Powerful rhetoric

Obama starts off my catching the attention of Americans and appealing to common ground by making a reference to the bravery of the founding fathers. However he quickly cuts to the chase by saying the declaration of independence was “stained by nation’s original sin of slavery…” He continues to emphasize the importance of Americans in “successive generations willing to do their part [in the fight against racism].” He states however with confidence that he believes in the American people. He also shares his own personal story. Stories are always a smart tool in rhetoric because an audience can relate and sympathizes with a story and it can have a powerfully persuasive effect. The several stories he tells are a clever and indirect way of continuing to get his points across. They also display his ability to use compelling language, “those stories – of survival, and freedom, and hope – became our story, my story; the blood that had spilled was our blood, the tears our tears.”
As he addresses Reverend White’s comments he shows another skill in rhetoric, honesty. He is up front about the offensiveness of the Reverend’s comments and the still very racists prejudice and anger that is experienced daily in the black and white American communities.
However despite the problems in American he confidently states his faith in the ability of the American people to attain unity and change. It is easy to see why this speech is powerfully motivating and inspiring because nothing is more persuasive than someone speaking with authority about their great faith in you and belief in your ability to change. “And if we walk away now, if we simply retreat into our respective corners, we will never be able to come together and solve challenges like health care, or education, or the need to find good jobs for every American…But I have asserted a firm conviction – a conviction rooted in my faith in God and my faith in the American people – that working together we can move beyond some of our old racial wounds, and that in fact we have no choice is we are to continue on the path of a more perfect union.”
Because of his audience-tailored stories, powerful appeals to emotion and well organized dynamic writing this is a speech displaying very good skills in rhetoric.

*Quotes taken from BARACK OBAMA: A MORE PERFECT UNION
Tuesday, March 18th, 2008/ 10:17:53 ET
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

This is a Far Side comic created by the Gary Larson. It caught my attention because my dad has told me this so many times throughout my life! Here's one situation where that statement is probably not true! Why do you guys think Gary Larson's simplistic black and white style and his dry humor has become so popular and widely known?

This is a short but very powerful photo essay about refugees living on the small islands around Lake Upemba in Africa. War and conflict going on in the Congo has driven millions of Congolese to settle on these islands despite the island’s present dangers. The muddy lands of the islands are not good for farming, so malnutrition and starvation is very common. This small collection of black and white pictures show the faces of many sick and hurting Congolese suffering from cholera, aggression from the Mai Mai fighters, and dehydration. The observer is filled with compassion at their condition as well as curiosity as to what kind of people they are and what their lives are like. The last picture stands out as it depicts many faces of smiling children. It seems to say that these people do have hope despite their bleak present circumstances.
What are you initial feels and reactions after viewing this photo essay?

Subject-Verb Agreement

While I always thought I understood the concept, “subject-verb agreement error” is something I have seen written in red pen on several of my papers in the past few years.
Therefore I thought it might be a good idea to go over the rules of how to insure there is correct subject-verb agreement in your writing.

The following is a summary based off of material presented at two sources: “The OWL at Purdue, Subject/Verb Agreement.” (Stolley, 1-3) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/599/01/ and “University of Toronto, Expressions of Quantity: Special Cases of Subject-Verb Agreement.” (Johnson, Smollet, and Procter, 1). http://www.utoronto.ca/writing/pdf/l2agr.pdf

In the following examples the subject is italicized and the verb bolded for further clarity.

1st- If the subject is plural, more than one noun, the verb much be plural. Ex. Bobby and Matt are playing guitar hero. If the subject is singular the verb must be singular. Ex. Shelley is a great pianist.

2nd- If the sentence contains both a plural and singular noun, the verb should agree with the noun it is closest to. Ex. Billy and the dogs play every day. Vs The dogs and Billy plays every day.

3rd- Don’t let phrases in the middle of the sentence confuse you. The verb must always agree with the subject, regardless of what nouns may be present in a mid-sentence phrase. Ex. The boss, plus all his employees, is nervous about the transaction.

4th- Even though they can represent more than one person, the words each, each one, either, neither, everyone, anybody, anyone, nobody, somebody, someone, and no one are singular. If these words are the subject of a sentence they require the singular verb. Ex. Everyone likes chocolate cake.

5th- Certain nouns such as fractions, indefinite qualifiers, expressions of distance and time, etc… require singular verbs. Ex. This week is going to be a blast.

6th- Items that have two parts such as scissors, pliers, pants, etc…need a plural verb. Ex. My pants are too tight.

7th- In some sentences the subject comes after the verb. Most common are sentences containing “there is,” or “there are.” In these cases the verb agrees with the subject that comes after. Ex. There is only one way to do the job.

8th- Collective nouns, such as team, family, class, represent a group of people but are still treated as singular. Ex. My family is my home.

9th- “Does not,” is used with singular subjects, therefore “doesn’t” must also be used with subjects that are singular. In the same way, “do not,” is used with the plural so “don’t,” must also be applied to plural subjects.

Can anyone think of a case where “don’t” is used with a singular subject? Or any other exception where a plural subject requires a singular verb?

Link. http://www.fearlessinchrist.com/