Blog #5 2/23/10

While reading through chapter 16 of The Omnivore's Dilemma, especially part four titled, "America's National Eating Disorder", I realized how uneducated the majority of American's really are and how easily they will trust anyone to make them look better without looking into the consequences. And yes I said looking better and not eating healthier, because the truth is American's will do anything and eat anything (or nothing if that is the case) to fit the perfect mold. I hear about new diet fads all the time but it never really hit me how disgustingly gullible America's people are. This is an epidemic! America is notorious for being overweight and instead of untrustworthy fads that are just looking for a quick and easy buck, we need a reliable resource to get us on the track to happy, healthy living. Books like Omnivore’s Dilemma are a step in the right direction, but America needs a big smack in the face, so to speak.
Not only is it these diet fads that are tricking us, but it is the bad habits that we have established in our lives such as snacking, eating alone, and eating those highly processed foods that are pumped with sugar. I honestly can’t believe I grew up believe it was okay for me to eat chocolate muffins and pop tarts for breakfast and snacking literally all the time. Omnivore’s Dilemma has really opened my mind and made me want to research further to find a healthier way to eat and live my life.

Blog #4 2/15/10

I find the ideas that are presented in chapter 6 of “They Say, I Say” valuable. It really bothers me when I read a paper where the author is extremely close-minded and is trying to persuade me to think a certain way yet the author only provides what they think and not other point of views. To successfully and fully persuade an audience it is mandatory to present many, if not all, views on a subject. And simply just listing the opposing views doesn’t cut it, they should be given a fair amount of attention since the reader deserves to know the whole story, and not just an opinion. The audience is entitled to knowing all aspects of an argument. The purpose of the paper should be to inform the audience on all grounds, then present support of why the author’s point of view is better than others, but then leave it up to the reader to decide what they want to believe. A persuasive paper should never be forceful, rather more informative and supportive. If force or bias is used in a paper, more often than not the reader is turned off to the opinions presented and trust is entirely lost.

Source Citation:
Darwin, David. "Advertising Obesity: Can the U.S. Follow the Lead of the UK in Limiting Television Marketing of Unhealthy Foods to Children?." Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law 42.1 (2009): 317-350. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 9 Feb. 2010.


link:
http://ntserver1.wsulibs.wsu.edu:2057/ehost/pdf?vid=8&hid=4&sid=664ca2fb-927a-4624-9c9d-2e4ff2f42645@sessionmgr11

Blog #3 2/8/10

I am not going to lie, I wasn't exactly sure that "They Say, I Say," by Gerald Graff, was going to have anything to offer me. However, I was mistaken. The first 3 chapters screamed "DUH!" to me, but chapter 4 had me pleasantly surprised.

Chapter 4 covers different ways to respond to what they say. There's the completely agree, completely disagree, and then the mixture of both. In high school it seemed as though the teachers really pushed my peers and I to take one stance or the other, agree or disagree, but not both. I find it extremely crucial to be able to agree and disagree at the same time. Why? Because that's real life. For example, American's can choose to be Republican, Democratic, etc. but in reality just because one takes the title or Republican doesn't mean that they share exactly the same views on every political stance. They would obviously agree on the majority of Republican views, but then there are issues where they might completely disagree, or agree yet impose other views. And this is the way life is. I appreciate that agreeing and disagreeing at the same time is encouraged in chapter 4 because every individual is unique and therefore should be able to share their views, whatever they may be.