing).” This is an attempt to make Americans feel that they indeed deserve the truth, and should not settle for less. McCain’s use of logos was apparent when he stated “it is a matter of fact that Obama has spent more money on negative ads than any other political campaign.” Whether this is fact of not, McCain uses the statistic to logically make Obama’s campaign look bad.

Obama takes a logical approach right off the bat, with use of logos. First, he says to “look at the record”: CBS conducted a poll where 2/3 of American people said McCain was running a negative campaign, while only 1/3 said Obama was. Next, he uses a startling statistic: “100% of John McCain’s campaign ads have been negative.” Though McCain remarks “it’s not true”, the audience will still take this thought into consideration. Obama then uses pathos to relate to the audience: “Americans are less concerned with our hurt feelings than addressing issues that matter most to them.” When Obama comments “Americans can’t afford four more years of failed economic policies – they deserve we talk about most pressing issues”, he is still using pathos to relate to the audience but also employs logos, speaking logically about the importance of the focus of the debate and politics in general. Obama and McCain both use ethos in the way they present themselves: both are already looked at as having authority, and the manner in which both listen and speak enhances their authority.

Both men use a comparison-contrast rhetorical arrangement. Most often, each is comparing himself to the other candidate, making points about which is the “better.” McCain comments that he “always repudiated” out of bounds remarks by Republicans, where Obama has not done so with hurtful remarks by Democrats. Obama, with his comment that “McCain’s campaign said if we keep talking about the economic crisis, we will lose… so we need to change the subject”, is comparing his integrity to McCain’s. He points out that what Americans deserve is to talk about these issues, and he will do so where McCain will avoid it out of fear of losing. Use of the comparison-contrast arrangement helps both men to appear superior to the other by pointing out each others flaws, while boasting about their own decisions and actions.

Discussion Questions

Chapter 1:

1. What are ways that we can practice interpreting visual rhetoric in our daily lives?

2. How can we recognize differences between visual rhetoric and "simple decorative images", and what characteristcs make a visual rhetorical?

3. Why is it often much easier to see points of persuasion in visuals, rather than actual writing? Why are they so effective?

4. What is meant by "juxtaposes" and what purpose does it serve?

Chapter 2:

1. Where can we find examples of use of logos, pathos and ethnos is our daily lives?

2. Where would use of ethos be inappropriate for a particular audience?

3. What effect does comparing the ethos of one company to another have on both companies?

Hidden Happiness: A Beautiful Reality

Beauty products, weight loss plans, and money scams can be seen on any television channel flipped to today. Great emphasis is put on these ideas of boughten beauty; society wants us to believe that utilizing these things will bring happiness. Is this truly the kind of beauty that creates happiness in our lives? Often, it requires taking a step back and looking at where we can find true happiness to realize what is important. The Sunken Gardens, tucked away in the middle of our bustling city, provide a glimpse of peaceful beauty. E.M. Bair, the park superintendent during the development of the Gardens, led the building project. Inscribed in the roof of the visitor’s dome is Bair’s message: “I expect to make this spot the most beautiful place in the city.”

Indeed, the Sunken Gardens comprise a beautiful space. Lining the concrete steps that are first visible upon entering the garden sway enormous forest green leaves shading beds of tangled greenery that resembles the putting green of a golf course. Tucked beneath the leaves are perfectly trimmed bushes of Coleus, a variety of tiny red, green and violet flowers. Further up the steps, tall green stems extend large purple puffball flowers, much like a magnified dandelion just waiting for a youngster to blow the flowers’ seeds in every direction. Beneath these giants lie full bush plants with leaves of green tinged with brick red; the sunlight causes a fiery reflection. Upward, the September sky is overtaken by leaves of yellows, browns and reds. The impact of fall is evident as fallen leaves whirl around the feet of visitors.

