https://www.ted.com/talks/margaret_heffernan_dare_to_disagree?language=en
Watch this TedTalk. What is her argument? Name a few rhetorical devices she uses in order to establish her main points.
Now, the hard part. Make a statment about something that you think is a problem. Be brave. Be prepared to defend it. And make this statement in the spirit of what Margaret Heffernan says in regards to disagreement.
When you are commenting on a classmates statement, make sure to be kind, but honest. Try and comment on at least 2 statements, but be sure that all of the statements are addressed. And try and comment on a statement about which you disagree.
Once someone has posted a comment about your statement, you need to repond.
Like I said, mind your manners!
Margaret Heffernan spoke of the idea that many people do not share their beliefs because they fear conflict. She uses anaphora throughout her speech along with anecdotes. She uses three separate stories that help to prove her point on conflict. She did not specifically appeal to ethos in her words, but she uses the fact she is talking with TedTalks to address ethos. She also uses logos by the stories she chooses to tell. For example she used the story of the doctor, hoping that it would be seen as a person in an authoritative position that needs conflict in order to be successful. There are many problems in the world today; there are too many to name, so why did I find it hard to pick one that I think is a problem? At first I thought of last week's blog and I thought that silence was a problem, then I thought that bulling was a problem, but then I realized that these two things have something in common. When I have a problem, my mom asks me what the root cause is and is there a way to fix it based on this cause. So I asked myself the same question with all the issues I found to be pertinent to this blog. I think that the root cause is a shortage of love. I feel as if the lack of love in the world is a huge problem not only because it is a problem, but it is the root cause of many other problems. Think about it for a second. Why is there war? Why is there people who are dying of starvation? Why is the suicide rate rising? Why is there sexism? Why is there racism? Why is there people who bully others? I my opinion, it boils down to one thing and that is a lack of love. This problem is everywhere, but it too can have many causes. I think a very real reason is that love has been distorted by society. Children learn from what is around them, and when they see their parents marriage falling apart they get a twisted idea of what love really is. Or they go to school and get bullied by teachers and students, they think it is normal and do not see that they are loved. Also, people get their heart broken over "love" and then resent it. But really what is love? Well the best way to put it is that God is love. Therefore, love is kind. Love is slow to anger. Love is having patience. So if each of us loves as Jesus did, then there will be no more sorrow and there will be no more suffering. The problems the world is faced with will end. So if it it is easy than why is nothing happening about it? Heffernan said that it is because people are scared of conflict, but like she said, most people have the same idea they just are afraid to speak up about it. I challenge you to look at the problem you chose and see what the root cause of it is. Is your answer a lack of love? If so I think it is time for each of us to love unconditionally to start a chain reaction that can be the beginning of an end to conflict, and problems throughout the world. For it is said in 1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."
ReplyDeleteI agree that love is distorted by society. We must look to God's love and implement that into our lives. The lack of love causes many problems in our world and I believe you are saying that love is the answer to fixing our problems. You mention the chain reaction of love to end conflict which reminds me of the Pay it Forward projects which is a great way to spread love. We must try to love as Jesus loves, but that is very hard to do in a world full of sin. Lack of love can cause many people to be mean to those around them and I think you explained this well. There is love here in this world, but not everyone is choosing to use it. I enjoy the positive approach you took to show how love can fix these problems.
DeleteMandy, what you said about the pay it forward projects would have been a great addition to my blog. And saying that there is love here, but it is underutilized is so true. You are so good at relating our faith to the issues at hand. Thanks for the positive comment!
DeleteI also think that lack of love is a big problem in the world today. I believe that bullying is a prime example of something that causes so many problems. Just like the blog last week with the teacher bullying the child in front of the whole class. If everyone just loved everybody the same way I also feel like our world would be a better place. Everyone has love in this world. Some people are using it the wrong way, and some people just are not slimply using it at all, and it's a shame. This was a very good example of a little thing that causes a big problem in society.
DeleteI, too, think the world would be a better place and I hope that someday more love will be shone to everyone.
