The Right to Bear Arms?

     The conflict over gun regulation has intensified and waned within American politics throughout American history.  The issue has led to countless news stories and debates between increasingly polarized sides, yet decisive action is yet to be taken.  An essential reason for this conflict is the debate over how to interpret the Second Amendment.  Those against gun restrictions use the Second Amendment as evidence of “the right to bear arms,” although it is becoming harder to ignore the tragic results of lax or nonexistent gun laws allowing guns to fall into the wrong hands.  This cartoon, created by political cartoonist Chan Lowe for the South Florida Sun Sentinel, delves into this controversy.  It can be inferred from the image that James Madison, “The Father of the Constitution”, could not have anticipated modern weaponry at the time he penned the Second Amendment, and allowing people access to these kinds of semi-automatic weapons is not what he intended.  The setting of this cartoon seems to be directed particularly at an audience of conservative Americans who see no need for stricter gun regulation.  The image’s focal point, the gun, shatters the peaceful colonial scene and acts as a metaphor to how out of place guns can be in today’s society.  The colors help to reinforce this idea, as the stark blackness of the gun contrasts with the colonial scene’s pastel hues.  By putting into context the problems with largely unregulated gun control in the US, I think Lowe successfully accomplishes his purpose.

Is Data the New Oil?

An infographic that accompanied the New York Times article “A Vault for Taking Charge of Your Online Life”, by Natasha Singer.  Click here to read the article.

As this article aptly points out, “…data is ‘the new oil’ or, at least, the fuel that powers the Internet economy,” (Singer 3).  Given the substantial “online footprint” that many people leave behind while perusing the Web, this is not a surprise.  However, people are becoming increasingly wary of the ease through which companies can access data about them, and are looking for ways to erase or regulate their online data.  This article’s purpose is analyzing the company “Reputation.com”, which emerged to act as a vault for people’s personal online data.  By presenting this issue with potential solutions, author Natasha Singer, New York Times Sunday Business Section reporter since 2005 and graduate of Brown University, is able to relate to and ensure her audience’s rapt attention as she explains the pros and cons of Reputation.com.  As this is a universal issue, Singer seems to be broadly targeting anyone who regularly uses the Internet and cares about their online footprint, specifically young adults and adults.  She immediately connects to the audience through pathos by arousing people’s natural fears of vulnerability as she says people “are walking around naked” on the Internet.  The images produced by this metaphor really help to further Singer’s claims about the necessity of sites like Reputation.com.  In addition, they allow the audience to clearly visualize a somewhat complex concept.  Singer’s classification is very effective in breaking down and helping the audience to further understand the article.  Thus, I think that overall she accomplished her purpose well.

Is Handwriting Worth Preserving?

Photo taken from Julia Turner's Slate article, "The End of Pens: Is handwriting worth saving?"

     Society’s digital age seems to usher in faster and better ways of communication, as well as the end of “the handwriting” era.  In her intriguing article, Julia Turner, Slate’s Deputy Editor and regular on Slate’s Culture Gabfest Podcast, addresses this new phenomenon.  She frames her points in the context of a book review of The Missing Ink (Philip Hensher), which traces handwriting across the centuries.  Turner explains how handwriting has evolved as cultures attempt to make writing speedier and more legible.  However, handwriting today is often replaced with typing on technological devices, which raises the question: is handwriting even something worth preserving?  Turner’s assertions become all the more credible because she wrote some of her article by hand (scanned, of course, into the typed computer article).  This imagery reinforces some of her main points by allowing her to show and not just tell, and really puts into context how messy handwriting looks compared to typed words.  Turner’s decision to arrange the points in the article in a cause and effect fashion aids the audience’s understanding, and also makes it harder for her points to be disputed because they are so logical and occur in such a natural way.  The audience seems to be a teenage and older American public interested in aspects of culture and their evolution.  Overall, the article’s arrangement and imagery both contribute to the success of Turner’s purpose, which was to convince her audience that Hensher’s book is both applicable and interesting.