TOW #16 - IRB: Section Two of The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Having completed The Autobiography of Malcolm X today, which is coincidentally also Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I have both a newfound knowledge and appreciation towards the leaders and participants of the Civil Rights Movement. Although I did have some basic knowledge about Malcolm X’s life before I read his autobiography, given that I come from two African-American Muslim parents who at one time were themselves members of the Nation of Islam, I am now far more aware of the personal struggles and sacrifices that he went through to leave the mark he did. I am, however, curious as to why MLK is discussed and taught about in school so much, but when it comes to Malcolm X, he is rarely talked about, if even mentioned at all. I understand that MLK had a greater influence than did Malcolm X, but I still believe Malcolm made more than a big enough impact during the Civil Rights era to at least be referenced in history textbooks and school lessons. Perhaps it is because, unlike MLK, Malcolm did not preach that one should be peaceful while being violently attacked. In fact, Malcolm encouraged blacks to fight back if they were unjustly attacked by anyone, including police. Regardless, he was a great man and I refuse to allow his legacy to be ignored and looked over, intentionally or not.

Photograph courtesy of Wikipedia

Aside from attaining more knowledge on his life, after reading his autobiography, the greatest takeaway I personally gained was knowing the amount and degree of sacrifice one must undergo before improving oneself or becoming successful at almost anything. Additionally, it reinforced the importance of networking and the idea that it isn’t necessarily all about what it is you know, but rather who it is you know. Overall, I’m very pleased I decided to read this book and would recommend it to anyone capable of both appreciating what Malcolm X went through as well as the circumstances he was under. 

TOW #15 - Article: "The Cold Makes Us Smarter" . . . does it?

In following the trend set by what may possibly have been the number one topic of conversation this past week -- I’ve decided to do my TOW based on an article that argues, and is appropriately titled, “How the Cold Makes Us Smarter” by Time’s Allison Levine. The primary rhetorical strategies and devices used are statistics and logic, thus heavily appealing to the audience’s logos. The author also attempts to appeal to both the audience’s pathos and ethos by referring to specific situations in his own life through personal anecdotes. In fact, the very first sentence of the article attempts to establish Levine’s credibility while also functioning as an effective hook, as the sentence itself is short, sweet, and forces the reader to continue reading. “I know cold...I have climbed the highest peak on each continent (the famed Seven Summits) and have skied to both the North and South Poles -- a feat known as the Adventure Grand Slam.” In the following paragraph, she goes into detail on one particular trip that she called her favorite, which also happened to take place in the coldest place on earth. Finally, in her last paragraph after her audience is fully convinced of her expertise on the cold, Levine finally gives up the one piece of information that she based her entire statement on. She states that because glucose is needed for the brain’s mental processes, and because cooling off when it is hot uses more glucose than warming up when it’s cold, that the cold is better for the brain because there is more glucose available for it to use than when its warm. Logically, her statement makes sense. A car will run longer if it has more fuel. However, I believe her article was ineffective because it fails to establish the specific importance of glucose and actually how much more is used when it’s warm than when it’s cold. If she had provided these two pieces of information, I would have found her article far more convincing.

TOW #14 - Editorial: Journalism in China

For this week’s TOW, I decided to read and analyze a Washington Post opinion article titled “China’s Wrongheaded Crackdown on the Media” which was written by the Washington Post’s Editorial Board. “Wrongheaded”, while its meaning may be more or less obvious, means to be misguided or to have bad judgement, which is essentially the argument that the editorial attempts to make about China’s leaders with regards to the freedoms is allows its journalists. The authors first attempt to do this by juxtaposing two different quotes about journalism: one from the Soviet Union in 1976, and the other from a study guide for Chinese news reporters and editors. Contrary to its more common use in which juxtaposition is used to point out differences, this editorial uses the rhetorical device to highlight some scary similarities. Both quotes stress the importance of being loyal to the governing political party and its leaders. The editorial’s authors continue to state that the Chinese president, “Has been championing slogans and ideology from Mao’s day and the pursuit of a Marxist Utopia, a pursuit that led to great suffering for hundreds of millions of people.” After making these two comparisons, it is apparent that the editorial suggests that because China is currently using old tactics similar to those that led to the Soviet Union’s demise, and strategies that originally led to “great suffering for hundreds of millions of people”, that China will see the same results due to using the same “outdated” plan. At the end of the editorial, its authors suggest a change in policy for Chinese President Xi which is that he should, “Let China’s journalists prepare themselves for tomorrow -- to get in sync with the globalized information revolution -- than to retreat behind the red banners of yesteryear.” All in all, I found the editorial to be effective in arguing against the current policy for Chinese journalists by mainly relying on the similarities between China now and the era of the Soviet Union/Mao Zedong.

A protester holds aloft a banner calling for freedom of speech near the headquarters of Southern Weekly newspaper in Guangzhou, Guangdong province on Monday.