DeleteMargaret Heffernan Spoke in her TedTalk about people not sharing there feelings or thoughts about anything because they are scared of what the outcome of different people will be. She uses many different rhetorical devices in order to get her point across. I think she using logos when she is disputing the the different stories that she tells. I also think that she uses enumeratio, because she makes her point very clear with many different and specific details. For example when she talks about the different stories. The first story that she talks about is the one about the children dying and thinks that it is due to the fact of the mothers being x-rayed during there pregnancy, which causes an issue with the radiation. I understand that there are many problems in this world today, but when trying to think of a certain one I really struggled. I thought about it for a little while, and I decided that I would ask my mom and dad. When I asked my dad, he took a while to answer also, but when I asked my mom she immediately went off of the election. She said that everyone needs to stand behind Trump, and at least give him a fighting chance. I agree with her completely but, I feel that there are bigger problems in this world. I think that one major problem in this world would be people getting offended which causes major diversity. Diversity is defined as the quality or state of having many different forms, types, ideas, etc. People get offended by any little thing that anyone says. I feel that wether if it's on the news, a speech, or someone is just talking to someone about there opinion on something of anything else, someone is always offended. I believe that you cannot always make everyone in this world happy, and I wish that that would change because I think it would make the world a happier place to live in, rather people being scared to speak their opinions. This is kinda an example of what Margaret spoke about in her ted talk, people being scared to state what they want because they are scared of the outcome of people. Our world shouldn't be a place of fear, it shouldn't be a place where you can't speak what you want to speak because of a certain someone. It should be a place where you can talk about whatever you want and not have to worry about other people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you when you say that people in this world are easily offended by every small opinion or idea someone says. The media is a prime example of this because we see the terrible arguments over every little piece of information that are sometimes irrelevant. I enjoyed your examples of the roles of the not just the media, but how everyday interactions cause someone to be offended when opinions are shared. We need to look at the bigger picture and the truth. When a person speaks their opinion someone is bound to be offended by it. This is when we must look to the truth because even though some may be offended, it is something that should unite the people. It is something that will unite the people who are divided. I agree with you when you say that we should not be afraid to speak out opinions, but we must be careful and make sure our opinions align with the truth. I really enjoyed hearing your perspective in this topic.
DeleteMandy, what you say about the media being a prime example of people getting offended should of been something I talked about more in my blog.
DeleteI like Mandy that people are offended very easily and cannot take any firm of criticism. Although I do believe it is wrong to riot because of the election, I do believe you are allowed to be verbally upset with the situation. For it is in our right of the freedom of speech that we are allowed to do this. We don't have to submit to the government. We can be unhappy, and we are allowed to show it.
DeleteI also agree that we are aloud to be unhappy and we are a loud to show it. I just feel that maybe people need to take criticism better
DeleteThe TedTalk done by Margret Heffernan is a great example of how people can have different beliefs. She argues that people are not willing to do their own work to figure out what is wrong and then fix it. She also argues that people are not willing to bring up a problem involved with ethics or reason because of the fear of everyone else's opinion. She applied to logic when she said that there was reasonable proof that X-rays were killing children but people continued to do it for another twenty five years. She also uses examples to show that people are not willing to stand up for what is wrong. Something that I think is a huge problem is the way that homosexuality is excepted in society. To start off, I am not saying that a person who is homosexual is a bad person, or that God doesn't love them. The problem is that today in society it is almost weird to not be homosexual. When you turn on your tv what do you see? Any modern day tv shows are constantly involving homosexual couples. When people who are my age see this, they think that it is okay and it's something that is normal. It also teaches young people to use the term "love is love". Two people may have affection for each other but in order to have real true love they must have the capability to reproduce and that is the way God created it. People often say that God made a mistake and put a girl in a boys body or viscera. This is an awful statement because God is the one being who is actually perfect and makes no mistakes. I certainly am in no position to tell people that they are living their life wrong or that they are not actually homosexual and that it is just an act for media and society. However, the problem is that it is so normal to people of my generation that even Catholics believe that it is an okay thing. It needs to be stopped before it gets out of hand. I'm not saying that homosexuals need to cease to exist or that they need to be treated differently because there has been homosexuals for thousands of years and will continue to be for thousands more. We just need to acknowledge the problem of how much homosexuality is accepted and how it is against Gods will.
