TOW #7 -- "I am Not a Coffee Drinker" by Ethan Hauser

"I am Not a Coffee Drinker" is a short essay written by Ethan Hauser in honor of National Coffee Day, recently held 3 weeks ago. However, the essay itself proceeds to highlight the importance of the symbolism of coffee in modern society, rather than the individual importance of the actual drink. Hauser talks about his knowledge of Starbucks and little coffee shops with baristas and free WiFi. He also talks about his knowledge of coffee's presence in social media, through Instagram and Facebook posts. Yet, he admits his lack of knowledge pertaining to what an espresso is, or an Americano, but only of a latte. Through mentioning this, Hauser divulges the fact that he has little knowledge about the drink itself, but only of what is portrayed in modern society that pertains to it.

Hauser goes about highlighting the significance of coffee in modern society through amusing anecdotes and repetition. He talks of his shortcomings with his understanding off basic coffee knowledge, such as the machines used to make the drink.

"I don’t know what Keurig is. Could that be my Ikea couch? When I assembled it from the pictogram that came with it, I had several screws left over. Probably someday it will collapse. (Don’t go to Ikea on a Sunday unless you need to feel relieved about being single and childless.)

Through this he establishes the drink's little importance to himself, as he completely ignores it in these sentences from an essay which is supposed to be all about it. He also draws humor from the audience with these lines, which in turn keeps their attention. Hauser also uses repetition to draw the audience's attention as well.

"I DON’T know what an Americano is. I don’t know what Chemex is, though I thought the point was to get chemicals out of our foods, not into. Maybe that is what the “ex” is for. I don’t know what cold drip is. (I do know what iced coffee is. Iced tea, too — Mayor Bloomberg tried to ban it and that’s what got him voted out of office, right?)"

Through this repetition he gets his point across that he has little knowledge of actual drinks and their specifics. Yet, he reveals his knowledge of iced coffee and iced tea, as he has come to know these drinks through the actions of Mayor Bloomberg which brought the drinks publicity. This furthers Hauser's message telling the audience he knows only of coffee as he has seen it in the media.
 



It is clear that the use of rhetoric devices is varied throughout the short essay. The author employs multiple devices in order to get his message across to the reader, including anecdotes and repetition. The anecdotes kept the attention, while the repetition hammered the message into the reader's mind over and over again. This allowed Hauser to explain his perspective that we know little about coffee, only what we see in media. Yet, coffee is a staple in our society through its presence in social media and that is the reason why we celebrate it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/19/opinion/sunday/i-am-not-a-coffee-drinker.html?_r=0

TOW #6 -- "Advanced screenings for Ebola begin at JFK airport" by Fox News

The U.S. is doing everything in its power to prevent the spread of Ebola -- a deadly viral hemorrhagic fever which had killed 4,00 people in West Africa over the past few months -- from entering the country. Additional screenings will begin for airline passengers travelling from West Africa to New York's JFK Airport this week, as well as airline passengers travelling to Newark’s Liberty, Washington’s Dulles, Chicago’s O'Hare, and Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson airports next week. Public health workers at the five airports will use no-touch thermometers to take the temperatures of travelers from the three countries which have been most affected by the virus -- Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. In addition, those found to have fevers will be quarantined and interviewed to determine whether or not they may have come in contact with someone infected with the Ebola virus. Of the 150 people that travel daily to the U.S. from or through the three countries affected most, nearly 95 percent of them land at one of the five airports at which screenings are being increased.

This information was presented to the American public by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C) and the Department of Homeland Security's Customs and Border Protection Wednesday, October 8th. Citing sources such as President Obama and backing up their actions with the 1944 Public Health Service Act which allows the federal government to take action to prevent communicable diseases -- including viral hemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola -- from spreading into the country, the ethos of the announcement is clearly established. Both pathos and logos are established as well through the mentioning of the death toll caused by the Ebola virus, as it causes emotion in the listener or reader to want to put a stop to the virus, as well as a logical argument in which it seems that the increased screenings are necessary in order to keep the country safe.

The reporting agency relaying the information to the American Public, Fox News, uses an allegory to convince the reader of the necessity of the increased screenings as well as statistics backing the actions of the government, showing clear support of the Ebola screenings. The allegory used in the article is in support of the opposing view that the additional screenings are useless, as it mentions that additional screenings implemented with the three countries hit hardest by the disease has seen nothing but failure. This helps to build credibility as it shows full knowledge on the situation and is, therefore, more convincing to the reader.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/10/12/advanced-us-airport-screening-for-ebola-begins-saturday-at-new-york-kennedy/

TOW #5 -- Political Cartoon

Over the past several months, the Russian Federation has been encroaching on its shared borders with Ukraine -- even crossing the border on multiple occasions. At the surface of the situation, Russian army troops were being sent into Ukraine to help minimalize the violence within the country as it experienced a shift in power. However, it is believed that the Russian troops were sent into Ukraine to take control of the country, rather than to simply act as peacekeepers. This allegation has led many other countries in the world -- including the United States -- to take a closer look at the situation as it has unraveled. Some countries, convinced of Russia's ulterior motives, have even begun to place sanctions on Russia, limiting their trading with the country among other punishments. The United States is one of the countries to have placed sanctions on Russia. However, it is highly disputed whether or not the country is enforcing the sanctions in place, or just letting them lapse over time.
The political cartoon below details one side of the argument as to whether or not the United States is enforcing its sanctions on Russia. The bear pictured in the cartoon represents Russia, with the bees representing the sanctions and Obama representing the bee hive. The bear is shown saying "BEES WITH NO STINGERS!..COOL!" This is referring to the lapsing sanctions put in place by the United States which do no real harm to Russia, as they are "all bark and no bite." Simply put, the sanctions carry no real threat to the country, as they are more of a political move than one to seriously put an end to Russian military activity along the borders of Ukraine.
The purpose of this political cartoon was to shine a light on the complicated politics which have engulfed the situation, as well as to depict the idea of the sanctions carrying little action. This is achieved through a comical metaphor in which the author likened the sanctions to bees with no stingers. The metaphor was able to break-down the situation into a simple idea which was relayed to the audience -- primarily the Americans looking upon the sanctions -- with delicate humor.