Looking down one of the many worn red brick paths throughout the gardens, tall stone ledges enclose a variety of native grasses, a scene much like that of an open pasture. A small pond in the center of the gardens is especially intriguing; the brick path leads directly there. A distinct fishy smell can be detected in the near proximity of the pond. Beneath lily-pads sprouting pink and yellow flowers swim black-spotted goldfish of every size, and a young boy giggle and point as he watches “the fishies.” He is so easily entertained; happiness comes so naturally from such a simple sight. The scene has such a fairy-tale feel, one could almost expect talking frogs to appear from underneath their lily-pad homes.

The boy’s father scoops him up, and disappointment to see them walk away shows in the faces of visitors smiling at the interaction. Fortunately, another pair of visitors is approaching the pond. An adult woman patiently wheels around an elderly woman in her wheelchair, possibly her mother or even grandmother. The woman is carefully wheeled right up to the water's edge, a smile shining on her face. With her exaggerated pink blush and poufy white hair, she is quite a sight. She’s a cute little lady, a “typical” grandmother. She watches the fish play, smiling with the same innocence as the young boy. It is obvious that these individuals, perhaps three generations between them, are quite similar. They know beauty when they see it; they are quite content with simplicity. Both are perfectly content with the company of their loved ones. One has likely not yet seen the distortion society can put on defining beauty; the other has been a part of that society for a long time and has grown wise as she grew old.

The wheelchair woman and care-giver begin to wheel away and once again onlookers are left with a loss of show. A large fish jumps up and back down into the pond with a splash, and a few cool water droplets spray surprised visitors. In this relaxed atmosphere, they simply laugh at the situation. They must find it’s enjoyable to be in the presence of these simple pleasures, to succumb their worries. So much simple happiness can be found in the faces of these visitors; it seems a kind of different world from outside the gardens. Why does our society put so much emphasis on physical beauty, on how pretty a face is instead of character? Why is it so hard for so many of us to find happiness, when in reality we do not have to look very far at all?

A few meters east of the pond, a brilliant collection of flowers in shades of whites and creams comprise the Healing Garden. Creamy white butter and sugar iris are scattered throughout the area, their greenish-yellow veins leading down to the vines that create the bedding of this exhibit. Among them, white Blushing Bride hydrangeas with a pink tinge and Alba foxglove, creamy with bell-like flowers, are scattered. It is not difficult to see why this is deemed the healing garden; one could easily find themselves searching for spiritual or emotional healing in the midst of this calming garden.

The winding brick path leads away from the Healing Garden. Into many of the bricks is the phrase “In memory of…” and names of loved once lost. A large collection of names, it is obvious many saw the importance of creating a memory of lost loved ones in such a remarkable place. A short ways off the path, the wheelchair woman “parks” in front of a small babbling waterfall. The younger woman reads a sign describing the waterfall, and the elder listens intently as she watches the water splash through the stone and down into the pond. A small pair of purple Minnie Mouse sandals tossed carelessly near the bottom of the waterfall stand out, the owner nowhere in sight. In the distance, a young girl can be heard: “Mommy! Mother! Come here!” A young, barefoot Japanese girl skips toward the waterfall, swinging a small twig in her hand. Two large, swamp green cement frogs “guard” the waterfall on either side, similar to the large limestone lions that can sometimes be seen at driveway entrances. The water splashes over huge rocks; black and green plants scattered among the rocks are hammered on by the pounding water but prove tougher than the force. At the water’s edge, purple hydrangeas sway in the breeze created by the rushing water. Further away from the water, among the ledges of the stairs, tiny red and yellow ornamental pepper plants are scattered.

My mind drifts to the wonder of such a marvelous place, right among us, where visitors can put away their worries and be truly content in their surroundings. Though horns honk and tires skid in the distance, the reality I am facing right now is still, simple and beautiful. Are the owners of those honking horns rushing off to a busy workplace in attempt to make money that never truly satisfies? Do the drivers behind those skidding tires ever slow down, ever look at what is truly important in their lives?