ReplyDeleteI agree and I think that Catholics are always more likely to speak up on things like abortion, but are not often as loud when it comes to politely approaching the topic of what the church teaches about homosexuality.
DeleteJoe, I do completely agree with our opinion on homosexuality, and I do agree with you that it is an extremely controversial topic in today's society. I think that it is so controversial that it is not even brought up in conversations most of the time because, if you think it is wrong in the slightest bit, then you are being criticized by everyone who disagrees with you. This topic doesn't cause much controversy between the students in the ECC school system, because many students, I believe, have the same opinion as it goes with our faith. But in places other than ECC, this topic is one of those that may never be resolved because everyone is afraid to argue about it.
DeleteJoe your description on homosexuality is accurate from a catholic standpoint. I find it a good reflection on the teaching of the Catholic Church. The only thing I have to say is how can we convince these people who are homosexuals that they cannot marry if they are Catholic, and that it is against God's will. It is easy for non homosexuals to accept but those who are may resent it. This is just the major controversy. And I quite frankly do not have the answer. How can we convince these people that it's ok to be homosexual but stray them from same sex marriage?
DeleteJoe, you explained the argument well in a nice understanding matter. I like how you pointed out your views without trying to cause an offense. Your example fit into the topic well with its relations to beliefs. I thought the "love is love" was a perfect reference.
DeleteI understand where you were trying to go with this arguement but as you went along you tripped some very dangerous traps in the field of societal standpoints. Yes, I agree that in if a homosexual claims to be CATHOLIC it is unjust for them to marry, but this is not to say they cannot marry outside of the Catholic Church. We are also of no authority to say marriage outside of the Catholic Church "isn't marriage at all" or something along those lines because it not our place to declare, plain and simple. America was founded on the pleas of freedom of religion and speech and all other rights believed to be deserved by every citizen. Church and state are to remain separated. Yes, in the Catholic faith obviously marriage is a matter of the church, but in other religions or groups that is not always the case. Despite all this, I do acknowledge that you were attempting to be careful with your words pertaining to this topic. I believe that over all, you did a pretty good job of summarizing a proper Catholic standpoint on this topic.
DeleteMargret Heffernen makes the argument that fear is what stops people from partaking in conflict or expressing their views which may cause conflict. Fear can keep people from truly expressing their thoughts and ideas, some of which can make change. Margaret uses logos by explaining the facts in each situation such as the pregnancy experiment. She gives the facts on how the investigation concluded that the x-rays were causing the deaths during pregnancy. Many people are afraid of how others will react to their ideas which leads them to be silent. A problem in our world today is the fact that people are too quick to judge others because all the facts may not be gathered. This ties back to Margret's argument of fearing what others may think of one's beliefs. As Catholics, we understand to love the person and hate the sin. With that said, we do not know what other people are going through, but we still judge others by their appearance or beliefs. Just because a person may not have the nicest materialistic items does not make them a bad person and in turn does not make them a good person either. Likewise, when people disagree about who they believe should be elected for a local election or president does not make one person better than the other. We must all compare ourselves to God and not each other. The fact that one should not be judging others does not mean that one can just run wild and behave in any way that one desires. We must speak the truth and warn others of the truth when concerning the belief of false gods or when one is partaking in dangerous activity. Would you let your best friend purposely hurt themselves just because you were afraid that they would think you were judging them if you told them what they are doing is wrong? Speaking to a person about the truth is not judging them. To judge rightly, one is guiding people to stay in line with God's Word. To judge wrongly is to judge people by criticizing them out of jealousy or self righteousness. It is to judge a person assuming that you know everything about the person or their motives. No one on this earth is perfect and if everyone took the extra time to understand and gather all the facts about a situation, than judging wrongly can be avoided.
