TOW #13: "Football: A Waste of Taxpayers' Money" by Nick Gillespie (via TIME.com)

     A great amount of Americans adore football. However, Nick Gillespie, a frequent opinion writer for TIME, thinks that football does not deserve the attention it receives. In his opinion article "Football: A Waste of Taxpayers' Money", Gillespie writes about the exorbitant amounts of money – often taken from taxpayers – used by the NFL (and college football teams). Gillespie strives to inform American taxpayers about where their tax money is actually going and also to convince them that football is a waste of that money. To achieve this, Gillespie presents readers with undeniable statistics and cites reliable outside information.
     To show readers just how much of their tax money is being spent on football, Gillespie provides strong statistics. He writes, "Next year they'll [the Minnesota Vikings] be playing ball in a brand-spanking new $975 million complex ... Over the 30-year life of the project, the public share of costs will come to $678 million." The shear size of those numbers is enough to alarm readers. By presenting these statistics, Gillespie shocks readers and causes them to reconsider the importance of football – is it really worth that much of their tax money?
     Gillespie furthers his purpose by linking relevant outside information. Later, when he discusses the Atlanta Falcons, he writes, "there is zero reason to believe that publicly funded sports facilities ever pay back their costs by increasing overall economic activity or putting more tax revenue in government coffers." In this sentence, "zero reason" links to an interview with J.C. Bradbury, an economist from Kennesaw State University. Through this, Gillespie gives readers an opportunity to continue research about this strongly-stated point. The linked interview itself presents even more strong statistics, which further cement Gillespie's view that football is a waste.
     Through the use of strong statistics and relevant outside information, Nick Gillespie successfully informs readers of the role of their tax money in football. He then builds a strong essay around those statistics to present his opinion – that football is a waste of taxpayers' money. Ultimately, Gillespie's appeals to logos effectively convince his audience that tax money is going to waste through football.

New Atlanta Falcons Stadium:

Nick Gillespie argues in his article that this $1.2 billion stadium is excessive and is paid for with far too high a percentage of taxpayers' money.

(Source: http://www.ajc.com/gallery/news/local/falcons-release-new-images-planned-downtown-atlant/gCFSP/#4033831)

TOW #12: "Nelson Mandela Saved My Life" by Kennedy Odede (via CNN.com)

     Nelson Mandela passed away just three days ago, on December 5th, 2013, and since then, there have been many responses honoring him. However, Kennedy Odede, who grew up in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, took a different approach in his opinion article, "Nelson Mandela Saved My Life". Odede writes to anyone, though his purpose may be most applicable to people in South Africa. Odede wishes for his readers to understand that while it is important to honor Mandela for all that he did, it is also important for them to continue to uphold his ideals of equality. To demonstrate the importance of Mandela's work, Odede writes about his own personal experiences with Nelson Mandela. Odede then shows his audience the importance of continuing that work by explicitly stating what needs to happen in the world for Mandela's legacy to continue.
     In the beginning of his article, Odede tells readers about his childhood. He grew up in the Kibera slum of Nairobi, and he was extremely poor and constantly changing houses due to lack of support from his family. Odede then tells readers of a pivotal moment in his life: when an American gave him a copy of Mandela's book Long Walk to Freedom. By building background of his life through personal stories, Odede is able to give readers insight into how lost he felt as a teenager. Through this connection, readers are then able to understand the great effect Mandela had on Odede since they can see a marked difference in his life from before and after Mandela.
     At the very end of his article, Odede writes, "My fear is that we become to comfortable with his legacy – content with honoring what Mandela has stood for that we forget to carry forward his sense of urgency. ... We have lost him, and must recognize the need for a next generation of selfless and driven leaders." By previously establishing Mandela's importance to him, Odede is able to seamlessly introduce his purpose. He has already honored Mandela in his article, and so he then tells readers that it is not just important to honor Mandela – the world must also step forward and continue his legacy. Also, by explicitly stating what people must do, Odede establishes the importance of new world leaders being like Mandela – selfless and driven.
     Through his use of personal stories and an explicitly stated purpose, Odede shows readers that they need not only to acknowledge the importance of Nelson Mandela's ideals of equality but also to continue to uphold those ideals and make sure future world leaders are like Mandela.

Nelson Mandela:

Throughout his life, Mandela was able to effect a great amount of change in South Africa, such as helping to end apartheid. He was also the first democratically elected president and first black president of South Africa.

(Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/12/05/17500450-he-is-now-at-peace-nelson-mandela-dead-at-95)

TOW #11: The Future of Drones by Randy Bish (Visual Text)

(Source: http://www.politicalcartoons.com/cartoon/9b744c0c-3c2f-412e-a103-bb6bb7d582fb.html)

     On Sunday, December 1st, Amazon announced a future plan to possibly use delivery drones – autonomous octocopters that would deliver Amazon packages to the consumer's doorstep. This news evoked a great and varied response. One such take is shown in this political cartoon by Randy Bish, an award-winning editorial cartoonist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Published in the Trib for a politically-interested audience, Bish's cartoon, "The Future of Drones", shows a negative response to Amazon's drone announcement. Through his straightforward diction and alarming juxtaposition in his drawings, Bish effectively causes readers to be doubtful about the use of drones for everyday purposes, and therefore he successfully conveys his negative opinion of the Amazon drone idea.

     Bish begins the cartoon by making the drone state: "I'm a drone." Not only is this a bit unexpected, but it first causes readers to truly consider the meaning of the word "drone". Instinctively, Americans think of the recent events in countries such as Pakistan, where American military drones were controversially dropping bombs on potentially innocent people. Therefore, the word "drone" automatically has a bad connotation. Bish goes on to write about the various functions of an Amazon drone, which seem to be rather mundane, until he draws in the aspect of the drones that readers probably thought of immediately when he writes that the drone could "blow your village to kingdom come". The matter-of-factness of this statement causes Bish's audience to do a double take. This then makes readers reconsider the idea of Amazon drones and makes them wonder if the drones truly are safe. This doubt that Bish evokes in readers shows that he has successfully conveyed his message that perhaps Amazon drones are not the best idea.

     The straightforward diction in Bish's cartoon is complimented by his juxtaposition in the drawings themselves. The readers' double take at the third panel is intensified by the fact that the drone is smiling. Also, the drone now sports what appears to be a machine gun, which strongly contrasts its innocent package in the previous two panels. The sudden appearance of a weapon causes Bish's audience to wonder how different an Amazon drone would be from a military drone, and they may begin to wonder if they would be safe with drones as a common sight in the skies. Again, the readers' doubt shows that Bish effectively demonstrated his negative opinion of the drones.

     Through matter-of-fact diction and surprising juxtaposition, Bish effectively evokes in his readers a feeling of doubt towards the use of drones in everyday activities. This doubt shows that Bish has successfully communicated his own negative opinion towards the announcement drones being used for delivery in the future.