I walk down the brick path that I have grown so fond of to make my way out of the garden. I am reluctant to leave and know I could spend much more time here, but I too fall in to society’s busy trap. As I pull away, I'm aware that I am leaving this beautiful place but that it is not leaving me. Pulling out into busy traffic, I am again part of this busy society that cannot blink for a moment of peacefulness, for a glimpse of simple beauty. It has become quite obvious to me that natural beauty, be it inside or out, is a direct link to happiness that is so often chased in the maze of beauty products and weight loss ads that are supposed to make us happy. Though this area is a beautiful place, we do not have to be surrounded by visual beauty to be happy, we simply have to surround ourselves with those who mean the most in our lives. Perhaps Mr. Bair’s intentions of the Sunken Gardens went deeper than just a beautiful place in the city. Indeed, he gave us that, but perhaps he was well aware of the aspects of life that create true happiness, and wanted to give us a glimpse of this. Maybe he foresaw children giggling over the fishies while their parents relaxed in the shade. Maybe he knew that this small section of magnificence tucked away in the midst of the city would provide a place for the young and old alike to smile at the simple wonders of life, perfectly content with the company and surroundings they are in. The impact the gardens had on me was larger than expected, and I find I am hopeful that I am not the only one to walk away with more appreciation for the things in life that truly create happiness. Perhaps if more of our society could see through the money, looks, and popularity that are “supposed” to create happiness, perhaps if more caught a glimpse of true beauty in the simple wonders of life, our world would be a more beautiful, more enjoyable place to live.

cubing post

1. True beauty is often taken for granted. It is all around us, in close proximity, yet society is too busy to acknowledge. So often we get caught up in “fake beauty” – outside looks, but not necessarily inner beauty. The Sunken Gardens of Lincoln are indeed visual beauty, but very real and thought-provoking. In the midst of the hustle and superficial demands of society, this beauty is right here yet quite possibly overlooked. This observation parallels society as a whole: beauty, true beauty, is all around in simple ways, yet is so often overlooked in search of something more.

2. I, my hometown, and my surroundings are a prime example of this ignorance. I grew up very close to the Niobrara River, in the middle of the Sandhills, with peace and serenity all around. Even with rural surroundings and a relatively slow way of life, we are too busy to really appreciate it. The occasional tourist may come and remind us how much beauty we are surrounded by, and we smile and agree. We go on with our hectic days without giving it much more thought. While I have always loved the area where I grew up, I have not always truly appreciated it.
Residents of my hometown and many others in the presence of very unique surroundings are ignorant and down-right stupid when it comes to taking care of these places. Litter can always be seen lining the banks of the rivers; wild animals native to the area are selfishly poached.

3. The Nature Center located at Pioneers Park is another piece of beauty tucked away in our city. The Nature Center, like the Sunken Gardens, provides a peaceful, natural atmosphere. Much larger than the Gardens, the Nature Center features more wildlife (bison, elk, vultures, wild turkeys, and more). The hiking trails are extensive, while the trails through the Gardens simply meander through the maze of flowers, plants and stone. Both of these places attract many tourists, yet are often overlooked by the locals.

4. The Sunken Gardens came to be because the founders wanted to “create the most beautiful spot in the city.” Indeed, this is a spot of beauty that attracts tourists and a handful of locals. The founders knew that every community needs a place where we can step away from our busy lives and appreciate peace and simplicity. This is the purpose of these Gardens; they are, in a sense, a break from reality. By having such places, perhaps our society can see what is really important; what truly creates happiness.

5. Each part of the Sunken Gardens is certainly connected to each other – each is special, unique and beautiful in their own way – but it is together that they make up the Gardens. Flowers, trees, plants, water, fish, rock… There are unique types of each, but all are intertwined and related. This community works together to achieve greatness.
The people observed at the Sunken Gardens definitely contributed to the observations and response to them. Here these people were, in the middle of Lincoln, taking time to simply be in beauty’s presence. There was no rush, no worries, no tension.

6. The Sunken Gardens are just a small glimpse of the beauty around us that we are unaware of or take for granted. If more individuals took the time out of their schedule to step back and take in the pleasure of the simple beauties of life, perhaps more of our society would be in touch with this simplicity. If we, as a society, were more concerned with the peace and serenity of such simple beauty then superficial beauty, we could take incredible steps of coming together rather than falling apart.