ReplyDeleteI agree that society is way to quick to judge when they do not know what someone is going through. When they find out the truth it may be to late because they have already formed an opinion that is based on lies. I like how you say near the end how there are two ways to judge someone and they have two different outcomes. The election was a great example that related very well to your ideas. I also think you tied religion to this blog very well and this also can go back to last week's blog with the TedTalk relating to the danger of silence. I think you organized your thoughts well and I liked your opinions in this blog.
DeleteIt doesn't really matter how much a person judges others or how they are judged by others because God makes the final decision. A lot of people are afraid to stand up for what they believe in today because of what others might say. Everyone needs to just be themselves.
DeleteHannah, I like the idea of relating this to last weeks blog and I will keep that in mind when writing future blogs to make more connections. Joe, I completely agree about how it does not really matter how we are judged because God can only judge us in the end. It does not matter what others say about us, but they can help guide us in the right direction by rightly judging. If we can accept each other for who we are, people may stop judging one another. Thank you for your opinions.
DeleteMandy, this was kinda like how I approached my blog also. People are too scared too speak their opinion because they are scared about people judging them. I reall like how you ended the blog about how no one on this earth is perfect, because you are exactly right when you say that. No one one this earth is perfect, and if everyone was perfect, I feel like our world would not even be right. I think your blog was very good! You had a lot of different ideas and you but them all together well! Good work.
DeleteI agree with the most of the topics pertaining to fear and such that you discussed, but there's just one area where I differ in opinions. To me, to judge wrongly is PURELY as a result of someone's ignorance. Think about it, if we're not perceiving people in the fullest and most correct way it has to be that we didn't make a proper effort to fully assess the situation. I realize you sort of mentioned ignorance without saying it directly in one of the last sentences, but I just wanted to state what I felt needed clarification.
DeleteMargaret states through this TED talk that people are scared to disagree with others because they do not feel confident in defending their arguments. She defends this belief with rhetorical devices that help her prove why her argument is logical. One pertinent rhetorical device she uses is allusion because she alludes to a doctor named Alice who was studying epidemiology. This allusion establishes a type of ethos because the person she is speaking of has a doctorate which is viewed as a type of authority. She also uses anaphora frequently appealing to the logic of her argument because everything she is defending is logical and therefore needs logic to back up logic. The allusion to the doctor describes the doctor trying to convince medical professionals that childhood cancers are linked with X-Raying babies in pregnant mothers. This process was not condemned as unethical until 25 years after her research was done. She was trying to rush and push this information out but no one would listen until many yeas after. She may not have defended her research strong enough. People also never defended this research causing an elongated period in which it took to pass this law.There are many problems among mankind today, some more severe than others. I for one think a serious problem in today's age is politics. Politics is subject to an eternal amount of bias and opinion. It is nearly impossible to negotiate what politician is right and which is wrong. These opinions on which politicians are right or wrong fall to favoritism, religion, and bias. No person is perfect and this is why it is so difficult to determine what political policies are best because politics is fallible people being judged by fallible people. I believe politics is a true enemy to humanity. This can relate to Margaret's talk because are politicians really expressing their true selves in their argument, or are they just stating what people want to hear and not fulfill it in the end? Do people argue against politics, yes, in an opinionated manor, not factual. We will never know how to handle politics if no one argues against it to show holes in the politicians policies and plans. I'm not saying that people don't already do this, it just needs to be more critical and more focused on the aid of the country and the people.
ReplyDeleteIt is truly hard to decide if a politician is being honest or not because for the most part none of them are. This leads to the additional argument of the social status of politicians. The candidates in this past election each spent millions campaigning. How can a middle class person be expected to run when the money value is that high.
DeleteI agree with you on the thought that none of the politicians tell the truth. I will also say that I never thought of social status as being an influencing factor. I guess it would be nearly impossible for an average person to run for an election, which is a shame because maybe a normal middle class person would be a truthful politician who people can trust.
