TOW #24 – "Heart of a Soldier" by James B. Stewart

In the beginning of Heart of a Solider, James B. Stewart introduces three unrelated names: Rick Rescorla, Dan Hill, and Susan [Rescorla] (later in the story). While individually characterizing the three individuals, Stewart includes details of the Vietnam War, in which both Rick and Dan fought. Commenting on two poles of emotion, pain and love, Stewart constructs an argument that selfless, unconditional love for humanity trumps any other action. As was developed previously, Rick Rescorla fought in the Vietnam War with Dan Hill, developing a strong bond that lasted well into their old age. Additionally, following his service in the military, Rescorla met Susan, who was the love of his life. Upon defining the immense value of these bonds, Stewart describes Rescorla’s selfless need to save civilians during the 9/11 attack, in which he sacrificed his own life to ensure he could save as many people as possible. As many people could not make the selfless sacrifices that Rescorla did, Stewart develops a strong appeal to pathos through the development of the Rescorla’s life. While almost the entirety of the book describes Rescorla’s background, its strongest message is in the final chapters in which Stewart shows what it truly means to have the “Heart of a Soldier:” to have an innate, unrelenting will to help others even in the face of adversity. Speaking to not only Americans, but relating this principle to humans around the globe, Stewart comments on the enormous impact an individual can make upon society. Evidently, the “search of stragglers” (Stewart) remains to be a defining aspect of Rescorla’s character; he is unwilling to leave another human to suffer, perhaps relating to the comraderie that existed during war. Delivering Rescorla’s life story, Stewart’s appeal to pathos illustrates how a single person can impact society based upon a selfless unwillingness to leave others in suffering.

Works Cited

Stewart, James B. Heart of a Soldier: a Story of Love, Heroism, and September 11th. New York, NY, Simon & Schuster, Inc., 2003.

TOW #23 – “Migrant Mother” by Dorothea Lange

Early in the 20^th century, due to a variety of factors, the United States suffered the greatest depression to date. Along with the stock market crash, agricultural practices like shallowly planting seeds in the ground contributed to this depression, as this initiated the Dust Bowl. Lange’s sad, reflective image of a mother holding her children produces a strong appeal to pathos, producing an argument that in times of distress, family and love is invaluable. Lange primarily focuses her argument around the family dynamic; a protective mother holds her children and comforts them, displaying the value in having a strong central figure to look to in times of crisis. Likewise, the mother is placed in the center of the image because although she is facing the devastating effects from the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, she remained an important, loving figure in her children’s eyes. Lange captures the young children facing backwards as the mother directly sees the devastation that took place, representing the important job for parents to protect their children and ensure their safety. While the mom was traveling in attempt to find an income to support her children, even in this time of a collapsed economy and impacted agriculture, Lange shows America that through love, through persistence and will, these obstacles can be overcome. Although little could be done for the family at the time, this exposure of the problems that Americans are facing helps to begin a process of reconstruction and development. While some people were less impacted by the depression than others, Lange portrays an average American facing unfortunately typical circumstances for the time-period. Capturing an image for all of America to view, Lange displayed one family’s response to the depression. Although defined by disorder and suffering, and while this image does display sorrow and anguish, Lange displays a family’s love that remained strong the depression.

Mother with children during the Dust Bowl in the United States (Lange)

Works Cited

Lange, Dorothea. “Migrant Mother.” Wikipedia, 23 Feb. 2017, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Owens_Thompson. Accessed 18 Mar. 2017.

TOW #22 – “The travel-ban casualty the White House is ignoring” by Albert Teich

With relation to President Trump’s travel ban that is scheduled to take effect in March, Albert Teich argues in “The travel-ban casualty the White House is ignoring” that President Trump’s ban will negatively impact the United States of America’s role as a global leader in scientific studies. Backed with a strong appeal to logos, Teich supports a strong argument that Trump should reconsider his travel ban because of the unintended consequences on the field of science. Commenting specifically on Trump’s rhetoric, Teich recognizes the dangerous nature of Trump’s policy – he is simply not viewing the enormous contributions immigrants have that make America great. Arguing for the importance of immigrants in American schools, Teich cites, “foreign nationals represent more than 70 percent of full-time graduate students in electrical engineering, 63 percent in computer science and about half of all engineering faculty members” (Teich). Evidently, fields like computer science that may define the future of America currently accept many applicants from other countries. This is very significant for the field of science, because the United States can continue attracting interested students and also develop leading schools. Trumps immigration policy will prevent many of these students from seeing the United States as a leader in science, hurting the collaboration and achievement that scientists currently make globally. Additionally, Teich connect to the reader by stating, “Approximately 40 percent of Fortune 500 firms — including such tech-based giants as Google, Intel, eBay, and Apple — were started by immigrants or children of immigrants” (Teich). These enormous companies that are based in America are very widely known and seen as American enterprises. This supports Teich’s argument that Trump should reconsider his travel ban, which challenges fundamental American principles and has raised protest in response. While Trump claims to be acting in favor American industry, which was so heavily grown by immigrants and American-born citizens alike, he is failing to see that our American dream isn’t a White Picket Fence around our border. To continue our collaboration, to share the prosperities of science, to protect our American dream, Trump must lift his travel ban upon our “tempest-tost” (Lazarus).

Works Cited

Lazarus, Emma. “The New Colossus.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, 2002, www.poetryfoundation.org/poems-and-poets/poems/detail/46550#poem. Accessed 12 Mar. 2017.

Teich, Albert. “The Travel-Ban Casualty the White House Is Ignoring.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 10 Mar. 2017, www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/trumps-travel-ban-is-a-threat-to-science/2017/03/10/b1b25158-0504-11e7-b1e9-a05d3c21f7cf_story.html?utm_term=.d63d2c0a0533. Accessed 12 Mar. 2017.

TOW #21 – “A painful apology to a kid at church” by Joshua Rogers

In his opinion article “A painful apology to a kid at church,” Joshua Rogers takes a firm stance that practicing apology, recognition of your mistakes, is essential to forming a healthy relationship. Developing a strong appeal to pathos, Rogers employs an anecdote to demonstrate how apologizing has been significant in his own life, as well as religious allusions to connect more closely with many people in his audience. Rogers is absolutely correct in his position – apologizing is fundamental in the development of young children, as it promotes healthy communication and acknowledges imperfections in a person. To write on behalf of this topic, Rogers explains a specific interaction he had with his daughter whilst attending his religious service on a Sunday. After requiring her to say hello to another girl going to religious school even though she did not wish to, Rogers recognized his wrongdoings and immediately talked to her outside of the classroom. In his emotional dialogue with his daughter, his complete honesty and vulnerability, Rogers demonstrated the receptiveness of young children to mistakes. Rogers later continued with another anecdote between him and his father: later in his life, his father finally apologized for his mistakes, individually. Rogers opens up the effect this had on his relationship with his own father – after many years, he was finally ready to trust him again. Evidently, via the use of these anecdotes, Rogers shows specific examples of the effect of apologizing on his life. Additionally, Rogers quotes the Bible: “’People who conceal their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy’ (Proverbs 38:12)” (Rogers). Rogers is communicating his own religious beliefs to his audience, many who may be Christians, to strengthen his argument of the importance of apology. Apology is an action that defines honesty and communication in a relationship. This, Roger argues via anecdotes and religious allusions, is fundamental to forming meaningful, happy relationships.

Works Cited

Rogers, Joshua. “A Painful Apology to a Kid at Church.” Fox News, FOX News Network, 3 Mar. 2017, www.foxnews.com/opinion/2017/03/03/painful-apology-to-kid-at-church.html. Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.