Blog #6: Obama vs McCain; Who is your superhero????

Who is your Superhero???

John Stossel takes a look at how American voters percieve presidential candidates:

So what promises is your presidential candidate making you? How much truth is in his statements? We have been talking a lot about argument and rhetorical strategies, including audience, ethos, logos, pathos, claims, evidence, style, format, and all the other goodies that form a strong argument! I have pushed your limits of critical thinking and emphasized the fact that there is always multiple perspectives, multiple interpretations, and that nothing is black and white, except for our two presidential candidates. :)

Most of you will be voting this coming election, and even if you are not, you are very aware of who you would choose if you could vote and of course there are a few of you are still on the fence. Most of you know what issues are the most important to you, whether they be the economy, education, foreign policy, health insurance or abortion, your stance on these issues has a lot to do with who you will or would vote for.



Write about what issue is the most important to you as a college student in this century and why you feel your presidential elect has the best platform on this issue. And I want to know that you know what you are talking about, not tid bits of information others have told you. I want to hear you speak with credibility and conviction and knowledge. How do you do that? Research, use of language, style, tone and fairness.

Because, quite frankly if you don't know anything about these candidates, then maybe you shouldn't have the right to vote. What do you think? Watch this last video and determine whether or not you should be voting.

Zeitgeist; Religion, 9/11 and the Federal Reserve

Just a note before you begin to read the prompt; a lot of you have commented in past entries that you really don't know the candidates platforms or what they plan on doing, etc, etc. I'm assuming and hoping that most of you watched the presidential debates and are a bit more informed, however, as we are learning, everything is not always as it seems and if you are relying on just the debates to get your information I want to point you in the direction of a website called Factcheck.org who "aims to reduce the level of deception and confusion in U.S. politics. We monitor the factual accuracy of what is said by major U.S. political players in the form of TV ads, debates, speeches, interviews and news releases. Our goal is to apply the best practices of both journalism and scholarship, and to increase public knowledge and understanding." This is a great tool to use so you may be more aware and more educated on these two candidates and can make an educated choice when you go to vote, those of you who can.



Ok, moving on.........



Have any of you seen the signs posted around campus with the title "Zeitgeist" on it? Did you look into it and read the poster for more information? Are you curious about what this film is all about? By the way, yes it is a film and they will be showing it on campus on October 9th. Have you ever heard of that word? Are you curious of what it means? Well in case you were, or weren't, according to Wikipedia, which I acknowledge is not a credible source, it means the following:





"Zeitgeist (pronounced [ˈt͡saɪtgaɪst] (help·info)) is a German language expression literally translated: Zeit, time; Geist, spirit, meaning "the spirit of the age and its society". The word zeitgeist describes the intellectual, cultural, ethical and political climate of an era or also a trend. In German, the word has more layers of meaning than the English translation, including the fact that Zeitgeist can only be observed for past events."





"The spirit of the Age and it's Society." I just like the way that sounds. Particularly at the present time, during these very difficult struggles our country is going through. What is going on in our society and what is the spirit of this age? Are we excited, are we thriving, are we upset, discontent, disenfranchised? Do you care? Do you just go about your everydays going to school, going to work without thinking about your futures past graduation and getting a job? Do you ever ask yourself, or your peers, or your family, why things are the way they are right now?



As critical thinkers you should be asking questions.....lots of questions. As we have discussed in class, things are not always black and white, they are multidimensional and it is important as it is relevant to always try to see through various perspectives and sometimes that requires a little bit of research so we can find some answers to those questions.



I would like to then invite you to take a look into the perspective that Zeitgeist has to offer. The movie is divided into three parts. The first part deals with Religion, the second with the incidents of 9/11 and the third on the Federal Reserve. While I am not asking you to watch the entire movie for this prompt, I am going to post up the one clip from every part. You can find all the movie divided into sections on YouTube or you can go directly to the website and watch or download the movie on the website if you are interested in watching the movie in its entirety.



Whichever part of the movie you do choose to watch (Religion, 9/11, Fed Reserve), I highly recommend you go to YouTube and find the rest of that particular part of the movie so you can understand from beginning to end. Then post your reply on your blog to what you have just seen. I have faith that you will be extremely intrigued to watch the entire part of the movie you choose from, and even the entire movie for that matter.



Zeitgeist; Religion Part 1 of 3

Zeitgeist; 9/11 Part 1 of 4

Zeitgeist; Federal Reserve Part 1 of 5