DeleteAs Margaret talks argues her point about the importance of disagreement, she puts many different rhetorical devices to use. One of the first ones I notices was her use of anecdotes. Margaret Heffernan tells stories of herself and the daughter of Alice Stewart, and she mentioned her personal experience with argument and how she thinks it helps us be better thinkers. Margaret also uses a certain type of diction and tone that help make the speech interesting. She uses an intelligent choice of words that are meant to inspire the listener and get them to think differently about arguing and disagreement. She doesn't stutter her words, and she doesn't seem to use the same words over and over again. The tone she uses also assists the diction, as she speaks in a way that is engaging and almost inspiring. Lastly, Margaret uses the rhetoric device of perspective. At the end of her speech, she gives her view of how the ability to argue and disagree should be taught not only in college, but to young students and adults at every age.
ReplyDeleteAs a statement, I am going to discuss the legality of drugs and marijuana in our country. This is a common conflict arising in America today, as to whether marijuana should be legalized for recreational use or not. Also, is the illegality of marijuana doing anything to prevent drug usage, or is it just creating an undercover black market for drugs? In our country today, this is a topic of great argument and it is a very opinionated topic. Some say whether it is illegal or not is not making a difference in our society, some say that it should be legal, some say it should not. In my opinion, legality is not going to change the usage of marijuana, but if it is legalized, the government can tax the drug. If the government puts a very high tax on marijuana and other drugs, maybe it will deter people from spending money on drugs. Is the legalization of marijuana a good thing for our country? Who knows, everyone has different opinions. But as Margaret Heffernan stated in her TedTalk, the only way we can actually come up with an intelligent solution to this problem is to argue about it.
I think you are right in saying that something needs to be done about drugs, but the question is what would be the best choice. I think that the black market is a good point, but drugs are not the only thing in the black market, so would we just find something new to fill the void of drugs? But I do agree that it has the possibility of having a positive effect, but how should it be ruled? Should it be for, or against making drugs legal? If cocaine is legal will more or less people use it? Money may not be an issue when people are already risking their life for the drug and that could cause a spike in robberies in order to allow people to afford these drugs that would always require money if obtained legally. I think that regardless of the legality of the situation people who want the drugs will find a way to get them.
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DeleteI agree with your statements that making marijuana illegal creates a black market, but do you really believe it would normal to see someone buying weed in a sheetz? I think that would just be abnormal. However I really do see the point of making money through taxes which in turn deter users off of the drug. However, if you become addicted, it would be much more accessible which will damage many financially. This will make becoming an addict much easier also.
DeleteEmily, I like the topic and I like how you explained what we do with the drug in the US. Would it really matter if it is legal or not? I don't think It would make much of a difference, but legalizing it may cause less illegal actions.
DeleteLogan and Hannah, you both make very good points about how the legality of marijuana would just damage people even more because it is now accessible to them. I didn't take into consideration that for some, taxing wouldn't affect how much money they would spend for that substance. I also didn't think about how the legality of this drug could lead to more crime, rather than getting rid of it.
DeleteMargaret Heffernan conveyed a message to the world. This was a message to drive the point that silence and failure to speak out against what is wrong is going to negatively affect your environment as well as those around you. Her main argument is essentially stating that, if their is something wrong in the external or internal environments, it is the duty of each individual to stand up for what they believe is correct morally. She conveys this story through a number of rhetorical devices. She uses stories to show her message in a real situation. These stories involve all different areas of the social classes which in turn allows for everyone to relate to the story. She also appeals to logos through these stories by following a chronological style that relays many facts throughout its duration. All of these rhetorical strategies help to improve her argument and make it much easier to buy in to her message. In listening to her speak, it dawned on me that there are many faults in many aspects of my life that I do not do enough to counteract. There are way to many to list, but the one I would like to talk about is the brainwashing effects of social media. As a Christian, I believe that all people are created equally and that no one is different in their dignity. It is through this belief that I feel I fail in regards to the media. I watch material of the news that objectifies men and women whom are "overweight" compared to others. Overweight in the media to me seems to be anyone who is not completely skin in bones. Each and everyday, millions of people, especially young women, feel ashamed of their bodies because they are not as seen in the media. It is the feeling of shame that makes any acquire eating disorders as well as some serious cases where individuals commit suicide because they are so ashamed and feel no place in society. This is so wrong. God created each person with a unique complexion. All he makes is good regardless of weight and beauty. I think our society as a whole needs to stand up for this and show that it is wrong and that it is not just simply hurting people but it is altering and even ending the lives of some completely. It is my duty and the duty of everyone to reveal to all that everyone regardless of any factors is still human. Being human and being created by God makes you perfect, and that is what alll people deserve to know and understand.
