TOW #13 - Popular Tree and Electoral College

With the holiday season in full effect, one would hope that people would recognize this as a time to come together. However, with the recent and controversial results of this year's election, it seems to be pretty difficult to find peace from the many divides present in society. One of the political divides that currently exists is highlighted in a political cartoon by artist R.J. Matson that appeared in USA Today. The cartoon depicts the separation between two political parties, the democratic party and the republican party.  R.J. Matson illustrates the use of symbolism and juxtaposition of two ideas as a way to expose the reality of the 2016 election. The blue tree on the left is titled the “Popular Tree” and the red tree on the right is titled the “Electoral College”.  These two titles show the outcome of these two political parties in the election.  From the results, the popular vote was given to Hillary Clinton and the electoral college picked Donald Trump.  This idea is exposed through the use of symbolism by using the political parties representing tree’s and a title for each one.  This cartoon also illustrates juxtaposition as two ideas are being contrasted to show an over arching theme.  The democratic party has been associated with the color blue and the republican party has been associated with the color red.  These two trees are drawn next to each other to show the vast differences it had in this past election, which is something that we have seen before, but it was extremely unexpected. By contrasting these two parties, it shows the divide that is still among our nation as the holiday season approaches and as our President-elect Trump will soon be known as the official President of the United States of America. In my opinion, this cartoon did a great job of really making the argument simple and stand out as a way to grab people’s attention.  I agree with this cartoonist, but it is something we can’t change as it already happened, but it is something that in my opinion keeps me fighting for what I believe in.


http://www.usatoday.com/picture-gallery/opinion/cartoons/2012/09/18/daily-editorial-cartoons/1411813/

TOW #12 - Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disaster, and Survival

In the memoir, Dispatches from the Edge: A Memoir of War, Disaster, and Survival, Anderson Cooper recounts his experiences with different types of news stories in a variety of places.  Anderson Cooper is an American journalist, television personality, and author.  He is most known for his work in CNN news.  Hurricane Katrina prompted Cooper in writing this book, which was open for any type of world citizen, no matter who they were or where they came from.  In an attempt to present a new perspective on world crises and conflicts, Cooper wrote about many different events like the tsunami in Sri Lanka, war in Iraq, and the hurricane Katrina that hit New Orleans.  In the beginning of the first chapter Cooper explains, “I’m standing in a pile of rubble.  Beneath me the ground seems to move, twisting and turning in on itself.  It takes a moment for my eyes to adjust.  The ground isn’t moving at all.  It’s maggots, thousands of them.  Writhing, squirming, they feast on some unseen flesh” (Cooper 11).  Through the use of extensive detailed imagery, Cooper presents an image that most people would not expect to see or even experience in a lifetime.  Most people that were not involved in the event and just watched the news on a TV did not see such harrowing images like what Anderson Cooper saw that day, so this gives yet a unique but disheartening perspective on the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka.  In the section about the war in Iraq Cooper saw a headline titled, Iraq Explodes, the following day which sparks thoughts to himself which say, “The headline could just as easily have been ‘200 Gallons of Water Delivered to Neighborhood Near Baghdad Airport.’  It would have been just as accurate, though arguably not as important.  Perhaps the soldier I spoke to earlier was right: sometimes Iraq is not like what you see on TV” (Cooper 62).  Through the use of Cooper’s inner-monologue, it presents logical thinking which speaks for the purpose itself.  As much as people watch news coverage of different events, it will never be the same if you were in the exact place that the event happened.  In my opinion, I really am enjoying the book and I am very excited to read more.  By only reading half of the book, it gives me inspiration to look for many different types of news coverage so I can get many different perspectives rather than just an image or a short article.

TOW #11 - "Ain't I A Woman?"

Many years before the Civil War, tensions began to grow stronger and stronger between the North and the South on prominent issues like the need for rights and equality.   Sojourner Truth was an African-American abolitionist and women's rights activist.  Truth was born into slavery and escaped to freedom in 1826 with her baby daughter. In 1851, Sojourner Truth gave a speech titled, “Ain’t I A Woman?” which rallied African American abolitionists and women in general.  In her speech, Sojourner Truth asks many questions, one of which that titles her speech. Truth begins to ask, “Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him” (Truth Par. 4). By asking this question, she shows the prominent role of women throughout time.  She appeals to different audiences like women, men, and even people affiliated with a religion which helps bring home her point that women are just as important and equal as men.  Another question she repeats throughout the text is, “Ain’t I A Woman?”.  This question is followed many times with tasks that she as a woman does daily or even can do.  It shows her passion and acts as persuasion to her audience which brings attention to the inequality and even shows what tasks women are really capable of doing, just like men are as well.  She also uses this question as a way to shut down people who believe in the typical stereotype of gender roles in a society.  She is able to use repetition and ask even more questions throughout her speech in order to rally her audience in supporting equal rights.  In my opinion, I believe Sojourner Truth’s speech is an extremely passionate and invigorating speech that I really enjoyed diving into.  I fully believe with all of what she says and I wish I was there to hear the speech, hear her voice, and in that voice hear the passion she had for the topic of inequality in such a rough time.