ReplyDeleteLogan, I do agree with you that social media is talking over our culture and pushing us into new beliefs. It is hard to escape all this media and technology as we are becoming way too dependent on it. It's also true that the body image is expected to look almost as a standard of perfect, but I also do think that in today's world this is becoming more of a known issue. People are realizing that we can not judge people on their bodies therefore more awareness of this personal problem is coming into play.
DeleteWell Lauryn, I believe that it is more known than it used to be. However,I believe it still is damaging many people's lives. I think in order to bring about change we need to have a major change to the mainstream media. This is a serious promblem that is killing in innocent but lost people.
DeleteIn Margaret Heffernan's Dare to Disagree, she comes out to explain the issue with people's ability to express their own personal beliefs and opinions. Margaret goes to heart on the issue with great clarity as she convinces a raise in concern toward the people. She also goes on to claim that people have the potential to make statements and defend them at a younger age. It is important to work with a variety of people, especially those who differ from our own selves. Margaret used three story's to reveal her argument. In those stories she used numeral rhetorical devices. The stories definitely gave out a bit of logos as they were used to convince the audience into believing the argument that Heffernan proclaimed. In today's world the argument relating to the belief and thought of individual people plays a bigger role than we think. We now live in a world where we are taught that what we see others doing is completely normal and we should join in the trend, but this is not the case as for what our society grants out is not always necessarily correct. For instance, the tv shows you watch now are completely different from the tv shows that were exposed out to families 50 years ago. Beliefs are changing and people are not willing to view the thought of these ideas as being wrong.
ReplyDeleteThe media is very controversial in today's society. It is true, I agree that everyone is afraid to speak out against what they see on tv or in other parts of the media. I also think that they are trained in such a way that they can't recognize that the media is portraying unattainable standards for people.
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ReplyDeleteUpon listening to Margaret Heffernan's speech, I found that one message spoke the clearest to me. To be blunt, I believe Margaret's moral point was something along the lines of if you don't have the "balls" to speak your mind then you won't have progress. In many ways, she is correct. If there's no one around to object to a new idea, there's no guaranteeing their word alone is of enough value to trust. In other words, Margaret is encouraging us to take scientific approach to how we discuss. We should not be afraid to disagree with someone because not only does it mock what friendship of professionalism is, but it is also a poor representation of how much faith someone has in their own abilities. By this logic, I mean that by simply agreeing with peers or those perceived as "higher up" than ourselves is wholly counterproductive in terms of working toward the individuality that so many learning facilities stress. When someone constantly and blandly concurs with those around them, they are relinquishing their individuality. Our uniqueness is what leads to new discoveries. Our uniqueness is what leads to new discoveries, new destructions, and new beginnings. In Margaret's mention of the researcher of cancer found in children, the speaker appealed to pathos by merely explaining what had went on in the study. Margaret used that situation to portray that beneficial disagreements and studies had a hand in detecting and eventually stopping an unhealthy process from happening altogether. Were it not for the British researchers valiant efforts in proving that x-raying pregnant women is harmful, there'd likely be more massive amounts of sick children. All in all, speak your mind on a controversial topic when you have a substantial agreement, because either way you are helping the creator enhance their position on the topic. Either you prove them wrong so they have to go back to the drawing board, or they shoot you down with facts and believable evidence to solidify their argument.
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